[brows]

i have noticed the eldar seem to have alot of their own special things they can do is there anything i should look out for?

[Restayvien]

That's a bit too vague...post a list and people will be able to help a bit more, or maybe ask about specific untis. Generally anything in an Eldar army can be really nasty against the right target, or useless against the wrong target.

[knightperson]

Well, there are some standard dirty tricks from the Eldar's bag that you should know how to counter. Here are my least favorite...

Skimmers with holo-field, particularly fire prisms: Don't waste lots of fire to kill them; you can't. A target-locked squad of deathrain suits is your best bet as it will give you pretty good odds to shake the crew of one or two of them each round, which is all you can really hope for. Even two full squads of broadsides are unlikely to take down an Eldar skimmer.

Harlequins with shadowseer: Deadly in assault, and almost impossible to target from range. Your best bet is to run a vehicle, likely a warfish, up close to them and unload. The only thing better than one vehicle killing them is two vehicles! While they have rending and lots of attacks, the front armor of a devilfish can still survive an attack by harlies, and flechette dischargers will then them even more.

Fortune: Pay attention to which unit or units gets Fortune each turn. Unless you can arrange it so they get no save at all (not sure if that's possible), you're not going to kill enough to make it worthwhile. Shoot something else.

The Avatar: Big, tough, and nasty. If he's not Fortuned it can be worth taking him on with railguns or plasma, but he's got several wounds and an impressive invulnerable save. Fusion blasters will also hurt him, but do you really want to be that close? With Fortune you might as well be shooting at the terrain next to him.

[cruton]

Sorry Knightperson but I have to disagree slightly. My brother plays eldar so I know a few of the evil tricks they play.

1. 2 harlequins out of a unit can carry melta pistols that, just like any other pistol, can be fired twice if they don't move. This could make it very easy for them to punch a big hole in any tank if it gets too close. Watch out for this. If the unit is carrying melta pistols I would suggest a full burst cannon stealth team. This can be very risky however, the 18 inch burst cannon range + the 6 inch jet pack movement does not give you much range. You should be able to rip through a squad pretty quick with all the str 5 shots but if any do survive then you will most likely be caught in close combat. If you can, try to draw the harlequins near a group of units and then attack them with the stealth team. If the stealth team fails then the other units may be able to offer support.

2. Aside from getting that close being a bad idea, as you stated before, the avatar is immune to fusion blasters. He gets some special rule that allows him invulnerably to all melta weapons. I once saw a foolish guard player rush into 12 inches of my brothers avatar with a squad of kasrkins all carrying melta guns, just to realize that they can't do anything.

farseer: He has all sorts of nasty little short range abilities that can scrap some of your beast models fast. You should either try to pick off the farseer from distance.(may be very tough to do with all the warlocks he may have around him) Not that bad of an idea to sub munition him a few times. Massed pulse fire works too. It really depends on the abilities he takes. Use large units and vehicles to counter mind war. Use long range to counter psychic storm.

wraith: wraith models can be tough, especially if the player starts taking them as troop choices. Wraithlords usually get knocked over after a volley or two from broadsides. Rail guns and Ion cannons are probably the only weapons worth using against these monsters. Their 8 toughness absorbs almost anything else. Fusion blasters will work but it's not a great idea to get too close to them. The wraith guard are another story. They are a lot like space marines with melta weapons. If you can stay away from them you should be fine. With all wraith units they will probably use some sort of psycher aid. If their not near a psycher they need to test for wraithsight, so try to kill any psychers near them. Doing so won't kill the big undead robots with huge guns but it may slow them down a little bit.

As for good strategies it's hard to say. It really depends on what the eldar player takes for an army since eldar are so flexible.

I would say don't take kroot unless you have lots of trees. I could never find a great use for kroot against eldar, they usually get wiped off the board by a single volley from swooping hawks or vibrocannons. That or they get into close combat and get torn to bits by superior eldar weapon skill and initiative.

War walkers and vypers are a very easy targets for almost anything tau. If you can, take them out in the first couple turns with rail guns or missile pods to greatly reduce the eldar firepower. Even basic pulse fire can put a hole in these things if they get close enough. Occasionally vypers will carry holo-fields but it may still be worth taking a shot at, the volume of fire from fire warriors or a stealth team should improve your chances by a lot.

[ForbiddenKnowledge]

Fusion blasters will also hurt him, but do you really want to be that close?

Great advice overall, but you know he's immune to melta and flame weapons, right?

I second or third the deathrain point - don't waste you high end firepower on eldar vehicles, they are nigh on indestructable. Instead, stop them shooting with deathrains - they are made for falcon stopping.

Also, he has to sit still a turn before he can unload and charge, so try Piranha/Gun drones blocking the exit ramp - he won't be able to get out and charge, and if he moves off he can't get out and charge. This also lets you get some S5 shots into his rear armour, and if you kill the tank, everyone inside will die as well

[scar face]

I doensn't matter what result but PENERTRATE the skinners they have all types of goodies in them from banshees to dragons.
OOOOHHHH you might get them entangled!

[Darth_Fraggle]

In the current rules incarnation, it's almost impossible to PENETRATE the skimmers. Stick to glancing with missile pods and Ion Cannons. (both great weapons for fighting eldar, which will also negate most armor saves in the eldar army)

[enderwiggin]

Originally Posted by scar face

I doensn't matter what result but PENERTRATE the skinners they have all types of goodies in them from banshees to dragons.
OOOOHHHH you might get them entangled!

This is borderline spamming.

We know they can have things in them like every other army that uses transports. We also know it's almost impossible to get penetrating hits on them.

A somewhat grey area tactic (with each side claiming a black-and-white verdict respectively) for dealing with Veil of Tears is the SMS. Search for it if your interested, I feel no need for this topic to dissolve in a RAW dispute like so many before it over that particular topic.

Now, if you can manage it try targeting templates targeting next to Harlequin units, that way they are still hit and wounded without the messy sight rolls.