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So I just finished my White Scar army, and want to do an Eldar list now. I don't want Samm Hienn (or however you spell it) since they seem like the army I just did. What I am interested in, but not limited to are :
Close combat oriented units
Wraith anything
Transports
Armies that don't spend the game sitting in their deployment zone
Banshees
I know next to nothing about Eldar composition and the different kinds of Eldar (types?) I just want a fun to build/play army. Any and all suggestions are appreciated.

Follow me brother into the land of the Harlequins!
Fluff wise they are pretty cool, and they can be nasty in CC, if you are getting into Eldar, I recommend using them if nothing else because they just look so cool.

I was thinking 'quins or Howling banshees. Something along those lines

Biel-Tan - Swordwind can be a lot of fun. One box of each aspect thereabouts (plus more Avengers) is a lot of fun. Most of my stuff is 12-18" range, so while it's not a lot of melee, it's a lot of close quarters mobility.

Iyanden is where you're looking for Wraith armies, but I can't comment on them much. Not a lot of long range firepower there, but not a lot of variability either.

Go with Iyanden.
-Wraithblades, wraithlords and wraithknights for CC.
-Short range of Wraithguard means you have to advance to get the most from your guns.
- 5 man wraith units and spiritseer fit nicely in a wave serpent.
-Spiritseer Council allowing multiple spiritseers in 1 hq slot frees your other slot for Jain Zar.
-wraith units being troops leaves all your elite slots open for banshees.
-As all craftworlds are composed of eldar of pretty much every path, any unit you choose will still be a fluffy addition.

Hello. I just started down this same path (battleforce, farseer, 2 boxes of warp spiders) and am currently making the same decision.

I'm looking at either Biel-Tan or Iyaden.


As for tactics (that I've gathered):

Eldar have one of (if not the) best transports in the game the wave serpent.

Banshees look cool but aren't super good, better alternative is striking scorpions.

Eldar are very mobile and use that with their strong but short ranged fire power to get things done instead of sitting back and shooting. (most of them have tissue paper armour).

Warp spiders are awesome both tactically with their 3+ save and their insane movement and guns and with their models that made me play Eldar as a second army even though they don't ally with my 'crons.


Edit: as for painting I've watched Les from awesome paint job's tutorials for some of the different kinds of paint schemes countless times. They are just great!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1hLE4LXgLU&list=PL4eI2nyTHNCLMAxvyv9tJHyZ1gA1-pqYF

 TheNewPenguin wrote:
I was thinking 'quins or Howling banshees. Something along those lines

Just want you to know, both options are not competitive.
And both are 2 of the worst units in the codex.

But dont let that stop you from using them

 ninjafiredragon wrote:

 TheNewPenguin wrote:
I was thinking 'quins or Howling banshees. Something along those lines

Just want you to know, both options are not competitive.
And both are 2 of the worst units in the codex.

But dont let that stop you from using them

Well with that kind of endorsement, how can I go wrong? Lol


Automatically Appended Next Post:
I think Ilyanden is the way I'll probably go. I love the Wraith models Wave Serpents

Wraiths in Wave Serpents is definitely a viable build; Banshees and Harlequins aren't playable in standard games but if you're planning on playing on a dense board with very tight sight lines and a lot of difficult terrain they can work.

If you're looking for armies that ignore their deployment zone entirely Eldar are a fantastic way to go; Wave Serpents literally spend the top of turn one hiding and then are off like a shot if you don't get first turn, but you can load them with a lot of different units for a working list (Dire Avengers are my personal favorite but I've been running a Mechdar Swordwind since 4e so I may be biased). The best units to load into transports are usually actually the short-ranged shooting units (Wraithguard, Dire Avengers, Guardians, Fire Dragons) since you don't get stuck sitting around getting shot at for a turn before you can do anything like you would with Banshees, Wraithblades sort of mitigate the problem with high Toughness and 3+/4++ saves assuming the axe/shield loadout, they're probably your best bet for a core CC unit this edition. A Ghostglaive Wraithknight as a centerpeice model would fit in with all concepts fairly well, it's faster than a Wraithlord, very tough, and hits like a ton of bricks in CC, though it's not underpriced enough to warrant three-Wraithknight lists in quite the same manner Riptides are.

Farseers are very handy for cc units, but they aren't really cc models themselves. Having one on a jetbike hanging back might work, or take the relic that gives a great save.
They have wraithswords and singing spears, which are fleshbane, and armourbane on the spear. But the AP isn't great.
Warlocks in the Seer Council can make a great cc unit.
Spiritseers can work as an escort HQ, with Warlock powers.

Look at the Phoenix Lords for squad support. Some of them are excellent in cc, but cost a lot and some have huge down-sides.

The Striking Scorpions can sneak around and take armies from behind. The exarch's claw is a S6 power fist that hits at I, and can be boosted to S7 with an exarch power.
Banshees get torn apart on the way in, and are only S3/T3. Power swords are nice, and against SV3. But, if you've got a clear run at the target, they can have a go at shooting you down before closing in. Invisibility might help there.

If you're looking for Wave Serpents, Wraithguard should fill your needs. Pop a Spiritseer in with them, and a 5+1 squad per Serpent should do quite well. Back them up with a Wraithknight or a pair-3 of Wraithlords.

I have a growing eldar army and I can toss out a few tidbits for you.

Wraith stuff:
Pros - high toughness the rest of the army lacks, Few models to paint, D-scythes are so gross, with the right seer choice they are troops.
Cons- High points cost meaning less models, volume of fire will wither the unit quick, bulky so you can fit less in a transport. Need a specific HQ to unlock them as troops and give them battle focus.


Banshees:
I have played them 2 times and gave up on them. The problem is they are an assault unit without an assault transport. On top of this they are weak, power swords are great but at str 3 you are wounding basic marines on a 5+

Warp Spiders
Pros - so many. insane movement, if an opponent hasn't played against them he will underestimate them. the special rule on the weapon pushing it to str 7 will make a lot of vehicles cry. They are so hard to pin down because they also get a thrust move in assault. In one book mission they become scoring, but for the most part they are a great harassment unit to pick apart blobs of troops then scoot away.
Cons - getting sucked into the warp on doubles can hurt if you are rolling bad, run them with no upgrades.

Transports (wave serpents)
Pros - everyone can have them and as a light tank its pretty solid. the shield is creamy icing on this double decker cake.
Cons - spendy on the point side, and only ONE hatch (rear).

So you could run wraithguard in wave serpents as your first wave to push into the enemy ( Wave serpent is a fast skimmer so you can be across the table turn 1). cheap troops back field. some warp spiders deep strike in to cause instant mayhem. the only issue is this list needs something for heavy AV, like war walkers or anti air. if you have a second farseer, on a jetbike make sure he can Divination up a warp spider squad. 20 str 7 shots from a 10 man squad, twin linked at the rear of a flyer is a work around.