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Hi everyone. I just joined the 'hobby' 3 weeks ago with a 2nd hand Eldar Army, and I would like to make them a little more 'competitive' despite I'm playing against friends, so no Tournament incoming.

As I said, It was a 2nd hand Army which came with:
-Autarch
-5 Fire Dragons+Exarc
-24 Guardians
-2 Warlocks
-2 Grav Platform
-1 Wraithlord
-14 Harlequin
-3 Dark Reapers
-2 Howling banshees (Unpainted, still in blister)

Recently found a bargain on ebay, so I bought and currently I'm waiting to receive:
-1 Vyper
-5 Rangers
-1 Heavy Weapon Support
-4 Fire Dragons (came with the pack )
-1 Eldrad
-5 Dark Reapers

And now the Army List I've been playing so far:

1 x Autarch (HQ) - Power Weapon,Mandiblasters
4 x Fire Dragons (Elites)
1 x Exarch - Firepike; Tank Hunter
4 x Harlequin Troupe (Elites) - Harlequin's Kiss (x4)
1 x Troupe Master
Harlequin Troupe (clone last)
10 x Guardian Defender Squad (Troops)
1 x Grav Platform - Starcannon (x1)
1 x Warlock - Conceal
Guardian squad (clone last)
1 Wraithlord (Heavy Support) - Flamer (x2); Bright Lance (x1); Wraithsword
----------------------------------------------
I've been playing against SM, Chaos and Inquisition (2 vs 2 combats with partner rotation), and the results were... well, not very funny for my army. So questions are about which units should I add to army, and which ones are to be removed, also having in mind that probably we're going to play 1500 pts. games in a month or so.

What I've seen in the two games I played so far is:
-1 Squad of Guardians are 'somewhat' protected because i use them to support the Wraithlord with the Warlock, but the other one is 'carnage' because of his limited range of fire and cannot stand at CC, so I'm thinking on using them as Storm Guardians with a couple of flamers or fusion guns
-Wraithlord performs very well with flamers and it's sword... until the Guardians fall, so I'm thinking Spiritseer on Warlock is a must because I can be more away from the danger.
-Maybe I can add Eldrad to the army and use him as HQ with the Wraithlord support to evade this problem.
-Fire Dragons are nice with his Exarc with Firepike and Tank Hunters... if vehicles come close enough, because very often they die before I can place them near one. Because of this I'm thinking on a Serpent or a Falcon to take them to that Whirlwind or whatever Heavy tank wich is giving me so much headache, so they can be of more use. If not, I would remove them and add more heavy weapons on Wraithlord and Guardians to deal with Tanks
-Dark Reapers are ok also, but only 3 of them, and one lucky area shot can take them out quickly. I guess I've to add at least the Exarc and one or two more Reapers to make them a little more 'fearsome'.
-Harlequins aren't not so great because of my bad luck using Fleet on Foot when I'm about to charge (last game, I drew triple 1 twice with them :S ). Anyway if I can keep them safe until the enemy approaches, they excels at CC. I don't see the point in buying them a Vehicle.

And that's my opinion of my army. About new units, I like the Shining Spears hit'n'run style, but I've read that they are too weak, so I'm not very sure about it. Also maybe another Wraithlord will be useful. How about Phoenix Lords for HQ?, they look impressive at their stats and would add more 'punching' to my army than the Autarch. And finally, I thought too about 'discarding' most of the army and build a new one arround the concept of high mobility, with Shining Spears, Swooping Hawks, Vypers, War Walkers and Falcons (in at least 1500 pts. games, of course) What's your opinion about it?.

I'm very sorry if there are too many questions, but I've been reading a lot, and I found a lot of 'self-claimed' experienced Eldar owners whom contradicts each other, so I don't know what to do. Thank you very much for your advices.

P.S.- Also sorry about my english... still improving it

Eldar are a tough army to start with. They are few in number and die quickly which isn't a great mix. However they are the most mobile army in the game and have the most survivable transports.

