http://warlight.uservoice.com/forums/77051-warlight-features/suggestions/2286567-free-deployment-of-initial-armies

please vote! ;-)

Definitely against as a default setting. As an option for custom games, well, why not...

Care to explain why you are definitely against it? I'm curious.

I could state my reasons. The change from 5 to 4 armies was to eliminate as much of luck factor as possible (when 1st player gets 1st turn bonus and the 2ns does not). What you propose works against it in two ways:
- with that in mind 1st turn bonuses could easily be achieved without cluster-picking (with the new setting it requires real commitment to neighbouring territories which puts the player at a spacial disadvantage)
- when players get bordering starters the luck factor would still be great here (the chances of elimination are very variated depending on not strategy per se but luck and intuition). with default setting elimination chances are minimal (most of the time we can see that we can trade deploying elsewhere for negative net-income)

free deployment of initial armies would make it more risk-like

Isn't that basically the same as 1 army per starting spot? (possibly with a reinforcement card that you get from the beginning).

For the strategic settings: with 4 armies per territ, you have 9 extra, 3 on each territ.
With 1 per starting spot and an added +5 reinforcement card at the beginning, you have 10 to deploy on first turn. So simple enough to create that custom setting yourself.

except that you would need 14 total for the first turn... since you have the 9 armies that would be distributed, and then the 5 armies for your first turn..

the closest adequate solution you could provide would be 2 R cards at the initial outset which would provide 15 armies on the first turn, -and- require an honor system.. since someone could advantage their picks to counter-pick someone and use the R cards gained to be used this way in a way not designed to provide an unexpected boost of armies