Ok Im back, I started work again recently so havent had much time.
I read the thread and mostly its the same thing but I will only respond to Flynns post because he makes some really nice points.
First of all yes I have won games simply by 2shotting a heavy unit with my mage, and as I have mentioned already in this thread this is not right AT LARGE DISTANCES. If a predator of blood or GG or SW rushes my mage (to the point where he is literally throwing the unit away, I believe I should be able to punish him for it, but i shouldmt nuke him from afar before he even made a move.
Second im not a great player(42-32 last week i think), I like my mage and using it doesnt mean easy victory unless the other player is innexperienced and puts his heavy units in a compromising position. If this does not happen then a very good game is in effect, this is because he knows that 1 mistake on his part will cost him dearly, but one mistake from my part will also end the game. In other words when I play mega mage (i like how you put that) im playing a high risk high reward game, thats how I like to play. Yes I can kill your 140AP unit with 2xcelestial scourge, but 1 wolf/garg/skullwarrior or even just a couple of archers get into a good position I will lose my mage and most likely the game.
Third: what if the other team doesnt have a 100+AP unit, like most people are doing now. My mega mage is not so "mega" after all. Because I have to gamble wether I go for celestial scourge or aoe that could determine the game right there, I mean whats 2xcelestial scourge against a horde of skellys? Not much. Sure it'll put a skelly at low health but what about the other 6 closing around? Same with fangs. Its very dificult to play with a nuke mage against zerg setups.
4th: When the above happens then seal becomes an option, but lets look at seal. Yes it does alot of damage, and used correctly it can be devastating, but it has risks. First of all it damages your own units, so unless the battlefile is open you wont be able to use it in a row without hitting your own units. Also the enemy knows its coming and can prepare for it, whether by blocking paths or simple postioning his units in a way that will force me to dmg my own units. This is difficult though expecially if sparks have seals because they can move large distances, but they are sparks and if you use them like this too soon you will regret it later on in the game, especially if they are healing sparks. I do believe seal should be worked but then I think, ok then what do I do when middleway is activated? nothing, theres no useful spell that I can do. Worked yes but not removed.
5th: Yes most of my damage is dependent on my mage and if I lose him early on I will lose the game, simple. Now what happens of I dont lose him straight away, do I have guaranteed victory? you write like I do. to put it another way its like Im playing with a Queen + pawns, do I have guaranted victory vs towers and knights? Ofc not. But if one of those knights has a skill that can destroy my queen's usefullness in exchange for its life dont you think everyone would do that? ofc they would, but does that make my setup bad or the skill just overpowered? I say its the latter, you say its the first.
Finally:
It is basically a noob strat that is far too effective unless you have an easy counter like OE or MW.
I have had amazing games vs all kinds of setups (with or without OE or MW) with this setup. Let me correct your phrase " its a strategy that will guarantee easy victories vs noobs" and for that im sorry. But people are getting better and not falling for the mega mage strategy as much and so the games are becoming like what i mentioned: high risk, high reward. All i need is to miss one disciplice role and I can lose my mage and the game right there, thats how I like to play, sue me but I think its not wrong. Zerg setups dont need MW or OE to play vs mage and if you're going into a game vs lion with 4-5 unit setup without any OE or MW then you are a noob taking that big of a risk, cause you are not protecting the few units you have which is what you should do if you have few units.
Making the OE go away when the pala dies is only natural because it stops the suicide tactic that dragon was mentioning and that I find repulsive because it takes about 2IQ to do. And yes it take 1IQ to nuke some 1 down with 2x celestial scourge, but it takes a whole lot more to keep your mage alive until you can do so, and as I have mentioned, against zergs that wont help.
Edit: Sry I got carried away a wrote a lot.