[Tuidjy]

> Astral mages are automatically protected against Strands, I believe.

Actually, no. Astral mages are the one that Strands is supposed to feeblemind.
But because the caster does not seem to benefit from extra levels, penetration
items, or dominion strength, astral mages laugh at the spell. I have at least
eighty (80) mages in my dominion, and on the last turn, my caster failed to
detect a single one.

> a standard mage with 13-15 MR in your dominion with magic 2 (for example),
> that takes it down to 12 or 13 is a big difference

I never play with Magic 2, but I am reasonably sure that it is -1 to MR, not -2.