Bad TheoryHammer:  Brood Coven

(Image Credit:  Games Workshop)

This is a thing very near and dear to my cold, Twisted Helix heart, so why not start off with the faction I play?  It makes sense to me!

So, here's the thing about the Brood Coven to begin with.  They are squishy squiddly boys.  They can dish out a lot of pain, but by the Four-Armed Emperor, they can't take much back in return.  You have to be smart to turn your little cruise missile dudes into an effective Kill Team.

I am going to talk about building a Roster for Kill Team, because those are the rules.  I will get into detail about everything I can, but I'm just a guy, you know?  Your opinion is your own.

So, break your chains, kick off the shackles of tyranny, and take up arms to be allowed to worship the true Emperor!  After all, he has four arms so he can hug twice as much!

Operatives

Acolytes

(Image Credit:  Games Workshop)

For purposes of Kill Team, Acolytes are your go-to melee monsters.  I will post a chart in another thread that was done by the amazing /u/redditgaunt showing that even the basic Acolyte performs more or less as well as a Metamorph in close combat, but the Leader and Fighters are just amazing.  I would personally suggest using the Rock Drill and Rock Cutter and fishing for 7-damage crits because, well, there's a lot of 7-wound Operatives out there.

If you want to take a bunch of hand flamers, Metamorphs are better in general.  Basically, you take these guys to do massive melee damage and to hopefully one-shot things as much as you can.

Metamorphs

(Image Credit:  Games Workshop)

Metamorphs aren't really my jam.  I've disliked them as soon as they came out--bunch of Johnny-Come-Lately more Tyranid junk.  Then I realized they were really good.  Then the math came out and guess what?  They aren't that good.  That isn't saying they aren't good.  The big thing they bring to the Team comes in the form of fire.  Those little pistols give three of them (assuming one is a Leader) a 12" threat range, which is really nice.  Plus, they all hit darned hard.  Not a bad idea to take them, but I prefer Acolytes.

Neophytes

(Image Credit:  Games Workshop)

On a first look, Neophytes seem like purely worse Guardsmen (is there such a thing?).  To an extent, that is correct.  Neophytes do not have access to Melta or Plasma weapons.  They have no way to get around the Heavy part of their heavy weapons (or do they?).  They seem mostly like filler.

I'm going to tell you to look again.  Neophytes are kind of the lifeblood of the Cult.  Not only do they provide a bunch of GA2 bodies to take objectives and stuff, but a lot of the ploys turn them from somewhat useless models into murderblenders (but that is later).  In fact, a single Neophyte can often turn the entire course of the game Turning Point (blech) 1!

Archetypes

I'm going to be honest with you here.  Part of the reason to always take Neophytes is that you get Security, which is by far the easiest to score.  Seek and Destroy doesn't work well with how fragile our stuff is, and I don't rate Recon or Infiltration too highly.  Too much cost.

Take Neophytes.  Go Security.

Equipment

Okay, serious time.  Equipment is going to vary a LOT based on what you take and what you're up against.  I'm going to highlight a few nice options.

If you're talking Acolyte Fighters (and you should!), you're taking Mining Rigs.  Relentless on your gear is just too darned good.

Based on what I'm going to say shortly, a Bipod on a Heavy Gunner is also a good idea.

I know Structural Surveyor is good, but generally speaking, after taking two Mining Tool Rigs and a Bipod, I don't have points left, so I take a grenade.  But be free to mix stuff u.

Ploys

Oh boy, now things get fun.  The Hive Cult's ploys are really freaking strong and rely on two big things:  getting the first hit and not being hit back.

I could write a treatise on Cult Ambush, but I'll make it simple.  It means you can start all your Operatives Concealed and then switch them over to Engaged if your opponent does something dumb like exposing an Operative.  Combined with...

...Underground and you have a Neophyte Heavy Gunner ready to absolutely blend at least one model.  If your opponent is being a cheeki breeki and clustering around terrain, getting up on an "underground" Vantage Point and opening up with a Seismic Cannon can win you the game in a single activation.

Another note about Underground:  nothing says you have to deploy in cover.  If you can figure out what your opponent is going to take for Initiative TP 1, you can have a distraction Carnifex (well, its a lot smaller) that is going to charge in and murder something right away.  I would suggest either a base Acolyte or Metamorph for this strategy, as it is high risk, high reward.

Sample Rosters

My Personal Roster

Acolyte Leader (Lash Whip and Bonesword)

Acolyte Fighter (Rock Cutter)

Acolyte Fighter (Rock Drill),

3x Acolyte Warrior

Neophyte Leader (Bolt Pistol, Power Pick)

Neophyte Icon Bearer (Shotgun)

Neophyte Heavy Gunner (Mining Laser)

Neophyte Heavy Gunner (Seismic Cannon)

Neophyte Gunner (Grenade Launcher)

Neophyte Gunner (Flamer)

Neophyte Gunner (Webber)

7x Neophyte Gunner (Autogun)

This gives me the ability to use 14 Neophytes for a GunCult or have 12 Operatives with 5 being rather strong fighters.  Or I can let the Acolyte Leader out and get another slightly okay melee guy.

Balls to the Wall

Acolyte Leader (Lash Whip and Bonesword)

Acolyte Fighter (Rock Cutter)

Acolyte Fighter (Rock Drill)

3x Acolyte Warrior

Metamorph Leader (Hand Flamer)

2x Metamorph Gunners (Hand Flamer)

3x Metamorph Warriors

1x Neophyte Icon Bearer (Shotgun)

1x Neophyte Gunner (Flamer)

1x Neophyte Gunner (Grenade Launcher)

1x Neophyte Heavy Gunner (Mining Laser)

1x Neophyte Heavy Gunner (Seismic Cannon)

3x Neophyte Warriors (Shotgun)

This is more of a rush forward and make everything hurt Roster.  You can go pretty much all-melee or have melee and a bit of close-ranged shooting.

But, you know, that's all just, like my opinion, man.