Twilight Imperium: How dim do the fires burn?

Picked up at GenCon, poor TI4 sat on my shelf for months. Waiting. Biding its time as I read the rules and tried to find the time to play it. Then it happened! We got it to the table, played a solid 7 hour four player game where I took the Yssaril Tribes to victory over the others.

This is not that game. As something of an ad hoc affair, I didn't take any pictures!

This is the second game, a three player outing this time around. In purple, I played the Embers of Muaat- and my plan was to use my War Sun to hopefully bully the other players long enough to keep my border safe. The L1Z1X in yellow started with a slightly less prosperous cluster of planets, and followed a plan involving rushing a special tech before drowning the rest of us in super dreadnoughts. Finally the Hacan Collective in green sitting in the richest cluster of sectors with the scoring quick objective points on the mind.

Only one can sit upon the throne!

The very start of the game- we have my Muaat on the left, L1Z1X farside,
and  the Hacan in green.

Turn 1 and 2 has the normal expansion that would be expected. My early
lack of carrier's really impede's my forward motion. Green scores a few
early objective points.

Just before I make it to Mecatol with my War Sun, the Hacan sweep right in
using the gravity well for extra movement, surviving and stealing the 1 vp
right from under my nose.

I eradicate them, but the damage is already done. My opponents do a good
job keeping the Imperial strategy from me.

The L1Z1X rushes up the right side of the galactic map, establishing a
forward foothold right on the edge of Hacan space.

To stop me from scoring an objective dealing with being adjacent to
anomalies (despite me being in dead last) the L1Z1X launch an incursion
into my sector of space, cutting Mecatol Rex off.

Despite loud claims that he will withdraw, I ready my forces to throw
the L1Z1X back.

Two War Suns against four dreadnoughts. Despite the sharp technological
superiority of the L1Z1X, the Muaat are victorious.  

It was a close fight, and as we fought the Hacan continued to accrue points,
taking a three point lead over the L1Z1X (four over the Muaat). The objective
cards were not doing me any favors!

The L1Z1X launches an attack- and I'm forced to help. With their lead,
the Hacan will win momentarily. So my fleet, fresh from my victory
over the L1Z1X and with another fleet threatening Mecatol Rex instead
take the gravity well...

Heavy gravity threatens to tear my small powerful fleet apart...

But no! The Embers make it through unscathed. 

Boxed in and facing four(!) War Suns, the Hacan forces are crushed and driven
back all the way to their home systems. 

While its always terrible when two players team up against
one, this was the state of affairs- it had to be done!

Sadly, that is where the pictures end. I noticed too late the the L1Z1X player was about to sweep a lot of objective points. I built a second fleet and was moving to attack- when they suddenly hit the win condition using the Imperial Strategy card to score a public objective early. On turn 7, the game came to and end.

Final Score:
L1Z1X- 10
Hacan- 9
Muaat- 7

Victory for the L1Z1X! A slow start on my part had me falling too far behind in the middle/end of the game. My fleets were practically undefeated, but in the end the heritors of the Lazax took their rightful place on the throne. We can only hope they will rule... mercifully.