novaliths are awesome.... i jsut had a game on the map "grindstone" (that one where u have 25 planets and 8 players) in which i had 8 novalith cannons by the end of the game, one on each of the planets i controlled
i just nuked the crap outta every planet it would let me and i won

would never work on a larger map though
i didnt even ahve to go on O, my capships just protected my frontline worlds (which also had novas) and i was free to fire!
i do so love the explosions that they make... 2 novas means instant death for any planet