i think there's something to be said about how underused staves are due to wand + shield on mages being so much better. the staff skill (i forget the name) is underwhelming and is something i would use only if literally every other offensive skill i had was on cooldown, and on tactician difficulty i find myself needing a shield due to the sparse physical armor given by mage armor. i could invest a couple of points in strength to wear warriors armor, but that feels bad when i'm already putting a ton of points into memory and robbing my int each level
It actually all depends on item choices.
Sacrificing 2-4 int may be worth it depending on what armor is available and Alexander's staff has 3 slots in it which makes it competitive.
You shouldn't be putting in so many memory points where your damage no longer becomes competitive; it may happen with Wits but that's a diffferent story because you're sacrificing damage to go first.
You also don't need a shield on tactician difficulty.
