Included with Ankaur Maro are the rules to add trays, they are the following (attached image) in a nut shell they read:

Trays must be added to the back rank
If the back rank is full, you can create a new rank
Max 4 ranks.

Now when the rules state the following:

66.1 A unit’s front row of trays is that unit’s front rank, and a unit’s back row of trays is that unit’s back rank. • When a unit is made up of a single rank, that rank is both the front and back rank.
66.2 A full rank is any rank that contains as many trays as the front rank for the unit.
66.3 A rank is partial if it contains at least one tray, but fewer trays than the front rank of the unit
66.4 A unit’s front rank is not full or partial.
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So it is clear how things work when you have more then 1 rank you just add to the unit filling out each rank as normal until you hit the max size. But when you only have 1 rank are you forced to create a new rank or can you make the first rank wider? i.e. can you make a 2*1 unit into a 6*1 unit? or are you forced to make it into a 2*3 unit.

Based off the 66.4 rule I think you can make it into a 6*1 unit but that seems to be wrong as in that case there would be no limit to how wide the unit could be...

Given that theres no special clause for single rank units i would wager the point is to never be able to increase the threat of a unit.
Also, the max would be 4 since the max so far both for ranks and threat is 4 (see Hawthorne's reform ability also limited to 4 trays) if it somehow did allow adding to threat

If you buy the unit as a 2x1 or 2x2 unit then a "full rank" is 2 trays. This means that when adding extra trays to a unit that has been reduced to one rank you can not increase the number of trays in the front rank to greater than 2.

Ankaur Maro cannot add to threat because he can only add trays to the back rank, and only until you have a full back rank. If the back Rank of a tray is full then you create a new rank.

66.1 A unit’s front row of trays is that unit’s front rank, and a unit’s back row of trays is that unit’s back rank. • When a unit is made up of a single rank, that rank is both the front and back rank.
66.2 A full rank is any rank that contains as many trays as the front rank for the unit.
66.3 A rank is partial if it contains at least one tray, but fewer trays than the front rank of the unit
66.4 A unit’s front rank is not full or partial.

In a 2x1 unit the unit begins the game with a full BACK rank as per 66.1, the front rank and back rank are the same rank. So while 66.4 states that the front rank is neither full nor partial, the back rank is going to always be full as it will always be an equal number of trays to the front rank.

With that if you were to lose a tray and have a 1x1 unit your ranks would then be added as a single tray for each rank.

22 hours ago, jek said:

Ankaur Maro cannot add to threat because he can only add trays to the back rank, and only until you have a full back rank. If the back Rank of a tray is full then you create a new rank.

Column Tactics!

7 hours ago, Daverman said:

Column Tactics!

Yeah that could work...