I wrote this very quickly and plan on coming back and updating it but wanted to put my thoughts on playstyles down where people could see them that had expressed an interest. In no way is this fully reflective of the variability of each team but intended as an overview for someone coming new to the game who is looking to pick the best faction for them.
Also I've not played with/against hunters yet so will add them once I've had some more experience.
Alchemists – Conditions to control the pitch with a lot of speed & scoring, some damage potential. Midas as a captain is a super solo, doesn’t do much for the team, S2 captain smoke is all about working with the team in coordination and using the conditions still high speed scoring ability.
Brewers – Damage in the grind and a lot of knockdowns, lower defence but lots of tough hide to minimise damage taken. Control through the knockdowns and then beat the opponent up, but goal scoring threats are there. S1 captain is a beater, s2 captain is all support.
Butchers – Damage output with a side order of scoring, reasonable speed but not a lot of repositions (2 players have them all). Very little by way of control in terms of conditions, pushes or knock downs. S2 captain adds a new angle of condition play with bleeds and high mobility but still damaged focused in the whole.
Engineers – Ranged attacks and robots – S1 team was kinda a mixed bag, ranged attacks with knock down to give control and designed to be a scoring team but without great mobility or threat range meant a challenge to play. S2 gave them speed and scoring ability in spades but at the expense of ranged control.
Fishermen – High speed, all about the goals, lots of mobility tricks and dodges in their play books, some pushes too. S2 captain is all about controlling an area of the pitch & controlling the ball, some better damage abilities but still good scoring threat as a team.
Masons – Flexible team, designed to be able to do everything well but not at the same time. Generally low defence but well armoured so vulnerable to plays but less so being hit. Some very unique abilities to reactivate a player and double activations with a specific player. S2 captain is a super solo that buffs themselves off the team, can be damage and scoring focused. or can can buff the whole team instead of just himself through his heroic play.
Morticians – Control team, able to manipulate the opposing team activation order, force them to do activations in your turn (kick you the ball), difficult to manipulate themselves through various abilities. S1 is all about Obulus, super captain that can do everything if used right. S2 captain is a bit more about utilising the team more but still works as a debuffer but on a different mechanic.
Union – Intended to be a mixed bag of specialists that don’t overly synergise but are the best individuals at what they do. Least changed faction by S2 as captain works in a similar but different way to S1 (mainly damage focus). Able to do scoring or beating based on selections.