Centauri
EA Third age
Shadows
I don't have anything against the shadows, I just havn't been able to use them much. If you are teaching someone the game, and they saw the show, putting a shadow ship on the table freaks them out.
I have kind of an aggressive playing style, and the centauri suit me down to the ground. I have to be careful, and restrain myself, when I use my EA. I've had some pretty spectacular defeats due to ignoring this. One of the reasons I like playing EA and shadows is that it makes me change my tactics, and think about what I am doing more.