by SnowRavenX
I just finished a game as the Exiles in which I took 2nd place out of 4. Lyra destroyed us all because of the extra 12 pts he got for building all his shrines. Without those, I would have won.I went with the small empire approach. I had 4 orbitals at the end, but never had any materials the whole game. 2 of those I built on the last turn so I could get a few more actions in.
I think a small empire with 3-4 producing planets/orbitals per system is ideal, say 3-4 systems in addition to your HS. Then if you add in hit-and-run tactics to gain an extra system for a turn, it seems like the best of both worlds. Also I think buying orbitals early is key.
As others have said, it is really hard without more mats to build orbitals early and build a fleet at the same time -- seems like their biggest weakness.