Lately I've been thinking a lot about my rogue and the fact that rogues haven't seen much change in the past few expansions. Then it hit me rogues could use a new Garrote mechanic. Please before you blast the idea just hear me out.
Think of this new mechanic as an ability like the Snobolds in the Gormok the Impaler fight in ToC. Rogues can latch on to their target. The target can take no actions against the rogue (*line of sight*) and the garrote deals minor damage over time or silences the target. The rogue can not take any additional actions during this time or he breaks the garrote early. If the rogue mantains the grip for 8 seconds the target becomes stunned for 8 seconds. While the garrote is being held the rogue's energy is recharging. Other creatures/players can attack the rogue normally... however, the garroted target takes half the damage applied to the rogue during this time.
In effect, the rogue can lock down a single target. Used strategically it could give rogues a new toolkit that could be expanded on later... such as applying poisons to garroted target. It also allows a teammate's dots time to tick for full duration, it gives the rogue an emergency meat shield and it gives rogues an active energy recharger for those longer energy starved fights.
Though most importantly it offers the Rogue class something new and different to play with that is not just a rehash of other abilities for another class. The old garrote could survive with a name change such as Slipknot, Hangman's Noose, or Gallow's Hold.
Just a thought, so tell me what you think.