The winning strategy against the Dread Lords used to be killing them with first strike (I got enough logistics and used five cargo hulls with Plasma Weapons). Now that the defender can fire back, you lose one ship every time you combat a Dread Lord. They can surround you with 30 ships, so it's not easy to win.
I haven't managed it yet. What I'm thinking is the only way to do it is to completely ignore all the Dread Lord ships. Build a bunch of ten or 13-speed hulls, including transports and constructors and some empty hulls. Make your way to the Dread Lord planets without getting kilt, researching logistics and soldiering. Build a starbase with your constructor right next to the planet so you can upgrade all your ships in one week. Take off the range modules and engines and put on weapons. Take out the defenders and steal the win!
I haven't tried it yet because it's just so much work if it fails and it's my third time through. Has anyone else beat Apocalypse in v1.2?