The new single-unit + hexes system is very reminiscent of Battle for Wesnoth. If you haven't played it yet, you definitely should check it out (it could possibly hold you over till Fall). It's free, and it's open source - more info here. There's also a trailer.
Anyway - just from playing Wesnoth, I can guess what civ designers will put into the game:
- zones of control
- unit's special abilities (certain units will be able to bypass zones of control)
- first attack (certain units will attack first, even if they are defending)
- sneak attack (certain units will be able to attack, and not get hit back)
- backstabbing (if you attack a unit and you have a unit on both sides of the unit that's being attacked, your attack strength increases)
EDIT: I just noticed, I screwed up the title - it should read Battle for Wesnoth...

Anyway - just from playing Wesnoth, I can guess what civ designers will put into the game:
- zones of control
- unit's special abilities (certain units will be able to bypass zones of control)
- first attack (certain units will attack first, even if they are defending)
- sneak attack (certain units will be able to attack, and not get hit back)
- backstabbing (if you attack a unit and you have a unit on both sides of the unit that's being attacked, your attack strength increases)
EDIT: I just noticed, I screwed up the title - it should read Battle for Wesnoth...