I've been playing on Cynosian Rift as Vasari vs a random hard AI (not entrenchment, pirates off). I cant seem to get an upper hand on the opponent and every battle is a draw that destroys the better part of both our fleets. Here's a breakdown of what I do:

When the game starts I upgrade my home planet, build a capship factory, and build extractors and a few scouts. When my Evacuator comes out I go and take the asteroid and develop it. Next I move on to the Ice planet next to my home planet and take it- develop it out of the red and build the crystal extractors.

Next I biuld a weapons lab and start making Assailants and move across the galaxy taking planets (usually desert and terran). This is when I usually have my first battle- either at my homeplanet or one of the neutrals I'm trying to take. I'll win the battle but barely. By the time I build my fleet back so has the AI and the cycle repeats.

Any advice? Thanks in advance