To get the best out of the eldar you need to play to their strengths. That is mobility, footsloggers don't have mobility wave Serpents have mobility. Wave Serpents with star engines have even more.

Almost everything in your army should be riding in a Wave Serpent or a Falcon (well all you infantry should be). Farseers are ace and can seriously buff you army. A unit of Farseer and Warlocks can also pack a serious punch in CC but this usually works best when all on Jetbikes (which would require some modelling from you).

So my advice is to get Wave Serpents, drop all guardinas that aren't on jet bikes and make sure that all your inantry are either in a Wave Serpent or a Falcon.

Then when you play use you mobility to mass your army on isolated pockets of your opponents army. Then turn 5 tank shock all the objectives, then if the game ends you win if not you go round tank shocking again in turn 6 for the same results (the tank shock merry go round).

On the transports put your Dragons into a Wave Serpent geared for infantry killing if you put them in a Falcon they will be too much of a target and if that goes all your anti-tank is in one place to be taken out. have a Falcon elsewhere with a unit of Dire avengers (or storm guardains, but avengers work much better) and a Farseer with guide and it can target other tanks from a far. Remember if you have a unit of troops inside a tank it can claim objectives

We're not playing objectives but anihilation... maybe the problem is there because I cannot take advantage of Eldar high mobility (despite a need a Serpent urgently )

Two wave serpents would be good. You might want to think about Dire Avengers in the future as they better BS and range then guardians. If you find ten Banshees cheaply that would be good for close assault. Reaper can do well against troops with two heavy and AP3 weapons as long they don't get assaulted or hit by heavy weapons too much.

Tomorrow I'll be playing again, this time alongside with Sisters of Battle vs. Chaos and SM (Yes, I know, not much respect for background ). I'm almost sure I'll have to face a Defiler, Belial and 2 Rhinos. SM will have a Land Rider, a Whirlwind and Terminators almost for sure. Should I bring Bright Lances or switch to EML or ScatterLaser?. And what about to put some units (Fire Dragons for instance) in reserve in order to benefit from Autarch +1 and throw them when they charge me with the vehicles?. And the Wraithlord loadout? Anti-infantry or Anti-vehicles?. Thank you very much in advance.

Finally I'll go this afternoon with:
1 Autarch w/Mandi/Fire Pike/Energy Weapon - 100 pts.
4 Fire Dragons w/Exarc w/Fire Pike, Tank Hunter,Shooter - 120 pts.
6 Harlequins w/Fusion Pistolx2,Harlequin's Kiss x6 - 242 pts.
1 Harlequin Troupe Master w/Energy Weapon
1 Harlequin Shadowseer w/Harlequin's Kiss
8 Guardian Defenders w/ Warlock (Spirit Guardian, Warlock Spear and Conceal) w/ Grav Plattform (EML) - 149 pts.
8 Guardian Defenders w/ Warlock (Spirit Guardian, Warlock Spear and Conceal) w/ Grav Plattform (Multi Laser) - 144 pts.
3 Dark Reapers - 105 pts.
1 WraithLord w/2xFlamers, BL, Sword - 140 Pts

Total Army Cost: 1000

Sorry about my 'english' translations, but i don't have the english codex. Plan is to split my army in two parts, one of Guardians + Wraithlord targeting whatever it comes and another one with the Harlequins covering the advance of the Autarch + Fire Dragons which are commited to destroy the almost sure to appear Land Rider (or Defiler if it's closer). I think both 'squad's have the ability to deal either Tanks or Infantry. What do you think about it?. Thank you again.

Well, you don't need a Harlequin Troupe Master or an FD Exarch. A DR Exarch would be worth while.

I think the list is illegal as GD units need to be at least 10 men strong.
Deploy them in cover and give the Warlocks embolden.

Foot slogging FD's are not useful at all. I'd drop them for another Wraith Lord if you have an additional one.

Fire Dragon exarch is a waste of points, you will want an Avatar if your running foot guardians, always always always take the Reaper Exarch with either fast shot + EML or Crack Shot + Tempest Launcher.

If your gun basing your wraithlord then go BL + EML.

