Just finished a 2v2 medium sized game as TEC. I decisvely lost as the 2 Hard AI's double teamed me into the 5th hour of play. However, I learned a lot about the Vassari Minelayers. These things are amazingly awesome offensive weapons. In quantity 10+ you can use them to make barriers between your fleet and the enemy fleets - literally allowing you to sculpt the feild of battle to your advantage. You can use them to make retreat especially costly by cutting in behind enemy ships, create channels that force attackers into optimal fire zones, or just cover your retreat. Im not sure If the AI did it on purpose but it gave me some ideas for new tactics. It looks like the vasari got the best 2 of 3 new toys.