I'd suggest a derivative of the Go'auld from Stargate.
Symbiotic (well the tokra were symbiotic)/parasitic worms controlling Humans (or any sentient being)
Or the swarm race from independence day. This could have some really cool mechanics, based around mass exploitation of resources and *not* settling down and building colonies.
If you've played endless space 2 (and maybe 1?) The Cravers are based on these aliens, albeit with the usual required changes in origin etc.
Any new faction imho should hold to, then twist around, existing tropes.
For examexample , there is a trope of a slow but strong race, which is usually Dwarves and is now DVAR.
There is the trope of the jack of all trades, master of none race, usually Humans, now Vanguard.
The elven trope has been transmuted into Amazons.
I wouldn't want new races that are very similar to the existing.
I think the classic tropes are a rich mine to be exploited here.
So, tropes and mechanics and spice.
Any new faction imho should take that into account.
Trope - the vibe of the race. The one sentence summary, e.g. "Dwarves in space."
Note-it's not necessarily accurate. It's a short summary and so by definition will lack alot of nuance.
Mechanics - what makes them special in game. (So far the races are mostly differentiated by their damage output it seems, plus innately "expedited movement," so Kirko are mostly melee and amazonsgo through forests easier. We haven't seen how economics work yet so that could be another way to differentiate their mechanics)
Spice- similar to.mechanics, I'm using spice here to cover general gimmicks, e.g. how Haflings in AoW 1 started with Cavalry at tier 1. It made them feel different.
Think of it as twists to mechanics, not quite a trope or mechanic.
This is a good area to build some asymmetry. Like how the various militia units in AoW3 are pretty different. An icescaper can't be used the same as a cheetah or an initiate etc.
Imagine if the Assembly, for example, don't have a t1 scout unit (the Vanguard and kir'ko scout units are both flying) but instead have an innate radar ability, like the scanner from the terrans in Star craft. Costs energy, but has a decent range, reveals an area for a turn. Less risk than a unit, and allows you potentially to scan 3 or 4 sites in the same turn,but more expensive and needs to charge, and shows to everyone nearby which spot has been scanned.
Now some of these could be good npc factions, or even in game events.
The replicators from Stargate could be a cool end game/game ending event.
Some tropes can be shared. E.g. a swarming race could be both Kir'ko and Assembly.
Those are just some thoughts when considering what I would like from new races.
Lastly, space dragons need to be in. ☺
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