For me, a "true" full phase fleet wasn't a fun experience. You'll bleed supplies at an alarming rate, and only the Shade is really useful when fielded in higher number (the Doom too, technically, but it's not like you'll be able to afford it for several battle in a row). Worst, you'll end up stuck piloting a Typhoon Harbinger, forever and ever. It's just too good compared to everything else.
As for other unusual strategies, it's something i like to do from time to time, so here's what i did and what i found fun.
- Hardcore salvaging : recover every single ships you come across, with the ship limit removed (to keep it fun for late game). Throwing a swarm of barely functional, under-equipped junk ships into the meatgrinder is unexpectedly joyful.
- Autopilot only : you'll have to rely only on orders to influence the battle.
I wrote a little bit
about it. Extremely difficult early on though, it's probably better to start normal then go for this mode after acquiring a few ships.
- Shieldless run : Require the Ship and Weapon Pack mod. The mod add a "Shield Bypass" hullmod that removes shields but improved the flux dissipation depending on the original shield upkeep (i think?). Obviously a bit tricky to play, for me it did encourage a more agressive playstyle as a shieldless fleet cannot win an endurance battle.
- Pather run : mandatory Safety Override for everything, force you to play aggressive and smart, as you'll need to set the proper elimination orders to finish quickly a battle. Combine it with the Hardcore Salvaging strat if you're looking for absolute chaos (and shieldless run if you're that kind of sicko).
- Stampede : Buffalo MK.II only. You can add the Mongrel and Amalgam with
SWP Edit : the Underworld mod (thanks Retry) if you want (Underworld isn't updated yet, but a new version shouldn't take too long to come out now). It is exactly as you would expect it.
- Excelsior run : Also require SWP. Turn Starsector into an arcade game at the cost of your sanity.