How did you get on in the match? How did the harlequins do?

About the Guardians, It's a legal army but as I added the Grav Plattform, Army Builder put 2 Guardians there (which i forgot to type here), leaving the 'main squad' with only 8. We'll play in a few hours, but the good news are my spies accessed to one of my enemy's army list :
(Again, i'm not sure about english translation of some units or powers)
Sponge Bob Army

1x Belial 130 pts.
9x Space Marines w/ 1xPlasma Cannon, 1xPlasma Rifle, 1xVeteran Sargent 195 pts.
5x DeathWing Terminators w/3xCombat Fists,1xChainsaw Fist,1xAssault cannon, 1xVeteran Sargent 250 pts.
1x Land Rider w/Additional Shields 265 pts.
1x Dreadnought w/Veteran, Additional Shields, 1xPlasma Cannon, HtoH Weapon 160 pts.

My buddy claims that with Belial, Terminators are considered Line Troops, so it's a legal list. As I see it, I think it benefits me because of my lack of mobility I don't have to run from one target to another, as probably they will be closer each other. On the other hand, still missing Sisters of Battle (my Allie) and Chaos (SM Allie) army list, but Defiler and Abbaddon probably will be present (also some Auspex from Sisters just in case of Infiltrators).

Well, a DW army is hard to stop with your list.
The FD's could take down the Landraider, but they would need a transport.

Phew!!! My hearth still beating fast... I just arrived from the battle, where only death and smoke remains. I'm sorry but camera battery charger wasn't plugged (my fault) so no photos or battle report :( . Anyway just try to imagine in your mind the two main things that changed the battle.
First one: We start, I move everything forward Guardians relying with their 5+ cover save, Harlequins from Veil of Tears and the rest in cover. Shooting Phase, I shoot a single shot with the Bright Lance mounted on the Wraithlord against the impressive Land Raider... 5 to Hit, 5 Again to damage and 6 in damage list. So 250 pts worth unit blown up at the very beggining of the battle (Also killed 1 terminator which was inside).
Second one: I used both guardian squads to draw fire, again relying with the cover saves and the numbers. In turn 3 I already had 2 squads running away (failed leadership throws). Terminators and Dreadnought (later) assaulted one of the running squads and the Wraithlord which was so near that it ended as a 4 units HtH combat. Wraithlord dies against Termies, and all Guardian Squad dies excepting the Warlock, which got annoyed and decided to stay. Next turn, I charge with Harlequins killing all Terminators Squad (with Belial attached to them) and the Warlock kills the Dreadnought O_o ... Very very impressive for a unit that was running away
About the battle on the other side, Fire Dragons killed a Defiler and a Rhino before a Chaos Terminator squad finally came from reserves and slaughtered them shooting from the back (lucky I deattached Autarch from them in the turn before ). At the end they engaged HtoH combat with my Autarch and a Allie general (cannot remember the name, sorry :( ), allowing the Harlequins to make a run and charge them, finishing the job.
So, in conclusion, Harlequins performed awesomely with Shadowseer power (disuaded twice from being shooted) and killing almost two squads of Terminators, FD despite their lack of transport also did their job for their points cost, and even the Wraithlord with that lucky shot earned it's points ^_^ . Dark Reapers were ok killing 3 SM (being only three of them without exarc I didn't expected much more). And guardians... well, I'm about to build a Shrine to that Warlock and I'm about to promote him to Farseer

P.S.- We had one trouble with rules. I had Harlequins engaged with a Chaos SM unit, near the Terminators and Dreadnought, so at the end of my ENEMY Assault Phase I disengaged applying the Hit'n'run rule. We argued about if I can only apply that rule in my Assault Phase, but the 5th Ed. rules only says about Assault Phase, without determining wich one. Was that rule applied correctly or I missunderstood it?. Thank you

Yes you can disengage in your enemies assault phase in fact that is basically the only time you use hit and run. So you can then either charge back in or charge a different unit. No [point using it in your turn as the enemy will just re-charge you and you're worse off than if you just stayed in combat...