It'll be in beta for some time now until they feel all books have hit a good internal and external balance.
Besides all the fluff and artwork is still a long way from finished. I heard yesterday that they're only just finishing up the Tomb King book, but I hope they're this slow because they're focusing on the fluff and art to be put onto the BRB
I'm no math wizard, but both the RT and committee agrees on the average 1 extra dice. Remember that this 1 extra dice is a 1 extra dice advantage. Our opponent always gets the highest roll so while we might make an average higher roll that also benefit our opponent.
I think the biggest strength of the discipline is the reduced risk of rolling stuff like 2+1 or 3+1. Getting a 2+2 is actually quite a good roll because your opponent only have half the amount of dice so you will get off spells.
And yes the goal was to remove added power dice special rules, however the Saurian Ancients were considered one of the magic armies and given permission anyway. I believe The Empire lost theirs from the buff wagon.
Instead it would appear many armies now have stuff like getting an extra spell or +X to cast -.-
And yes I agree on the paths although I'm a little bummed with the change in Path of beast/wilderness attribute. It's now no longer a favorite