I heavily starch yardage that is going to be cut on the bias. Would do the same whether the cutting is by rotary cutter or the Go! Spray starching isn't enough for me; I use a 1:1 solution of STa-Flo and water to make a very heavy starching solution.
For static cling on my Go!, I bought a can of Static Guard and spray both sides of the mat before a session. Works great! Before that I tried wiping down with a fabric softener sheet; that didn't work at all.
My mats seem to be holding up very well. I think it helps not to run excessive layers of fabric through. My Go! was harder to crank at first, and 2 layers was all I could do (large tumbler die, which may make a difference). Now I cut 4 layers at a time. Have occasionally tried 5 and 6 layers, but I do think that is harder on the mat.
On my strip dies, especially if I am cutting strips crossgrain (the usual way), I find I need to stop about 1/3rd of the way through, lift up the mat, and straighten out my fabric. I do it again 2/3rds of the way through. Otherwise wrinkles get "ironed" into the strips -- because the fabric stretches as it is being rolled through the machine.