I took it right at the start of the game, like to play with it.
That would be a mistake. When you see that one or more of your opponents have CAS, Luftwaffe Supply, or that Elephant doctrine with Stuka Dive Bomb you have to wait before choosing a commander with arty. If you choose a commander right off the bat you risk having your arty bombed like it was.
Even then in team games there are some fun combos like Arty Flares + Stuka Dive Bomb that can take out static arty without needing Stuka and Recon in one commander but at least that requires more coordination from a team.