Phat Loot Phriday: Leeka's Shield

Here's a shield for you tanks to try and get from a trip back in time this weekend.

Name: Leeka's Shield (Wowhead, Thottbot, WoWDigger)
Type: Rare Shield
Armor/Block: 7032 / 197
Abilities:

• +37 Strength, +60 Stamina, which is quite a bit of Stamina for a shield. And we know there's almost nothing tanks love better

• Unless it's Defense rating, of which this shield gives 38. An exceptionally nice shield -- not the last one you'll ever get, but it's definitely a reason to check out the new Caverns of Time instance the second you hit 80.

• And yes, like most of the stuff in CoT: Stratholme, there's a little lore behind this one. There's a shop in Stratholme called "Leeka's Shields and Maces," so it's a pretty good guess that this shield came from shieldmaker Leeka back during her human days. Why do we say human? Because Leeka turned undead, and then apparently turned Forsaken -- she's an auctioneer in Undercity now. It would be awesome if she commented on this shield whenever you showed up wearing it, but maybe she doesn't remember -- do the Undead have memories of their previous lives?

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How to Get It: You've got to beat up Mal'ganis in the Caverns of Time: Stratholme. He's the Dreadlord who helped turn Arthas into what he is today (though be careful making a monster like the Lich King: you never know when it'll turn on you, like the Lich King eventually did on Mal'ganis). Give him a good beating after the trouble in Stratholme, and in a chest nearby called the Dark Runed Chest, you'll find this shield.

There's a tiny bit of confusion as to where it drops -- WoWWiki says Heroic mode only, but a few other places say both modes, so we're pretty certain it'll drop in either. Drop rates aren't completely settled yet either, but the Armory says 25-50%, so it'll probably be a pretty common drop. Win the roll (though you'll probably be the only tank in the instance), and Leeka's shield becomes yours.

Getting rid of it: You'll replace it pretty quickly -- there are a few good shields in various Heroics, and some nice shields to be found in Naxx as well, so if you're 80 and working on the higher-level instances (and what tank isn't these days?), you'll likely be selling this one back to a vendor for 9g 8s 99c soon. Or you can disenchant it -- you'll get a Dream Shard for your troubles.