I tend to just ignore the Arena matches when they come up. If the enemy wants to play with the trident, let 'em. Still, it would be interesting to see it spiced up into something more than just another message at the beginning of the turn.
Possibly the introduction of something like a "Category" system would help? There could be a Champion of Mages, a Champion of Fighters, a Champion of Scouts, and so forth. The different battles could come up at different times and each nation can, as now, choose to compete or not. There could be a different prize for each type of champion, something appropriate for their nature, and champions could choose not to play with the penalty of forfeiting their title/item. (One of the problems I have with the Arena is that I can't afford to have one of my best commanders sucked away for a crucial turn. I'd rather have the option to forfeit.)
Maybe the titles could come with a mild bonus (+1?) in terms of a morale lift for their troops. That'd make it more worthwhile to fight, plus it'd make sense that people would feel better being commanded by the Champion of Fighters then Just Some Guy.
If a commander didn't have a certain level of magic power (say, 3, to prevent simply empowering a combat machine to slaughter the enemy mage), then they couldn't enter the Mages' bout. Likewise, if they DO have 3+ in at least one path, they are barred from that competition. If they aren't stealthy or have starting combat stats above a certain theshold, they are barred from the Scouts' battle. Pretenders would be a Category all to themselves.
I don't blame IW for not focusing on this particular issue, since it isn't a major part of the game, but it'd be nice for a role-playing type like myself to see it developed. Of course, they've been very busy doing things for the first patch, such as adding the much-requested support for units that flee combat due to orders rather than rout to remain with their armies if the battle is won.
