@nodoze Wow I really appreciate it. Your reply and the spreadsheet breakdown is extremely helpful.

One of the things I took from it immediately is the concept of talenting the paladins holy/prot. I really like this and I'm kicking myself a bit for not thinking through that as an option. It would be a nominal hit to healing in a group that is likely a bit heavy on healers already. The flexibility it provides could be really useful. Fantastic suggestion.

I'm with you on the two intriguing teams when theory crafting through this. Frankly, a full warrior + Shaman team can likely down many targets before mechanics even come into play, which I think is huge when multiboxing. As you point out add diamond flask and you can likely cheese through a lot of content. However, I'm on Alliance so that leaves me the second option you listed which is try to stack up on mages for rolling ignites and incredible AoE.

I debated a long time on the four warlocks. I originally was only going to do one and the other three were going to be mages. However, this is why I went up to four.

1. Flexibility when TBC comes out (by far the biggest reason)
2. Imps in each group for more hit points
3 Flexibility for more summon bots if needed
4. Spread out healthstone creation for the raid

The theme is still fire with the warlocks. Imps (fire damage) and a somewhat heavy destro build to take advantage of imp scorch and CoE. I have one toon with arcanite dragonling and could do more if it could potentially be worth it.

I should have come here for input from all the more experienced folks here before creating the next ten. I just kind of got excited about the concept and got going . Your concern regarding healer heavy is one I started to have after toons were already at a decent level. Initially, I was enamored with the concept of a priest in group 2 through 4 for the AoE heals and Holy Nova for trash AoE along with 3 pallys for 3 blessing per class.

I'm with you on the last class being a dps. I've gone through a lot of thoughts. Hunter to have a toon with a different set of loot needs so mail and some weps don't just get disenchanted. Warrior for another offtank/dps. Shadowpriest to augment Warlock dps. A couple of those options take more debuff slots.

However, one thing I keep coming back to is this. Can I go wrong with another mage? It fits the synergy of the group well and can potentially get more ignite goodness.

Thanks again for the post. You've already given me some great ideas, and I appreciate it.