I feel like automation games strike a very different itch than traditional strategy games. The goal is (generally) not to build up to defeat some enemy but just to build for the sake of building even more. As a kid I always loved strategy games for the base building, but never liked the fighting my enemy part so much. I think that is why I really enjoy the automation and city builder genres.

Some have combat, but they are almost always secondary to the core of the game. Dyson has no combat yet, but it is coming in the near future. Still will be totally optional though.