I am having some success beating mages without popping free action potions WoTLK Gold or any potions for that matter. I have not confirmed yet that a frost protection potion prevents the root from frost nova but am looking forward to the chance.
Inevitably, if I do not drink a FAP or frost protection potion to prevent novas (still haven’t proven yet that frost protection potions do that), I will end up sitting in one or even two frost novas while the mage gets the freedom to do shatter combos. So my trinkets are designed to get me through those dangerous moments.
When I get into the nova I will throw a grenade while they cast frost bolt. They will usually get the cast off but I will also hit my frost reflector before the bolt reaches me. So they waste several seconds and I deal damage to the mage. If I have used intercept already because the mage blinked in the opening then I will Goblin Rocket Helm to reach the mage at the end of the nova.
If all has gone well, they normally ice block. This could allow me to get a new charge off and even replace my helmet and bandage. Basically, I now have a 50/50 shot of winning the fight. In some cases I kill the under geared ones when they exit the ice block with a lucky white hit + ms double crit.
The hard part is dealing with the second frost nova, and that’s where my other trinkets come into play. The Barov Peasant Caller won’t get me out of the nova, but it will buy me time and push back the mage’s cast bar buy WoTLK Gold. They do a fair amount of damage and I can often get some bandage ticks in while the peasants beat on the mage.