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I'm going to a tournament that has some unusual composition restrictions - if you take more than 1 HQ, or more than 2 Elite, 2 Fast Attack, or 2 Heavy Support, you lose Composition points. Secondly, if you take duplicate HQ, Elite, Fast Attack, or Heavy Support choices you also lose composition points. Vehicles with the same armour value count for duplicates, so, for example, a Vindicator and a Predator would count as duplicates. Taking more than 4 Troops hits your composition too. So here's my proposed Eldar army that meets these composition restrictions:

HQ

Eldrad

Elites

6 Fire Dragons, Exarch w/ Flamer - go in Wave Serpent with TL Suriken Cannon, Shuriken Cannon, all the vehicle upgrades

6 Clowns w/ Kisses, Troupe Master w/ Power Weapon (goes in Falcon)

Troops

10 Pathfinders

3 Bikes, Warlock w/ Spear and Destructor

3 Bikes, Warlock w/ Spear and Destructor

Heavy Support

Wraithlord w/ Bright Lance and Eldar Missile Launcher

Falcon, Scatter Laser, Shuriken Cannon, all the vehicle upgrades.

~1500pts

The army is REALLY small, which worries me. But most of it is tough and/or hides easily. The other thing that concerns me are Horde armies, especially Orks. I'm hoping the 3 Heavy Flamers and 2 Eldritch Storms can kill a bunch before an assault hits, then Wraithlord and Clowns counter charge. Critique, please!

Zoned

The list looks fine under the given contraints.
If you expect horde armies, Eldrad is in danger as he is very slow.
How about a Doomseer on a jetbike with a spear and a 2nd power?
What means 'all the vehicle upgrades'?
Serpent should have stones and ve, Falcon additionally holofield.

Wow, pretty draconian rules. I think the army is good for the circumstances. A few things, though:

10 Pathfinders? Why would you need so many? 6 is sufficient.

Do the bikes have a shuricannon in each squad? If not, why not?

The Harlie troupe leader is not worth it (maybe he will be in 5th, with rending nerfed). He is not that much better than a normal Harlie against MEqs, he makes the squad worse against most MCs, and you'll hardly ever need his Ld.--Harlies should not lose combat, and Harlies that are getting shot at are dead Harlies. I would keep him as a normal Harlie. Also, no Shadow Seer? What if the enemy is in cover? You'll be SOL. It's an expensive upgrade, but you can't afford not to take it IMO.

To Wuestenfux:

Eldrad's speed does worry me a little. Hopefully with Fortune he can withstand an assault to have his friends counter charge.

All the vehicle upgrades literally means all the upgrades available - including Star Engines. On a 6'x4' table I can't count how many times shooting 36" across the board has made all the difference in getting to the right spot.

To T-C: I've used 10 Pathfinders before to good success. With a re-rollable 2+ or 3+ cover save it's more points I deny my opponent, as well. I worry that 6 won't inflict the casualties that 10 can. I know that statistically it's only about 1 more AP 1 hit, but my past experiences have biased me.

I'm a few points under but I still can't find room for the Shuriken Cannons on the Bikes.

I'm really torn on the Troupe Leader or the Seer. I like the Troupe Leader because he's a little more reliable than his friends. In case I wuff and don't Rend, I like having a few Power Weapon attacks to fall back on. I like the Seer in case I play a mission with Escalation and something fast or indirect firing comes on board before my Falcon does.

If my opponent hides in cover, I suppose I can choose not to assault. He can't hide everything in cover.

The feedback so far has been good so I guess the best thing to do is just playtest and see how this list does - and see if any of the suggestions would have been better choices. Thanks for the advice!

Zoned

I've used 10 Pathfinders before to good success. With a re-rollable 2+ or 3+ cover save it's more points I deny my opponent, as well. I worry that 6 won't inflict the casualties that 10 can. I know that statistically it's only about 1 more AP 1 hit, but my past experiences have biased me.

I'm a few points under but I still can't find room for the Shuriken Cannons on the Bikes.

Fair enough, I guess, but between 1-2 Pathfinders and shuricannons for the bikes, my choice would be clear. 8-9 Pathfinders is still plenty, surely!

I'm really torn on the Troupe Leader or the Seer. I like the Troupe Leader because he's a little more reliable than his friends. In case I wuff and don't Rend, I like having a few Power Weapon attacks to fall back on.

How is Rending unreliable? It may feel more reassuring to hit on an "easier" roll and then roll again to wound, but it's really no different. The Trouper Leader does do better against MEqs than a normal Harlie, but not good enough for the cost. And like I said, he's actually worse against certain things, like high T targets or vehicles (and yeah, I know no one plans to charge these with Harlies, but sometimes you have to).

If my opponent hides in cover, I suppose I can choose not to assault. He can't hide everything in cover.

Maybe not, but when a Dev squad is what you really need to take down, but it's in cover, the fact that there's a 5-man las/plas sitting in the open that you can afford to assault is hardly going to help you. Harlies aren't exactly cheap; you need to deliver them where they'll hurt, not just fling them at any unit. If an opponent can make a Harlie assault on a key unit unfeasible just by putting them in bushes or whatever, a lot of the Harlies' utility is lost.

Anyway, good luck with the army. Let us know how the playtesting goes!

You know what T-C, with further though, the Seer is a much better choice. Not only can he let me assault into cover fearlessly, if I wipe out my opponent in one round, the VoT can save me from retaliatory fire.

An yeah, you're right. 1 Pathfinder is definitely worth the 2 Shuriken Cannons. Thank you very much for the comments. I'll report back in a day or two with my results!

Zoned