Mythic Magery: Hellfire Assault

Despite, until recently, having only killed this boss once, I feel like I have done it to death already.

Coming at the boss with a fresh team meant the learning had to begin again but, due to the massive boost to gear we have received since the Valor patch, it's all a lot more forgiving.

First time I killed it, back in July on my Shaman, I was at 701ilvl and the team averaged around 705ilvl.
First kill on my Mage, I was at 721ilvl and the team around 725ilvl.
An incredible 20ilvls difference!

I think it just shows the quality that was in that team, and I mean no disrespect to my current team, but they were on a higher level.
And it makes you think about how good those really top teams are that can kill raid bosses in dungeon blues.

Not that it's a true and fair comparison though. 
My current guild didn't exist back in July so they haven't even had the opportunity to push forward on low gear.
Also, we only raid twice per week so relatively more time is spent clearing farm bosses and gaining gear compared to pushing progress.

It will be interesting to see how this team copes with the next tier of raiding but that's still too far away to think about right now.

So... how does Mage compare to Shaman on this boss?
Well, at 720+ ilvl, the Mage just can't compete with Shaman AoE. 
The gear has made the fight so much more forgiving that we can just pretty much AoE through the whole fight and heal through any negative consequences.

The Mage shines on burning down that important target though, the Felcaller pushed at the wrong time or the Berserker feasting on the tank but it just can't compete with the sustained AoE of some classes.

When it comes to the raid joining back together in the middle, it's the Shaman that shoots ahead on dps but it's the Mage that does the big damage to U'rogg and Grute.

Back at low gear levels when we couldn't afford to throw that AoE around so freely, the Mage was definitely more useful. 
Nowadays, it doesn't matter so much so the overall bigger numbers of the Shaman are more desirable (not that you can make the fight go any faster).

There is always the thought that Blizzard intend classes to work this way...
The big-hitting Arcane Mage with it's incredible single target burst synergising with the Chain Lightning machine of the Ele Shaman taking out the smaller minions while helping on the boss.

Perhaps that is how the big teams think about it, the synergy of the team above all else.

If only there was no Recount/Skada, maybe we would all think this way.