Just starting out

Well, let's see. I have about 5,000 points of Space Wolves and a full battle company of Imperial Fists. I wanted something completely different so I settled on the wonderfully s&m themed (at least to me) look of the Dark Eldar. Also, they seem so warm and cuddly. So far I have purchased an archon from Ebay and a few warriors. I like the idea of a strong infantry core, long time SM player, with some speed thrown in to mix things up. I realize I'm going to have to alter my play style in order to be successful but to be honest I'm less of a super competitive player and more of a "wow, that looks freaking cool" player. I am open to suggestions as to what direction I should take this army in so I turn to you, the more experienced for suggestions.

Well, transports are always important with us, especially if you want speed. Infantry core would have to include at least some wyches too, and wracks if you want to go coven-style.
Dont ask too much from me, im just a Skavenite who is starting out on these xenos. And these guys definetly are NOT warm and cuddly

Well...for competitive an infantry core...is not so much.

You could probably go with some good 'non-vehicle' options via Hellions, Beastmasters, and Reaver Jetbikes and still have the list be scary. We're just not the best footsloggers due to 5+ armor saves and 3 toughness models paired with lack of ability to spam weapons like IG can. If you want footslogging specifically to be infantry models than probably Warrior squads with Lances and blobs of Wracks and Grots would be the way to go.

If you're not worried about the competitive nature at all, then you should at least puzzle out which models excite you first and then try to puzzle out the army composition afterwards.

An Aegis would probably be a reasonable purchase if you'd like to have a strong infantry prescence. It's really nice to have a guaranteed bit of cover in the right spot.

Well, in any case, pleased ta meet ya.

I wonder if anyone else refers to their dark eldar as bondage space elves?

Bondage space elves. I like that. I'm less interested in super competitive and usually pay more attention to fluffy. The story is a big part of what it's all about for me. I suppose most importantly will be to come up with a story and decide what exactly I want the army to do. That will make planning it out much easier.

Here are a few threads that you might want to check out:

This thread, in the second post, has a really cheap and effective starting army. It shows you the basics for playing DE. From there you can build the list to suite your taste more after you figure out what exactly you want to do.

Plastikente's Dark Eldar Unit Guide is an indepth review of all our units in the codex, as well as popular builds for that unit. It is a excellent read for any new player.

The Pages of Pain is a thread compelation of different discussions on several topics. Always a good read to get a feel for other people's thoughts.

And finally The Big Batrep Thread can give you an idea of the playstyle of DE. There are wins and losses in there, and are a great read to see how others play the army, and see which playstyle you like better.

Also feel free to add to any of the pages with their own experiences as you start your army and start playing with them. Any questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks for the tips. I will definately check all this stuff out.