How to play Elf in 4v4
A lot of people seem to have trouble with playing elf, so here are some general tips if you were wondering how to play effectively. I got a little bored and thought I'd contribute something. Hopefully it's useful to anyone! (Just to preface, I'm writing as a 5~6k mmr elf if that helps to put into perspective).
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For basic 2 base play (with an expansion), elf is pretty much all mana on the Keeper in the beginning. When you've optimized your level 3 route, the push at the beginning will set the momentum for your side's lane.
As for units, I would recommend not massing light units such as archers or hunts. The only amount you need is for you to reach level 3 and no more. This usually means around 2 archers and some inital AoW creeping.
Elf's strength lies in tier 3, and the best chances of you winning the game rests on how you finesse quickly your way to orbs and chims which are at that tier. Anything else which you invest into becomes useless in the midgame.
If you are going chippo -> Panda 2nd, MG+Orb -> add Naga & PotM.
These are the general, most basic strategies given that you have a natural expansion.
The basic idea behind not massing light units is that it's not worth the investment in micro to be able to attack or fend off your opponent. It's better to increase your manapool and not leave any potential for someone to outmicro and gain experience from you- it's better to use more spells / items and focus on macro, if your mechanics are not that strong.
Some caveats: you might be wondering why you wouldn't mass archers if you were going hipporiders anyway- as for that, hipporiders are generally just not worth the investment for micro. Copters and bats generally negate riders, and once your momentum stops for riders, chances are you will become useless in a major fight. Against a human it just doesn't make sense economically either. 1 workshop generally counters 1 ancient of war and 2 ancient of winds (!!).
Now, I'm not saying that you shouldn't mass archers or riders, but generally, there are actually safe, viable ways for elf to actually have impact in the game, and that lies in tier 3, not t1 or t2. Some people like pumping 200 apm to do all the microing for riders, but that's up to them.
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1 base play
I think this is what people have trouble with the most, that is, when you are playing as elf and are playing on the edge, where it is harder for you to have an expansion. For this particular situation, the playstyle is completely different than your normal 2 base play, in that you actually have to play it as if it were a 1v1.
The basic idea for 1 base play is to pressure your opponent with DH, as you out-tech him into bears. In short, you harass and put pressure on your mirroring opponent with DH, and make him play against you. You will have reinforcements as you scale- you gain Naga at t2, and soon dyrads for dispell and/or then bears with reju will follow. If you've been able to engage with him until tier 3, seige bears usually will turn the tide and let you out into the wider map. Normally you'll be wasting time for 1 opponent, but if another opponent comes along, that's even better. By the time you are t3 and have seige bears, you can join the bigger fights with your partner and do some damage.
This is generally a bit more micro intensive, but it's really fun because it feels like you're actually playing Elf like it's supposed to. It goes without saying, but add boots of speed and staff / tele as needed.
This I think generally is how elf should be played at a basic level. There are other strats of course, but these are in my personal basic toolkit.
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Some other noteworthy misc. strats
2 war hunts - >!generally does not work in RT (needs coordination with teammates), but can be fun if your opponents are dumb (this strat falls off in the midgame)!<
mass talons - >!useful when you have something like 3 elfs on your own team, as it softcounters mass bats!<
mass protector rush - >!fun if you can hide them well!<
DR/Naga/PotM archers - >!works on small maps with easy 3!<
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tldr; don't mass light units!! think in terms of mana as you quickly get to tier 3 for chims and other t3 goodies.