Note: I'm writing this article both to clarify all this in my mind and for eventual inclusion in the wiki. Please let me know if I've missing mentioning anything (or gotten something wrong) in the comments below.

All good collectible games have a mechanism that either prevents savvy players from picking all of the absolute best/optimal cards to play during one game and/or imposes disadvantages for doing so. Magic: The Gathering has the colors of magic. Try to mix too many colors and you likely won't have the color you want when you need it. Hearthstone has classes and Splinterlands has splinters. In both, you can only draw from your own class/splinter and neutral cards. Factions are most similar to classes and splinters but have a number of additional nuances.

Some extremely desirable characters (Sh4rken) are virtually impossible to recruit by any but their own faction. Members of some opposing factions (Federation/Rebels) can be mixed -- but you'll probably wish that you hadn't. Some faction items (Nomad, Suntek) can be used by crews not of that faction with penalties ranging from the relatively minor to the fatal. Some items (Drachian Scarab Armor) can not. Some items can even grant you additional factions (Syndicate Chip, Genetician Console) while other items and personnel can allow you to recruit/use a limited number of cards from a specific other faction (Drachian Commissar, The Rebellion Secrets).

Early on, there was a lot of confusion as to whether items like the Genetician Console or the Syndicate Chip would allow you to recruit mostly without regard to faction. The nearly completed launcher and some clarification questions now have dispelled these misconceptions. If you can't do it in the launcher, there is no way to do it in the game. Even so, it is worthwhile to understand the rules and logic behind what you can and cannot do with the launcher.

There are four major factions which have Origins (Civilian, Criminal, Scientist, Military) and eleven minor factions which do not. Once you have picked your Origin, it is basically impossible to pick a card that is part of another major faction but is not also a part of the faction granted by your Origin (though there are rumors that some Origins will be able to add additional factions as they become more experienced).

Five of the minor factions (Corporate, Drachian, Genetician, Rebel, Syndicate) have cards that allow you to either add that faction to your origin or to recruit a certain number of cards from that faction.

Personnel of the remaining six factions (Federation, Flesh Cult, Nomad, SunTek, Triskan Survivor) are either versatile or have additional factions on each card that allow them to be recruited. The last faction (Achean Gangs) currently have no personnel. Items from these six factions can be used by anyone but, as stated above, if used by members not of that faction have "penalties ranging from the relatively minor to the fatal".

What definitely does not work is using the Genetician Console or the Syndicate Chip to recruit everyone regardless of faction -- as was originally anticipated by many. While the Genetician console "Grants Faction: Genetician to Origin, all officers and all crew", you must be able to recruit that character before that faction addition occurs. Similarly, if your Origin has a Syndicate Chip, you must be able to recruit a character before you can equip them with a chip to add the Syndicate faction. This means that, to my great disappointment, there is no way to recruit Sh4rken without using the Repentant Pirate or Captain Cranium. However, this is actually a really good thing for the game.

Attempting to play games with Captain Cranium does little except to allow any Origin to lose their current faction and become Criminal at the hefty disadvantage of never being able picking up an additional faction for the misson via the Corporate License or the Syndicate chip. However, if you really do want to go Criminal, the Secret Agent with her synergies would be awesome even with that disadvantage.

The lone card that currently appears purposeless is the Corporate License that cannot equip an Origin. It is my expectation, however, that some Corporate Boss card (maybe even the Mysterious Boss if he is Corporate instead of Criminal) will interact with the card in the same fashion that Kumicho interacts with Syndicate Chips.

VS

Factions currently appear as a great base to grow on. Many players are already panting (and pining) to see more of the sparsely populated Drachians, Geneticians, Nomads, and SunTeks (also noteworthy as the four factions with the special limited edition reward cards given out to very early adopters and available as rewards in the future). The possibility of more factions (whether major or minor) will also provide many more years of novelty and exploration.

So, the next time that you are annoyed by the limitations that factions impose, think instead of how much additional design and strategy space they open up. As I said above, all good collectible games have a mechanism that prevents/discourages savvy players from picking all of the absolute best/optimal cards to use at once. EXODE appears as if it will be even better because of the myriad ways in which factions offer far more opportunities for expansion and exploration.

NOTE: I'm still offering the double your money back offer if you try EXODE and you don't like it -- and expect to do so for the foreseeable future. Check the bottom of this post for details.