Okay, so I was thinking about Sollux earlier, and I realised something.
Sollux is a Mage of Doom, right? That means he can hear the voices of doomed people. What about Meulin? She's the Mage of Heart. That must mean she can hear Heart - people's souls, so probably their emotions and intentions. Except, oh wait, she's deaf.
But what if Meulin becoming deaf was part of Lord English's plan all along?
Think about it. One night Kurloz has a terrible nightmare and wakes up with a honk, a sound associated with LE. This causes Meulin to go deaf. Heck, it might even have been the night Kurloz began worshipping him. But the point is, Meulin's powers were useless to her. With them, she might have been a huge asset to the Beta Trolls. She could have worked out Kurloz' true intentions (bringing LE to power) and kept the team together by knowing what they thought or felt. A lot of the teen drama had important effects that she could have prevented with her powers. And maybe she could turn the tide of the war between Prospit and Derse. She could have helped save the Beta session itself. But the powers we know of for a Mage were based entirely on hearing, something that was negated before the session began.
I'm probably the only person not to realise this, but still, HOLY FRICK.