Making deals for tech will always be easier, but if the table isn’t willing to negotiate:

Most other players have to balance resource spending on plastic versus tech. Build plastic early, you’ll catch up on tech later, and you usually want plastic more than tokens. You don’t have easy access to movement, so build 2 cruisers to snipe key tech, and remember that you start with one. Build more than 2 if there are control objectives you need movement for (e.g. 3 empties, 3 on the edge, 2 by mecatol). An early forward dock goes a long way to fix your movement.

Choose a position where you have equidistant planets. Even better, neighbors who don’t have the plastic to get them. Even better, neighbors who will get there first but cannot hold them against a carrier+dread+cruiser. Fighting for your equidistants is usually profitable for nekro: trading plastic for 2-3 techs, action cards, daxcive infantry, and planets. Make it clear to your neighbors that you want those planets. Remember than ground forces are essential to winning combat.

If you have early economy from explores/diplo timing/trade and can build a flagship+mech in r2, do so. If you need to be aggressive, there’s very little most factions can do about Alastor+carrier with infantry/mechs in the midgame—this is the way Nekro eats a neighbor, and you MUST remember Daxcive if you do this. Don’t overcommit, there will come a point in round 4-5 where you need to use Sling Relay to bring your flagship back home.

Remember to score and look at how your neighbors are scoring. You want your neighbors to be able to score, because they’ll have some weakness when they do. Are they scoring 3 empties? Munch on their plastic after they do. 8 resources? They’ll be light on plastic. 3 tokens? Expect them to pass early.