This Is Not A Test/Tactics/Mutant Cannibals

The Cannibals are deadly as Hell, and they'd be more than borderline OP if they weren't so reliant on gambling. While they work best in melee, they get acceptable ranged and Psychic support options. You're going to need a few mid-range skirmishers to get the best use out of some of your wargear and critters. Mutie Cannibals combine some aspects of Tribals and Mutants, while gaining their own unique playstyle from their Elite and Specialist choices.

Strengths:

• Several of their wargear items boost Animals (whether the Cannibals' own or wandering monsters). Speaking of which -
• Access to a large array of extremely nasty Critters as a Rank-and-File option.
• Morale Manipulation with Maulers, Skinsuits, and Fearsome Rep. Everyone can do it. Psychos just do it cheaper and remarkably reliably.
• Chameleon Suits - while the Warband has a hard cap of two, the Chameleon rule takes up a Relic or Mutation slot for anyone else. You can get one at the start of the campaign for the low, low price of a Degen with a shotgun
• Multiple Mettle-boosting effects, including Gran-Gran's Stew, Maw's abilities, and Man-Jerky. For a pack of fractious cousin-humpers, the Cannibals are surprisingly reliable.. until Maw's trick knee leaves all your grunts overextended and outside her magic bubble.
• Tenacity, Quickness, and/or Survival on all of your models (except Petunia) gives you a nice mix of models with infiltration, terrain-mitigation, and immunity to suppressing fire. Well-setup Cannibals can have most of their models in the opponent's deployment area within 2 turns. Likewise, you have widespread access to Smarts, which both helps keep your income flowing and gets your Relics/Weapons back online quickly when you Fumble on the battlefield.
• Petunia's shenanigans. You can potentially knock out enemy Motivators and other Specialists, or just a significant chunk of the Rank-and-File stuff, for several turns. She's not a bad shot either.
• Most of your models are Mutants, unlocking access to Mutations any time you could pick up a Skill in the campaign. Unfortunately, it's hard to get WYSIWYG Physical Mutations unless you already have some models waiting in the wings. Cannibals also get access to Mutated Freelancers - see below for more.

Weaknesses:

• No native access to Medics
• Despite the Chameleon Suit being a slightly-nerfed Stealth Armor, Cannibals otherwise have only basic Relic access.
• Poor Ranged specialists -- all of their Heavy Weapons start with -1 DEF by default and only 4 RNG. Your only 5+ models are your Elites.
• Cannibals, like many fast armies, must coordinate on the way in. Most of your models will struggle to kill well-armored opponents by themselves, and several of your nastiest depend on combos. If you get strung out on the way in, you're going to get defeated in detail.

General Tactics

Disrupt enemy movement with Morale shenannery, Fear-causing weapons, Cryo, and the like. Use your boosted speed and Activation checks to wolfpack and pick off isolated targets quickly. Hope you get some kills in the post-game to pay off your Upkeep, because you'll have a lot of mouths to feed.

Cannibal Leaders

There's no one best choice here. Pa is better for a skirmishing group of more-competent troops, Ma for swarms of degens from upcountry and their pets.

Pa

An all-round monster with very solid stats. Unlocks additional Psychos (a basic Leatherface/Michael Myers-style juggernaught killer) as Rank and File minis. Starts with three skill slots (one of which can be swapped for a Mutation), all skill trees, and a Detriment slot. You shouldn't feel obligated to take Smarts skills on Pa - Gran, Gramps, and Petunia also have access, freeing you up for Leadership skills or a combat skill build.

• Usage Notes - Pa's unlocks are incredibly useful if you want to play with Morale and capture shenannery. You still need Youngin's to keep Critters available, which means fewer Degens in the starting warband. A well-made Paw in Scavenged Power Armor or a Construction Harness can be downright terrifying at all ranges. You can also go for something like a Three-Armed Pa packing a Slaughter Blade, Skin Suit, Hooks and Chains, Relic pistol, and Cattle Prod combo to rapidly KO enemy cannon-fodder models

Maw

Average Leader stats, no Smarts skills. Her aura bonuses to activation and movement make slower close-combat models like the "Tiny" and Degens much more effective. Maw starts with one mutation/skill slot, one Skill slot, and a Detriment slot. Same stats as Pa; slightly more expensive, but vastly more effective if you don't have multiple Psycho models.

