I feel like the Unfallen should start with the battle tactic card "Dipomatic Immunity" over the scrapping option of +15 Dust p/destroyed command point. I feel like it'd give their early expansion some resiliance it might otherwise be lacking. While overwhelmiing pirates isn't always difficult, it can be pretty limiting depending on how close they start. But maybe I'm missing something. If you hold down a fleet around their planet and entangle it with your roots you can eliminate them with just the SLC technology and not waste time sieging the planet? Obviously this is still something closer to a mid-game option.