Topic: 'elp me, please...

[WraithExarch]

I am  quite the n00b at WH40k, I only have a few models (which are):
Avatar
Warp Spider Exarch
16x Guardians
Wraithlord

I got these for christmas, with the exception of the exarch and Avatar.
I would like to know what kind of army list I would need to compete at a normal level. I wouldn't mind a cheap and overpowered army, 'long as it looks cool and performs well

[Devern, The Unsung Hero]

not much to go on....umm som emore guardians never hurt.  Looks like you could go biel tann...but be prepared to dish out tons of cash.  Wave serpents are a great addition but cost alot.  umm buy the battle force, get a farseer and some scorpions, not banshees because they are too fast for the Avatar.  Vypers are nice...but get the codex above all.

[Vice]

i would recomend buying maybe 1 farseer, 2 warlocks, and 5 blisters of Striking Scorpians and an SS Exarch.

Then after all that is painted buy 5 blisters of Banshees and an exarch.

when thats done consider buyin a Falcon Grav tank to convert into a Wave Serpent,

That should get you a good start.

Consider buying maybe some Dark Reapers and possibly Some warp Spiders if you plan on playing cityfight games often

good luck!

[WraithExarch]

O yah... I have the Codex, got that for christmas too. thanks for th help

[WraithExarch]

I was reading a bit more about the eldar, and I would like to know which harlequin is the best for close combat (or best in general) so I could put it on my elites list. Personally, I just dont see how a striking scorpion or a banshee could go up against the tougher units that chaos and space marines has. If someone could give me a pointer on this, It would be helpful.
 

[klardom]

well, I think the hardest harlie would be the solitare, but remember the harlies are experimental rules, and arn't official.  This means you won't be useing them at tournies, and you can only use them if your opponent is ok with it.

and as for the eldar CC specialists going up against the seemingly more powerfull units, remember the following...power swords...and massed attacks.  Banshees kill as soon as they wound, and should always have initiative.  Scorps will also almost always have initiative, and have 4 strength 4 attacks on the charge.  A whole unit of that will inflict alot of damage.  See the tactics section of the site for more details on how to use these guys.

If you plan on using the vanilla eldar list, then I'd reccomend getting a farseer, warlock, and weapons platform for your guardians straight off.  You still need another troops choice, so either get another platform and split your guardian squad, get some dire avengers, or rangers.  I think at this point more guardians with another platform would probably be your best bet.

After that, it's really your call.  Definitly get either scorpions or banshees, it's really your call as to which you want (there are about 50 thread floating about debating which is better) and a falcon turned wave serpent would be great for transporting them.

Good luck!

[WraithExarch]

could I make a pure harlie army that's legal (for tournies)? I am getting drawn more and more to them. They have high point value (less models to buy) and they look pretty powerful! Especially the solitaire and the death jester. I might save up some moneyt to make 2 armies, a harlie one and a normal eldar one. Thanks for the help!

[Wave_Rider]

harlies do have their rules in one of the citadel journals so doesnt that make them legal now?>

[klardom]

The harlies, as I said, are still experimental.  I doubt most tournies would let you use them.  It's still cool that you want to use them though, but I would reccomend getting a regular eldar armie first if you plan on competing regularly.

And the harlies do look pretty powerfully, but they kinda got smacked by the new assult rules.  There's a thread or two in the Harlie/Exodite forum on that.

[Ryan]

If you are trying to build a good eldar army that isn't very expensive, just keep picking up those boxes of Guardians.  Even as a novice, you'll do very well with big squads of guardians.  With a resilient army based around guardians, you can even make a couple mistakes and still win.  With a small army of Aspect Warriors, you really have to know your game, a missed charge will end it for you.  I play both Vanilla and Biel-Tan, and I'd recommed starting Vanilla and then lean towards whatever craftworld you like.  All the craft worlds are expensive, because of the high number of metal figures needed.  Ulthwe is most affordable of them, Iyanden is the most pricey.  Anyway, get yourself a modeling saw and some glue and you can have lots of fun building your Guardian squads.  Just be patient and have fun with it, pose the weapons and figures however you want, plastic is great to work with.  After you have 40+ guardians with heavy weapons platforms (recommend starcannon and scatter laser mix) you'll have a powerful force.  Buy a Warlock for each Squad, and pickup a Farseer too.  With the Avatar in the lead squad (concealed and fortuned of course!) and the WL working a flank, you'll have fun.

Anyway, here's my recommendation:

Buy 2 more boxes of guardians.
Buy 3 or 4 Warlocks (depends on how many squads to use)
Buy 3 or 4 Heavy Weapon Platforms
Buy a Farseer
Buy 9 Warp Spiders to build a full spider squad.

Always go with full squads!  The Eldar codex has many photos of little 5 or 6 man squads.  That never works well, except for reapers and falcon anti-tank squads.