If you want to take Phin with 4 people, I recommend cleric, warrior (or any other melee with high ac/hp), wizard, and yourself (rogue), or misc extra. If you get people that know what they are doing, Phinigel will die before the tank even needs a heal. Okay, the pulling..

From the ledge:
The puller needs to be level 53+, level 55+ preferable. Any class will work, even a pure caster (I taught several wizards and druids how to do this). Have the puller swim out from the ledge, to the edge of the circular depression. The only thing that should be visible is the columns that are in that pit, and the walls around you. Around the rim of this depression, are 4 evenly spaced arrow-shaped raised sections of stone. Each of these points to the exact spot where one of the swirlspine seahorses spawns, in the star-shaped hole in the bottom of the pit. Have the puller swim to each of these arrow markings, and slowly swim off the ledge into the pit. Sink down only until the swirlspine aggros, then swim back to the ledge and kill. Repeat for each swirl, using the arrows for quick-reference of location. Once the swirlspines are dead, cast Invis or Invis to Animal on the puller, and have them swim into the middle of the pit, and down to the star-shaped hole. Sink down past the star opening, and when you are about 10 feet below it you will see "Phinigel Autropos begins to cast a spell." Immediately swim straight upward to the ceiling, and wait there until Phin's nuke goes off, and he swims up to attack you. Then swim back down to the ledge and kill.

The reason for using this tactic, is that each swirlspine seahorse (unmezzable, high MR) you kill causes a "guardian swirlspine" to spawn down in Phinigel's chamber. Conventional pulling makes it very difficult to single pull Phinigel without aggroing these guardians, which are mezzable, but cast complete heal and generally make things sloppy. This method is also simple enough that you can teach, even someone that knows absolutely nothing about pulling, to pull Phinigel single.

Electrae, High Priestess of Tunare

Easiest and quickest way to do phin:

Don't kill the seahorses.

Get to the ledge and then aggro and pull all the horses to the far side away from the ledge. Send someone into the pit to aggro phin (he will be alone since you haven't poped any guardians). Take back to the ledge and kill. Easy stuff. We used to do it all the time with CoTH but since the nerf just send a monk to feign them off once Phin is on the ledge.

Ral Silvermane

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Game Plan:
Spawn time for the zone is 18 mins. No AE spells are to be used.
1. Clear down to 2nd level.
2. Check on Cauldronbubble and clear to Estrella.
3. Check on Undertow, Cauldronboil, and Frenzied Cauldron Shark and then clear to Seahorse Patriarch room.
4. Check on Frenzied Hammerhead and then buff for Phinigel's pulls.
5. Start pulling the Swirlspine Seahorses. They are very hard to be mezzed, and cast CH. They are stunable. There are 4, one at each point of the star in the lair.
6. See if we can pull the Swirlspine Guardians separately... if not, the group(s) will move into the far room of the Patriarch area and I will train the guardians off.
7. Pull and kill Phinigel.
Rumor has it, that a 60th character can single pull the Swirlspine Seahorses. Its also rumored that Eye of Zomm can be used to pull in there.