So, you think you can carry the flag?

I'm a big Warsong Gulch fan. While I'm aware that in the realm of RP the battleground does the least amount of good towards aiding my faction, there is something about the small nature of the raid that pleases me. It's Ten vs. Ten, making it easier to keep track of all those red names, and it only has one goal in one place. It's not full-out war like Alterac Valley, nor are their multiple nodes to fret about like Arathi Basin, Eye of the Storm, or Strand of the Ancients. It's just good, clean capture-the-flag. Theoretically.

Of course, the battlegound being small means there is less room for error on the part of your teammates, and like a good chunk of BG PvPers out there, they could care less. The other annoying aspect of WSG is the fact that you only get rep for flag captures. Yes, that's a whopping 35 rep (45 on holiday weekends) per flag cap - 105 for a winning game. *twirls fingers in the air* Wooo. Since the rep grind is so painfully long (I just hit revered), I've given up hoping for a decent flag carrier to come along, and taken it upon myself on more than one occasion just to grab the goddamn thing and run with it.

First of all, this is my PvP spec. This gives me three main advantages, along with a couple of side tactics. Silencing Shot, Scatter Shot, and Readiness are all important for getting through the midfield. Silence anyone with a mana bar (but not Hunters! and preferably when they are casting something), Scatter anything that has a red name coming for you; Readiness I'll talk a bit more about later. Both of those shots are pretty standard PvP arsenal for a MM Hunter, so you should be fluent in their usage regardless. Indirectly Concussive Barrage, Imp. Concussive Shot, Entrapment, and Trap Mastery increase the effects of what you should be doing already: Shooting things and laying traps.

As Hunters, our defenses are a bit low compared to our tanking brethern. We are wearing mail, but we have no extra armor and no shield; we might as well be clothees for the way some DPS can blow through us. So we have to use what tricks we can. My first, and favorite, is to Disengage across midfield. This takes some knowledge of your surroundings to make sure you don't end up with your back against a tree trunk or right into the lap of an all-too-eager Ret Pally, but the short of it is just to turn around and hit it.

A more direct spell is Master's Call. The macro for this changes depending on the player, but I prefer is

#showtooltip Master's Call

/cast [target=player] Master's Call

This is very simple and only applies to you instead of someone you might wish to cast it on. Remember, Master's Call ONLY works for slows and roots - not for stuns! The way I remember is, if you can still shoot, you are not stunned. Always use Master's Call before using your PvP trinket - save that for stuns/traps/etc.. Surefooted also aids in this, for times when all other abilities are down.

The last trick up our sleeves is Deterrence. Nerfed into oblivion, it is useless for anything happening behind you, but if you are facing a mob of red, it has its benefits. Pop it when you see toons running up to you.

These spells, in addition to any racial, profession, and gear benefits, get you across the battlefield. Use these in combination, popping Readiness when you need them back to back, to get out of anything that crosses your path. I love Readiness for this reason - it gives me two of everything! Make sure it is worth it though; you don't want to waste that three minute CD on a trap that will never be triggered. Pop pots and stones to keep up if your healer goes down (if you have one -_-), and use Aspect of the Cheetah/Pack ONLY when you don't see anyone that could daze you. All standard PvP skills still apply - knowing how to deal with each class/spec is half the battle as well, and such a topic is a bit too broad for this post :).

Oh, and if you Feign Death while carrying the flag, not even Aspect of the Beast can save you. I will find you, and you will be eaten alive by a blood thirsty moth, I swear...

Good luck!