I wonder if there will be power chain type buffs as a class feature. Something where your first arcane spell gets a roll that sets your "tone" for the rest of the encounter... maybe makes your future spells cold based, or allows you to use a certain chain of at-will/encounter/daily versus another chain. So you begin an encounter and end up shooting cold rays everywhere. Might have wanted to do fire instead, but you don't get the option. As a result you either could be better than the wizard or not as effective but still useful. ::shrug::