Is blizzard not feasible as AOE boxer vs AE?

[nodoze]

I've played around with it a little bit...still early (31 now). I'm running WMMMP. I took my mages frost through shatter and am now working on going through arcane. Once I get the 13 points in arcane (might go a little deeper) I'm planning on returning to frost. I think I'd probably put 1 point into the imp blizzard talent and play with it more. Blizzard is the efficient option, but also requires better execution/movement. If you're boxing multiple mages and/or not running a tank it's not a worthwhile trade off.

I personally like the route I've taken. I like frost a lot even though I may be sacrificing in some AoE potency below is how I approach AoE and it's been fairly successful.

I usually use my warrior to group up mobs, have my priest throw a heal or two, then once everything is in position, Frost Nova -> Cone of Cold -> AE spam til dead. Cone of Cold will typically be about 15-20% of the overall damage so it's absolutely worth using, AE will benefit from shatter, shatter will proc off of frost shield, and my tank doesn't really stand a shot in holding aggro on a large pack. I'll typically find the strongest/most alive mob and taunt/sunder it once I start my AoE rotation. I have two binds for AE, one where the priest novas, another where the priest doesn't. This ensures I can toss some heals as necessary without interrupting DPS.

Thanks for sharing and please report back any updates on your findings as you progress.

Is your Warrior that is losing Aggro using all/most of his Rage on Shouts? I remember at least one AoE person saying that, even after the nerf, that Warriors can still hold aggro (just need to shout more). If you are having issues maybe try delay the start of your AoE a little longer letting the Warrior shout a few more times and also make sure he is shouting while you AoE.

I like your idea on the dual buttons for AoE with Nova and AoE without Nova. I likely will try that on my Locks as I test out AoE with Rain of Fire on @Player (or maybe @Cursor though that seems more complicated with setview and what not).