[Akiyoshi]

...and then came FORCE and they suddenly get turned into weaksauce xDU.

They're now trying various attempts at scaling their technology in order to confront the Huckebein, drafting away from spells and magic in general(Hayate, the only mage powerfull enough to still be able to use real magic against them got taken down by Curren/Karen), normally it will be require a special sesion training and a good dose of hot blood to make up for the difference in power but they decided to realy almost completely on technology. Thus, altering heavily the series's previous concept. Yeah, there was technology in Nanoha since the beginning, but it always had a healthy balance between willpower and techy upgrades, now it all depends entirely on tech.