There's just not a big Kapow!! skill like lava burst or fulminate. Meleers are a problem, and you'll really have to work at trying to take advantage of eclipse. Shifting out to heal stinks, and lack of totem protection and buff overlap also hurts.

Druids will be a mix of effectively utilizing stealth, appling IS+MF spam, and staying mobile to avoid being feared or meleed down. Other than what Mosg2 suggests with an instant cast root/solar beam round robin sequence, there's not a huge gameplay difference than how Boomkins play today.

I really like my druid team, but I made the mistake in WotLK of leveling a sub-optimal team first (Hunters) because I thought they were unique and cute. This time, I'm sticking to shaman first!

Burst will ALWAYS be good, even if the pacing of the game slows down. Plus, I have a feeling that a charged up fulmination dump is going to devastate people in BGs. There's a psychological impact that can't be ignored there. When you get ROFLstomped by a multiboxer once or twice, you're loathe to jump right in there and do it again. (DK+Rets had this fear factor in spades).

It would be different if Starsurge had a big punch like Lava Burst, but it's just not quite there, IMO.