The art of paladin tanking

6...9...6...9...6...9...6...9...6...9...6...9...6...9...6...9...

Is that really the truth to it? Not quite. The 9696 rotation is the staple of any paladin tanking, but to think that there isn't anything else is to be severely mistaken. First off there is a constant consideration about where to start your rotation depending on what type of pull it is, and where to start it off again after say, a stun. Then there's the consideration of which parts to drop to interweave Hammer of Wrath in execute range, and while I can answer such questions when it's calm, it's another piece of gum when you're in the middle of a boss fight. Luckily the 9696 rotation fits together quite seamlessly even when you introduce another 6-second cooldown, or even when you need to start weaving in interrupts (there's three, though only two use the GCD) every now and then. It's pretty much failsafe and idiotsafe - even if you just mash everything as soon as it comes off cooldown, you'll be looking at decent survivability and threat still.

This is a reason for what irks me the most about paladin tanks. They are currently the Flavour of the Month because of their advantage in simplicity in play and greater effective health compared to other tanks (oooh, and built in Guardian Spirit). We have a slightly smaller toolbox (maybe not smaller, but a hell of a lot more situational and therefor it rarely sees use), but if you get along just fine with or without a protection warrior (who, arguably, has the bigger toolbox) then what's the problem? Sure, it may be easier to bring someone who has two two-minute cooldowns to cycle for Vezax's Surges, but 1. They nerfed him to the ground 2. External cooldowns, on-use trinkets and AD work just fine as substitutions for own on-use. Plus, you can glyph to get a 20% damage reduction cooldown as well if you want to. 3. That doesn't mean it's an insurmountable hurdle to pass by bringing something else.

Another area where paladin tanks shine is utility. We have it coming out of our ears, with Kings buffs, extra crit and the splendid Divine Sacrifice just to mention a few. The previously mentioned smaller toolbox consists mainly of our Hands, with Hand of Sanctuary most probably being the most useful one (very helpful for warlocks, who put out ridiculous amounts of DPS and only have one threat reduction cooldown), but Hand of Protection on the other tank to clear stacks of Impale after Gormokk is dead to ease the healers' load during the first bit of the Jormungar duo is not to be sneezed at.

It may well be a case of grass being greener on the other side of the fence syndrome, but I sometimes regret not going with my warrior for my tanking alt. I may well level him to 80 before Cataclysm comes (but make no effort in gearing) so that I may reach my goal of 5 level 80's by the time Cata drops (it used to be 6, then Blizzard announced that they would make troll druids a reality, which just makes me all giddy inside - trolls are after all the epitome of shapeshifting and animal worship - ZG, ZF, and ZA all attest to this together with Gundrak. Also, trolls are my favorite race of the Warcraft universe and has been since Warcraft II). For now, I will use my paladin and have fun while doing it. She may lack the mobility and lockdown capabilities of warriors, but when it comes to eating those big hits, she's just incredible.