Eldar characters fall into four main types, the Avatar, farseers and warlocks, exarchs and phoenix lords and harlequin characters. There are also exodite and pirate characters, but these are seen less commonly. Characters are a very important part of any eldar army and it is important to get the right balance, and to use the right character for the job.

The Avatar

The Avatar is just about the most powerful and expensive character in the game of 40k. He costs a massive 300 points and there is only one of him on each craft world. This makes him too rare and costly to take in small battles (less than about 3000 point).

He has no psychic powers so it is best to only take him if you can spare the points for a farseer as well, a level four psyker is essential to defend him from enemy psychic powers such as destroy demon.

It is also worth noting that he is quite vulnerable to heavy weapons such as lascannons. One way of shielding him is to use vehicles as a screen.

However, despite these drawbacks, the Avatar is still a great leader and few things compare to him in close combat, he has even got a better weapon skill than a Blood Thirster. He also has a toughness of 8 so many close combat weapons cannot harm him, this means that once he reaches the enemy there is little they can do to stop him, even high power super-characters are quickly turned into sausage meat!

Farseers and Warlocks

The farseer is the standard eldar leader and is a very good one. They are level 4 psykers as well, so at just 170 points they are quite a bargain. This results in eldar forces almost always having a level 4 psyker, which can ensure psychic domination in smaller games.

The farseer has 3 wargear slots, I always use one for a psychic hood so that I can nullify most of the enemy psyker's spells. The spirit stone is a good card for a farseer as it allows you to get 4 extra psychic force cards when you most need them. My farseers always have some kind of force weapon as well, which one depends on the model.

Unfortunately the farseer is not allowed a field any more so his only armour is his 4+ Rune armour. This makes him very vulnerable compared to most characters of this importance, so I tend to make sure that he always has plenty of cover and is protected by plenty of troops. He can still be effective at long range by using spells like Mind War and Battle Fate, and he can use Fortune to protect himself and those around him.

Warlocks are lower ranking than farseers with less psychic power and poorer stats. They do not lead the eldar into battle like the farseers do, so they are a less essential part of the army list. They become useful in larger battles (2000+ points) because only one farseer is allowed. Extra psykers increases the amount of warp cards and the range of spells that you can call upon.

Warlocks cost a lot less points than farseers and are less of a loss if they are killed. This makes them useful for leading squads into battle and getting 'stuck in'. They are vulnerable to enemy psykers though, watch out for Psychic Duel and Demonic Attack. 

Because of their lower level they are poor at nullifying spells compared to the farseer, so a psychic hood is not a good investment. Seer runes can be used to allow them to automatically nullify one spell, this is handy in case your opponent comes up with a very harsh spell and your farseer fails to nullify it. Other useful wargear cards for warlocks are force weapons for close combat and storing force cards, and jump packs for getting to where the action is.

Exarchs and Phoenix Lords

Exarchs are aspect warriors that have achieved a higher level of fighting prowess through their devotion to the warrior path. In game terms this puts them in a position similar to the veteran sergeants and chaplains of space marine chapters. They have good stats and a wide range of specialist skills, as well as a great choice of equipment. This leads some people to think that they are cheesy and unfair. I do not agree with this. I think that taking too many exarchs (especially very expensive ones) is a bad move. 

As a result I tend to try to keep the cost of my exarchs below 100 points (this also saves on victory points). The basic Citadel models are very good because they are generally in keeping with the style of fighting of the aspect from which the exarch originates.

Dire Avenger- This is a good close combat exarch, he has a large sword so I give him the executioner wargear card. I normally give him a couple of close combat exarch powers as well. This makes him very effective in hand to hand fighting.

Howling Banshee- This is the ultimate 'woman with PMT'. Another close combat exarch, I give her bounding leap and turn aside blow. This (along with her banshee mask) makes her ideal for taking on high power characters in close combat. She can be overwhelmed if she gets badly out numbered though.

Swooping Hawk- This is quite an expensive exarch but he is very well equipped. I give him fast shot which makes him into a very mobile, very accurate scatter laser. He is very useful for reinforcing your front line in places of weakness and can even fight in hand to hand quite well if he has to. He is particularly devastating when used against orks. The stealth power is a good choice because he already has a -1 to hit modifier for being a swooping hawk.

Fire Dragon- This guy is a sniper. He is best against light vehicles and characters. The fast shot power greatly increases his effect on the game.

Warp Spider- Like the swooping hawk, this exarch is well armed and very mobile. He is also very expensive though.

Striking Scorpion- This is a good cheap hand to hand exarch. He is very good against troops, but his poor weapons make it difficult for him to kill characters. 

Dark Reaper- The standard figure is armed for close combat. I do not think that this is really in keeping with the aspect so mine is equipped with a shu cannon and range finder helmet. I made him by putting a normal dark reaper head onto a death jester model. The fast shot power means that he has an awesome amount of firepower. His gun will get jammed quite often though.

I usually give all my exarchs some kind of field for protection because their armour save is nothing special. This uses up a wargear slot however.

Phoenix lords are the founders of the aspects. They have better stats than normal exarchs and some of them have unique weapons. All of them are good, although some are better than others (Maugen Ra and Jain Jarr spring to mind). However, due to their high points cost exarchs are usually a better choice. I would also not recommend using them too often or in smaller battles because they are unique individuals  and they can't be available every time twenty or thirty space marines threaten a craftworld. Any way, you don't want these heroes to die on a weekly basis do you!

Harlequin Characters

The eldar codex describes four types of harlequin character, the great harlequin, solitaire, death jester and shadow seer. Another type is the master mime (see my harlequin page for stats).

Great Harlequin- He is the leader of the troupe. He is great at close combat so I keep him with a harly squad so that he can help them to deal with enemy characters.

Solitaire- He is even more deadly than the great harlequin, but he must fight alone. I give mine a jump pack to help him get into hand to hand quickly (I stuck a set of swooping hawk wings to his back). Another option is to give him combat drugs.

Death Jester- Very expensive, for what is effectively a heavy bolter, but a 100% harlequin army cannot have any heavy weapons otherwise.

Shadow Seer- This guy is similar to a farseer, but with poorer armour and costs more. He is still worth having though, and you can give him a field at least!

Master Mime- This is the eldar assassin, his stats are similar to a great harlequin except for being faster, but he can infiltrate, which is a bit worrying for your opponent. 

I give all my harlequin characters fields because they have no other save. Wargear cards such as digi lasers and bionic legs can further increase their effectiveness in close combat. The death jester can be improved with the help of a targeter or bionic eye.