[Sandman]

Earth magic is probably my favourite. It's great all-round path, with anti-chaff and anti-SC spells. It has solid buffs, items and summons. It synergises well with every other magic path.

Fire magic is the weakest path. It has the worst summons, the worst items, poorish buffs and its attack spells are not really much better than air, earth or water. Oh, and it causes your mages to age faster.

I'd promote fire to a full-on buff school, like nature and astral, which would tie in with its leadership effects. Some suggestions:

Valour: Units with this buff always get reduced to 1 hit point before dying. A more bloody version of twist fate. Doesn't work on mindless units, undead or demons.

Giant Slayer: Grants attack and strength bonuses against larger enemies.

Radiance: Increases the damage of the caster's spells by 30%. Chance of aging the caster.