• Usage and build notes - Ma works best as a squad leader. Several Elite and Specialist choices have access to Smarts and Leadership, so you aren't punished for picking her. While she lends herself to a "Death Star" playstyle, her own slow movement means that until she levels up a few times she can't keep up. On the other hand, you can use her to slingshot other models into combat, or move models quickly between objectives by sending faster models ahead of her and shortcutting towards the next objective with Ma. The special version of Motivator doesn't work with Freelancers or Critters - but really, that means the ability lets the Rank-and-Filers in your warband keep up with their pets.

Elites

You'll likely want to save an Elites slot for one of your grunts to promote into. Of all your options, the First-born is the blandest and least-useful overall. Don't bother unless you really need that Leadership skill.

Petunia

An un-mutated lass who uses the power of Promotions to potentially drag enemy models out of the fight at the beginning of the scenario.

• Gran-Gran - unlocks the Cauldron wargear and the extremely nasty Psychic Husk Critter as a Rank-and-File.
• First Born - a comparatively boring Elite model. Your only Leadership option outside of Pa/Maw and Freelancers.

Rank-and-file

Youngins

Bog-standard Melee/Ranged/Survival infantry. The first printing of the supplement accidentally gave them Ranged 5, but that got errata'd almost immediately. Start with the Mutant type, but no skill/mutation slots. Make sure anyone you want to be part of Ma's Death Star is packing a Compact Burst gun or a pistol/CCW combo so you can take advantage of her movement. Otherwise, equip everyone as you would any other grunt.

Degenerate

While Degens are cheap, they have random psuedo-Detriments (not the fun ones in the rulebook, they get their own chart). 90% of the time that's -1 to a stat. On a crit, it's +1 Defense. Also have no Mutation/Skill slots at the start.

• Equipment: They're difficult to force through the 6-8 games that will let you can buy off their Rag-tag status. Throw them all a cheapy Pistol, Splattergun (a Flamer that boosts Critters attacking models it hits), or SMG and a shank. See who makes it into the midgame 1) alive and 2) with a stat/skillset worth gearing up for.
• Skills: Melee/Survival/Tenacity. Excellent for sneaky brawlers, okay for infiltrating skirmishers.

Critters

Here's where it gets fun. You can take one Critter into the fight for every Youngin you're packing. Listed in order of price:

• Radroach - Ignores Morale tests, extremely fast. Your cheapest Critter option.
• Giant Rat - Cheap, fast, and annoying. Has the Poisoned Weapons rule.
• Trog - costs the same as a Husk. Basically a cheap Caveman/Deep One. Unlike most critters, counts as a Mutant, so you can't use Splatterguns or Bloody Heads to boost them. Swaps out some Ranged ability for Speed, Strength, Melee, and Daylight Sensitivity. Keep 'em close to a Motivator unless they're indoors.
• Psychic Husk - Lulz incarnate. Unlocked with Gran-Gran, max one per warband. Uses a random power on the Psychic chart every turn, then can either take a normal action or load up a Psychic Bolt.
• Wastewolf - Unlike most Pack animals, the Wastewolf's Pack Mentality only applies to other Wastewolves. Make sure to get at least two unless you want problems with Morale. Starts with the Bully skill and a very nasty statline. Also, ditches the Survival skill tree for Brawn.
• Razor Rattler - Costs the same as a Wastewolf. Loses a point of Strength, gains Poison and Spikes - so anyone that attacks one in melee gets an S6 whack for their troubles.

Skills - Melee, Quickness, and Survival.

Specialists

Gramps

Your Heavy Weapon troopers. They all start with lowered Defense from the Frail detriment, which you will either need to buy off or compensate for with armor. Gramps works very well as the lynchpin in a couple unit combos.

• Skills: Gramps starts with Smarts and Survival, improving his support ability. Scavenger both lets Gramps get the best use out of Bloody Heads or cheap Relic grenades by chucking them into a launcher, and from Limited-ammo Template weapons, by giving you extra ammo. Ranger lets him take advantage of Ma's slingshot powers to get template weapons into range. Careful Shooting is always nice in a melee-heavy warband, especially if you choose not to go for a Gunsmith but still want a non-blast heavy weapon.
• Equipment: Chameleon Armor is almost a no-brainer for your first long-range Gramps. You have other things that can use it, but few that will want to stay outside 12" consistently and have the skills to get away with it. If you don't go with Chameleon, try for Templates, grenade launchers, and mid-range support pieces. If you can afford a Relic, Cryo weapons are nice for setting up further charges and keeping your enemy from coordinating his movements. Radguns make it easier for your many fast, high-Strength CC specialists to kill their opponents quickly and keep moving. Unless you're facing down a Robot gang, however, you're usually better off putting your Armor Piercing weapons on someone who's going to pin them in CC and can afford to spend time in LoS.

