And just to address on what was said earlier:
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...Well, AR benefits more from not having AccBBS than HP, IMHO. The lesser pop means they're initially more efficient, and you can still spread and research Energy early for the huge resource boost. Ban on Kill Starbase is obviously good as well.

That's all true, but if we're talking a slow tech game here, ARs are out of the question, at least for me (I can't speak for someone who likes running a marathon ball'n'chained). Ticking slow tech is cutting AR's economic growth rate in half. Simple as that.