I seem to alternate between Liang and Magnus first. With the nerf to Magnus, I'll probably use Liang more. I really like getting the extra charge, since early I tend to like to get a bunch of plantations/mines/etc... going early, and save more of the chopping for when they're worth more. Maybe not always the "best" thing to do, but I like having well developed land. Something satisfying about making sure that all my resources are developed.