Atom Mlatom
Explorer
If he instead takes the attribute first it would cost only 1000xp plus the 2000 for the tradition after saving him 200 XP to do the same thing, just in a different order...
I get what you mean. Personally, I'm okay with this discrepancy. It's not a real huge exploit / punishment, and it gives the gamier players a chance to feel satisfied that they optimized their planning.