Mage updates are sick!

Seriously, they look pretty badass. I love the change to Brand and his passive now being a powerful aoe. I also love the retweak to Vel'Koz; definitely gonna be playing him a bunch.

My only, only major worry is Malzahar and his passive. I like the direction they have for him and how he's gonna have micromanagement for his abilities, but his passive seems like its a bit too powerful for someone that already has to sit in the back and avoid damage. I only find it really a problem since its Crowd Control Immunity and all, but maybe there may be a retweak on it. Probably cap it so he can only dodge 2 spells in the void, otherwise this means he can be instantly immune to disruption in a very fast-paced teamfight.

Cassiopeia was the one I was curious about. They've definitely made her more poison oriented, and the grounded buff was the one thing I was stoked for her to have. My only curiosity is; if it grounds champions with mobility, does that technically work on those who need to dash or have blink/movement abilities? Per example, if Cass casts it out on Fizz, does this mean he can't q and e? If so, definitely like (Insert Fizz rage here or sunthin, I dunno).

I also love how fiendish codex and chalice are of the same icon!!! Joking aside... I am definitely curious as to how mages will work in this meta. The removal of mana regen from most items is something I can definitely understand, as that often allowed for spam-happy abilities without much drawback, which plagued as a problem with most mages really. I like to spam spells, but I also hate how its freely done without much drawback. Still, I'm more concerned on how most champions that rely on such mana regen may suffer because of the lack of it:

I can definitely see Lux suffering as she needs that mana regen with her crazy pools. While you can build tear with her, she'll be suffering to keep up against other mages. although I think riot has started to encourage her as a support moreso than a mage.

Not gonna lie, but I'm also worried about Viktor suffering a bit in this meta. He's more caterred to get his combos out with low cd, but if he can't regen his mana as easily while doing it, then he'll suffer. Admittedly, he already suffered due to his e nerf, but this may force him on the back for a while.

I'm also worried that while hextech items for dashing are available, Galio may suffer massively as the core items he tends to build to give him mana regen -- chalice -- may relegate him to a support role now, since Athene is meant to support other champions on design. Who knows, maybe Galio may receive a number retweak to compensate, but I can definitely see a bit of a mana problem with Galio.

All the bads aside, I'm definitely happy that Zyra is getting plant management to be better now! You'll definitely see me on the rift with Vel'Koz though.