Basically the key to fleet warfare is hitting the other guy more than he hits you. The Tailsman is admitadly the ultimate SEIV tool to that effect. However, that does not mean the player using it is unbeatable, because there are other ways to beat someone in SEIV than to simply line up fleet to fleet and pound away at each other.
Beating the tailsman player takes unconventional warfare. It takes diplomacy, intelligence, research, production. It takes creativity, and ruthlessness. It may take pulling every trick out of your bag, and it may take coming up with a few new ones you've never heard of.
But as Grandpa Kim put it so well, one sure way to guarantee you won't beat the tailsman is by quitting.
Some of my favorite games have been after I reached the point of having no possibility of victory. Becasue that's when I am free to experiment and improvise. When the cause is loast anyway is a perfect time to take bold risks and wild plans. If they fail it makes no diffeerence. If they succeed, even in a small measure, you have learned something that can be used in a future game.
Heh, sorry to get preachy, maybe this post should go in the philosophy thread.
Geoschmo