Was he suppose to be a tough fight?

I hit him once with magic missile to interrupt his first cast then this happened immediately

http://puu.sh/48TR4/8db80689d5.jpg

Ahem

I came to see your point pretty quickly when I actually had to fight people who used magic :P

Made most fights verse mages pretty easily actually. I'm hoping in the future they start countering it.

When (if) you get to BG2 they will, with contingencies. Don't forget, also, that although Magic Missile is a fabulous low level spell, it can be resisted, which happens a lot in BG2, too. :)

That fight is either a cake walk or incredibly tough (usually ending in death for the party). If you don't interrupt his spell casting right away, you're pretty much toast. If you do, you win. As noted, Magic Missile is a gem of a spell at low levels and having that one available at that particular fight is basically an 'I win' button.