I got some advice from a friend about how to make the Iron Council semi-hard mode trivial easy (), with a special mage build, aimed on handling the adds. I been told that after this mage-based tactic and specc was used Iron Council semi-hard mode went down for DI in 2 tries, and for EG in 4 tries. We can try and see if this will also work for us. I already specced and glyphed this to my secondary specc, so ready to go whenever we want.

The write up on the semi-hard mode tactics which I got from a friend is the following:

Runemaster last:

Commonly referred to as Iron Council medium-mode, the objective is to attain a Data Disc without suffering the Brutallus-esque hardmode of Steelbreaker last.

Firstly, for the Ranged, ditch your vanity meters in Phase 3 (With just Runemaster up).

Secondly; for assigned Mage the build is:

http://www.wowarmory.com/talent-calc.xml?cid=8&tal=230025003100000000000...

Assigning dedicated Mage to spellsteak duty of Runemaster Molgeim for his shield in P1 + 2 is extremely helpful, so ppl don't die from random AoE. This of course shouldn't happen, but sometimes RNG will favor the annoying factor. Assigned Mage does virtually no DPS with this build, so as a whole, he should not be offended if he is under the MT with this. He NEEDe to reach P3 with full mana (so no DPS p2, just wand and spellsteal), and the raid needs to be positioned so that dedicated Mage can reach any of the raid with a Blizzard.

A small piece about Runemaster last.

Runemaster last is tricky for two things. The Runes of Death continue to spawn, which make moving around a priority. Second to this, Rune of Summonings appear. Rune of summonings are approximately a third of the size of a Void Zone, with the same purple graphic, and will appear once every thirty seconds. EVERYONE needs to move away from these. So, moving is prio here. Heroism needs to be saved for P3, as you are effectively on a 2:20 enrage time (which will be explain later).

Rune of Summonings spawn Lightning Elementals which have low HP, move extremely fast, and are vulnerable to slowing effects (and stun). When an Elemental reaches a player it has aggro on (Each 14 elementals have different aggro targets, and they spawn as a stream, so you'll have three appear, then a second later four, then five a second later), it explodes and deals approximately 16k dmg to players within 20 yards of the Detonation. Two explosions can be fatal.

How to deal with Rune of Summonings?

First important point is related to here. All ranged (Particularly Warlocks, Mages, Hunters, Elemental Shamans, and even SP's) have to cast their AoE spells at the Rune of Summoning and channel them. Try and make it so that the circle you cover with your AoE clips the Summon zone, and also faces as close to the raid as possible. The adds have low HP, and after about 10 seconds of AoE, do go down quite nicely. Now, this is where dedicated Mage comes in (and where my friend who made this write up for us is quite proud to have been the first mage worldwide to build for this).

Notes for a Dedicated Mage

As you can see from this build, and required glyphs (Water Elemental, Frost Nova, Molten Armour), Blizzard has a 50-60% movement reduction, as well as chances to freeze, and your elemental also lasts for a minute, with a cooldown of two minutes. Firstly, the second you see a Summon portal up, you must hit Blizzard on it. When a portal hits, it summons adds after 3 seconds. With your blizzard hitting, they'll be instantly slowed (and if timed correctly, you'll have all elementals slowed). Chillbite procs + Blizzard procs means that the adds stay slowed, and your other AoEers will help finish the job. However, you WILL have times where many adds will be up, and Blizzard may not be enough to keep them in the AoE range. This is why I refer to Runemaster having a 2:20 enrage timer. You must (when entering P3) have Runemaster on target. The first time he channels a Rune of Summoning, you have to pop your Water Elemental. Three seconds after your first add appears, use your Elementals Frost nova (ranged, and with glyphs, holds for longer) in the same AoE circle you yourself have targetted. This buys you another four, five seconds of AoE of about 8 people hitting, and if executed correctly, ensures that the Elementals do not spawn. Nova is on a 22 second CD from your Elemental, so with the next Rune of Summoning, it may not be up in time (1-2 seconds off.) If this is the case, pop Nova the second it is up on any adds that are heading towards your raid, or the said spot mentioned earlier. Elemental lasts for one minute, so the second it's dead, Cold Snap yourself a new one, and continue with the above Novaing. You have 2:20 from the time the first rune of Summoning is up to kill Molgeim, maybe one more if the Mage gets lucky with Chillbite procs. This should be enough time. This is extremely mana intensive Spamming Blizzard non stop (And you will be, casting it at least 3 times per portal), so stay with mana in P3, evo up, pot and gems up. Should be fine. If not, ask for an innervate. This strat and the mage trivialises the encounter, making it easier to kill than Stormcaller for some guilds.

Raid

Melee go apeshit on the boss. If a stray Elemental escapes from the pack (It can happen), try to stun it and kill it. Single target, they go down fast, and if it's not you the Elemental has aggro on, it won't explode when you kill it in melee. Ranged, same applies. Just keep an eye. It's handy to have one person on Ventrilo announcing where the Portal spawns, so that people can move away.

Worst case scenario here is that a Rune of Death spawns on a Rune of Summoning, or on the AoEers. If this happens, don't panic, move your positioning, as Imp blizzard snares for a while, and the Nova is here for said situations. This is quite rare to happen, but if it does, it's handy to have an Earthbind totem up in the group also. Using the Mage to do this is alot more reliable than Earthbind pulses; as if it doesn't pulse when an add spawns, it's game over.

Good luck