Taking the initiative!

[Snargelfargen]

I'm playing as a mage, and as you probably already know, what happens in the first turn can decide the course of the battle. I make sure I always have at least one stack of units with 6 initiative so I can blast or disable the most dangerous stacks right away. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned. Just one unharmed ranged stack can do a lot of damage, and it gets worse if I'm fighting a hero who starts casting spells before I do.

So how do you seize the initiative? Questions:

1. If units on each side both have the same initiative, what decides which one goes first? For example, I'm on the dwarven continent right now, and for some reason my cannoneers always go after the enemy's cannoneers. A stack of 40 cannoneers can do a lot of damage in the first round.

2. What are some good ways to improve initiative? I'm playing a mage, so the fighter skills are out of reach at least for the time being. Items, or an exceptionally fast unit?

3. Royal snakes have 6 initiative, but they always move before any other units with the same amount. This isn't a question. Man, I love those snakes. They are the best at everything.