re: Outhyen: I couldn't believe that bashdown! I was surprised just how tough you were in form too.

Me either. The Orc Chief had just begun a raid and I canceled spells to put up protection. Left me without fly, pass, or control. I had already put in 1 command so, that meant no wimpy, and 4 straight bashes. That left me dumbfounded and annoyed. I was also rather surprised that I lasted so long as a non-prepped gnome mage without mastered parry. As an aside, none of my forms have a forage ability So you know why the frowny face.

After that fight you seemed very, very cautious but it could be that you always were, since that's our first real interaction. Because of that though, I took to fighting you without using barrier or some other protections just to see if I could get you to overcommit but you never did.

Solid A-P that I could respect but still despise.

P.S.
"I believe the cabal ... didn't really pose any tangible threat to me this go around, so I feel like I can make that statement without undue influence this time."

I can say that without a doubt "If I still had decent playing hours" this statement would be patently false. See you in the Fields.