Psycho

Close-combat troopers that start with the incredibly useful Brute and Fearsome Rep skills. The Psycho charges when he wants, where he wants, and knocks down what he hits.

• Skills: Brawn, Melee, and Tenacity. Lethal Blow gives you free EXP, and cancels out the efforts of an enemy Medic. If you plan on going with a Mauler or The Pry Bar, the Brute skill will cancel out its negatives. The Tenacity tree is all about ignoring suppressing fire and going in for the clutch decapitation. Frenzy is nice if you can get it, and Strong Point can be similarly useful if you can scrounge the dosh for something other than Skin Armor. You also have skills that give bonuses to STR and Will checks in the post-game.
• Equipment: Mauler and a big-ass pistol for backup while you close in. Monofilament and other nasty close-combat weapons are certainly a viable alternative, but that Mauler is gonna get'er done. A Skin Armor will give bonuses to their Fearsome Rep, and Hooks and Chains has a reasonable chance of paying your Upkeep as long as you can get your killers into melee.

Tiny

A Large (potentially Huge) wall of beef that can take Spear Fishers but can't hit with them. Trade the morale manipulation and movement control of a Psycho for a bonus wound and gaffing off otehr people's movement attempts. Unfortunately they're easier to hit at range, and require a babysitter or they start to blow Activation tests. Fortunately the detriment is cancelled out Motivator, not just being near freinds. Tiny pairs well with a DJ or Maw, especially if you keep a couple Critters close by to keep him company..

• Skills: Same as the Psycho - you have the makings of another juggernaught. It's very, very hard to keep a Tiny from going somewhere he wants to hang out without breaking out the anti-tank weaponry. Their high Strength, potential Frenzy, plus Arm Cannon means you can bung a grenade over a foot across the table, even with a Ranged Skill of only 3. Flurry of Blows (or growing another arm...) is also a very solid choice.
• Equipment: A couple one-handed CC weapons, preferably cheap, and a bundle of Bloody Head, Filth, Frag, or EMP Grenades. Or a Li'L Pyro if you can afford the Relic slot, it's quite a nasty surprise on the way in. Again, Hooks and Chains - Tiny may be more likely to eat bullets, but if he gets into range it's a pretty good chance someone's going down.

Foundling

Just a standard Mutant rank-and-filer, but starts with a Physical Mutation slot. Only marginally cheaper than mutating another, better model on level-up or getting a Mutated freelancer. Basically you should only take one if you really, really want to use a specific model right now.

The Gimp

Bonus from Wasteland Companion. Gimps are extremely tough. They have to take a random Detriment and are otherwise a fairly basic trooper model.

Freelancers

As of The Wasteland Companion, all mutants can convert [Human Freelancers] into Mutants for free. You then have the option to buy them a Hidden Mutation for 10 BS. Even better, you roll with Advantage on the mutation tables in Wasteland Companion, giving you a ~20% shot at lethal options like Regeneration and Chameleonic on ranged fighters and Medics. Since pretty much every thing on both lists is good on a melee fighter you can go ape on a close-combat model.

Recommended Freelancers

• The Wasteland DJ is a good choice after 2-3 games, so save up. He lets you tweak EXP gain on Degens and Youngins, letting you pick the ones with useful mutations and promote them more-quickly. He also gives you a second, boosted Motivator bubble without wasting elite slots on First-born.
• Sawbones - Because duh. Buy a Hidden Defensive Mutation if you can afford it.
• Mercenary Gunsmith - Gives you a tougher Heavy option than Gramps and frees up Specialist slots. The only question is whether +1 STR/MET/DEF and an extra Skill is worth 37 BS to you spoilers: it is if you want an LMG compared to possibly earning Gramps an Elite slot and a couple extra wounds down the road. Again, buy him as a Mutant even if you don't have the cash for a Mutation yet.
• A Merchant can help pay the keep for another Freelancer, and buy cheap wargear for graduating Youngin's/Degens

Discommended Freelancers

• A Bounty Hunter will interfere directly with your Hooks and Chains wargear (see below)
• Wandering Mutant - You have three other, cheaper models that all do the same schtick better. Plus you can't buy him bonus mutations like other freelancers.
• Rogue Psychic - Not a bad choice, just wastes cash you could spend on Gran-Gran and her pet Daemonhost.

Wargear

Cannibals get some useful unique wargear, but also benefit from the items in Wasteland Companion and Absolutely Dangerous - particularly Smoke and Scare Gas Grenades. Note that the Wasteland Companion altered the rules for Flare Launchers.