While it is the generals and Star Colonels that plan a campaign, it is the tactical commanders - the Lance and Star Commanders, that execute these plans and more often then not decide victory and defeat. Oftentimes the cohesion and teamwork that a tactical commander has fostered between his Lance or Star while he leads them can make a unit twice as dangerous as it may be on paper. Likewise the loss of a commander can have a demoralizing effect on the unit throwing the best laid plans into disarray.
Rules for Commanders
Players may designate one commander per canon formation in an army. The
Commander must occupy the highest Battle Value unit in the army, with multiple
commanders in the same army each occupying the next highest Battle Value unit. If
an army does not contain any canon unit formations that would allow a
commander, a player may designate one commander for the army without
meeting the canon formation requirement.
A canon unit formation
is defined as a full lance of Mechs or a full lance of Vehicles for IS
factions. Word of Blake and the Rasalhague Republic factions deploy
instead in Level IIs (6 units) which may be mixed formations of mechs
and vehicles.
For Clan Factions a canon unit formation is
defined as a full Star of Mechs or a full Star of Vehicles.
Active
commanders formations grant the army a +2 initiative bonus for the
battle as long as they are functional. The bonus is not cumulative if
multiple commanders are present.
EXAMPLE: Gustavus Adolphus has an army consisting of a full mech lance and a full vehicle lance. This means he may designate two commanders. One must be the highest-Battle Value unit in the mech lance, and the other must be the highest-Battle Value unit in the vehicle lance.