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I have played codex marines for around a year now and some of the guys I play with are planning an expansion league where you would add points to your list as time goes on in the attempt to get a fully painted army. I like the idea of Eldar and was wondering what the first troop choice I should get is.

Well it really depends on what style of Eldar army you'r looking to build, but for a start with no idea what you want to end up with, I'd go with Jetbikes. There's very few builds where 1-2 min sized Jetbike squads isn't a good addition.

Use them as allies for your Marines. They'll work quite well, as the armies are very different, and it gives you time to build them up.

For an allied force, I would get JGB, as mentioned.
You will want 3-man squads, with or without a SCannon or Warlock. There is no official model for the warlock, so get converting.

Rangers are good, too. A small squad to hold the objective, and pop away with as high chance to get AP1 shots at special weapon troops and bosses.

For an HQ choice, you can hardly go wrong with a Farseer.
Your jetbikes will leave it behind unless you bet a bike for him too.
But, with Doom and a couple of upgrades, it can be a great unit to help out your Marines.
Leaving the Farseer with the Rangers will let you Guide them, and let them re-roll their shooting, and Fortune them if they're getting shot at.

An Autarch is a good HQ choice for a combat model, but it gets expensive.
You'll want a squad to put it with, and mine usuallly escorts my Fire Dragons into battle out of the back of a Wave Serpent.
There are 3 ways to make it fast, with wings, warp generator or jetbike. Keep it with a squad with the same.

 Skinnereal wrote:
Use them as allies for your Marines. They'll work quite well, as the armies are very different, and it gives you time to build them up..

+1 to this.

Using them as allies will also let you learn how to use them without getting curb stomped until you get up to speed.

+2

Using the bikes speed will really complement the marines.
By far the best HQ is a farseer. But all eldar players should have an avatar anyway

What I love about Eldar is that with a huge variety of specialist units you can tailor your army to any opponent. If you build a good collection of different units you can counter most armies.

Lots of people will say stuff like "never use guardians" but I disagree. They are cheap and can provide good bulk terrain holders. Put in the right places they can do well. Although cannon fodder, cheap troops is hardly Eldar fluffy that's what they are. With a warlock and a scatter laser platform they are sound troops. Rubbish in some kind of sweeping advance but good for sitting on objectives, especially withe some sound cover nearby.

Dire Avengers are solid troops but for my mind they lack flexibility. With no heavy weapons they are very one-dimensional.

Jetbikes are a good call but cost the earth in £/$!

Rangers have their uses and are good if you intend to sit and defend, they are another unit that is not great in attack.

If you want cc then both scorpions and banshees have thier uses, the former for soft infantry and the later for harder units.

Overall I say go for what you like the look of and makes a good combination. For me fire dragons are too short-ranged, they are one shot as they have to get so near they tend to kill something horribly then immediately get overrun in assault.

My collection now includes almost every available unit type,, the one thing I would say is that there are not many universally applicable Eldar units, most are specialists that need to be matched to opponents. Eldar are like chess you have your full range of pieces and you have to use them in a considered way together to get results by getting them to work together.

I would go with 2 ten man squads of guardians with scatter laser platforms. put them on cover or o objectives. That's a least a good place to start. In low points eldar can kick ass, because of numbers. I think my last 750 point game I had like 60 guardians on the table with a Farseer with guide.

Later on get some rangers(pathfinders) because in 6th they are pretty useful, their shots can be ap1 and they get a +2 to their cover save. On top of that they have pinning weapons. Not so great against most marines but it can keep some orks or IG out of the way.

Played a lot of Eldar recently , albeit, not comptetively.

Basics:

1. What type of marines are you running?
2. Rangers are excellent these days, they will never earn mega points (relatively small units, need the dice to be "lucky", vulnerable to certain units) but they are dam tough if well placed in cover and do "rotating go to ground" trick.
3. What points do you play?
4. A lot the replies below give you elite or non optimal troop choices (if hes troops guys he cant pick scorps etc. )
5. Go with the Eldar strenghts - have you played them before?
6. Whats your style of play?
7. What points level you at?
8. Farseer is popular but trust me, if the Avatar is well played, hes unreal in games (size dependant).

More info needed mate to help make a decison

Most of the games I play are in the 1000 to 1800 point range. The new army will be an expansion league where everyone will start a new army and build the force as we go. I play codex marines and mostly run 2 tacticals with Pedro and 2 6-8 man sternguard squads in rhinos. I also usually have a storm talon aegis defense line and at higher point ally in a lord comissar and vet squad with plasmas and a lascannon to camp on an objective surounded by the wall with the quadgun.

I have the models for most marine builds other than terminators as I have never had good luck with them.

Go with Rangers then behind the Aegis, placing it well - they will be hard/impossible to shift except VS pods or outflankers.

Take two of them and use the go to ground alternate trick whilst running your Sternguard to the opponents Objs.

I have found this amazing in my games of late and people will disagree but try it out in friendly games first:
I have had nothing but success:

1x shadow weaver support battery with a single farseer -with guide (no other upgrades) attached.

You get this:
1. hide the squad behind any piece of BLOS you like.
2. 3X shadow weavers = barrage
3. So no LoS needed.
4. Guide them with the Farseer
5. Scatter dice is already 33% to hit. Rereoll with guide
6. Str 6, wounding on 2s for virtually all units
7, AP- so what, most units get a save anyway, you will kill multiples because its a barrage 3 with the 3 unit.
8. They are hidden behind whatever you like with T7 and 3W.
9. Vehiclle killers - AP- Who cares in the 6th ed rules. Str6 is great.

I hope Im playing them right! They have taken out everyting
to date I've fired at. Remember: in a unit of 3 barrage applies so you can reroll guide VS each hit. And each template adds up (I think?)

Nope, you are not playing them right. They are considered multiple barrage, not barrage 3.

Well I think your doing it right, barrage 3 would be multiple barrage anyhow. So as long as your not rolling scatter distance for the 2nd and 3rd templates you'r probably doing it right. But if in doubt reread the rules on page 34.

(ps. assuming not placing 9 blasts from 3xbarrage 3 ofc. )

I looked at some of the stuff I had laying around and I have 2 jet bikes and 3 I believe they are rangers. The look like snipers and they are metal.