I suppose I just don't see a necessary disconnect between 'sympathetic light' and 'bad guys'.  That 'sympathetic light' might be limited a bit when you're talking about an entity that's planning what will, coincidentally, result in the cataclysmic destruction of human society, but I find 'they're doing evil because they're evil' to be rather less engrossing.

FWIW, WoJ

However, all is not status quo, as SmF shows us the definite possibility that the "Prince of f***ing Darkness" threw in on the side of the Denarians. It may be possible that Lucifer is either working a deal with them or is not as much punishing them as may have been believed. We'll see.

Christianity teaches that there is nothing that can put a person beyond redemption, so I assume that would apply to the Fallen, as well.  However, redemption requires repentence, and I think it's highly unlikely that any of the Fallen would repent, having become set in their ways since existence was young.  What we see of Lasciel (or at least, her shadow) does seem to indicate that such a thing might be possible, but (a) Lash is not Lasciel, and (b) any apparent act of repentence is likely to be cover for a betrayal -- after all, the thirty coins are the thirty pieces of silver which paid for Jesus' betrayal by Judas.

Evocation

Alternate Rule: The player can take a consequence to add that many shifts to Attack/Maneuver/Block Strength.

Stress
All evocation actions cost 1 Mental Stress.

Attack
Roll Discipline + Focus Item
Strength = Conviction + Specialization

• Reduce Strength by 2 for each Zone affected
• Caster can choose to limit the Spell Strength

Maneuver
Roll Discipline + Focus Item
Strength = Conviction + Specialization
Difficulty to Remove Aspect = Strength

• Reduce Difficulty by 1 for each Exchange added
• Reduce Difficulty by 2 for each Zone affected

Block
Roll Discipline + Focus Item

Counterspell
Treated as Thaumaturgy

Rote Spell
Removed

Fallout/Backlash
If you miss, the GM can choose to Compel your High Aspect to cause Fallout or Backlash.

• Fallout effects are up to the GM, and should be influenced by the spell strength.  (The spell hits bystanders nearby. The spell adds a Scene aspect. etc.)
• Backlash means you get hit with whatever you tried to cast (assume zero extra shifts and no defense roll).

Alternate Rule: If Compelled by the GM, the player can choose whether they want Fallout or Backlash.

Philosophy: The main intent here is to streamline Evocation a little bit, to make it play more like the other skills/powers in the game.  This also slightly limits Evocation power, so that it's not quite as overpowered.  And since the risk of Fallout/Backlash is greater, it forces a Wizard to be much more careful about the magic they sling around.

Thaumaturgy

Stress
All thaumaturgy actions cost 1 Mental Stress.

Casting

• Difficulty: Calculate difficulty for a spell using the same guidelines as before.
• Casting The Spell: Roll Lore + Focus Item; Target = Difficulty of Spell
• Timing: Casting a thaumaturgical spell takes one exchange.  On the other hand, tagging/invoking enough Aspects to cast the spell successfully may take a bit longer.

Alternate Rule: The player can take a consequence to add that many shifts to the Casting roll.

Fallout/Backlash
If you miss the Target, the GM can choose to Compel your High Aspect to cause Fallout or Backlash.

• Fallout effects are up to the GM, and should be influenced by the spell strength.  (The spell hits bystanders nearby. The spell adds a Scene aspect. etc.)
• Backlash means you take physical or mental stress equal to the Difficulty of the spell.

Alternate Rule: If Compelled by the GM, the player can choose whether they want Fallout or Backlash.

Note that "Thaumaturgy at the Speed of Evocation" is redundant under these rules.

Crafting
The Crafting rules are mostly unchanged, with the following exceptions:

• There are no Crafting specializations or Focus Items.
• Add the highest relevant Specialization to the Strength of an Item.

Example: A Wizard with Lore +3 and Specialization: Earth +1 could create an Enchanted Item that created a +4 Block (or Armor:2)

(As a minor tangential rant, I always hated the fact that Counterspelling was linked to Evocation.  That limits your maximum Counterspelling strength to, what, 10-12 shifts?  It's fairly easy to cast a spell tougher than that using Thaumaturgy.  And I have no idea if you're allowed to Counterspell using Thaumaturgy, since it's only described in the Evocation section.)