One of the things I really enjoyed about pre-1.09n Elemental was the plethora of summoning spells for the various elemental schools (Fire, Earth, etc.) that were available.

For the most part, I'm not seeing these in 1.09n.  If you learn School of Summoning, yes Demonic Ally, etc. become available, but these aren't the same as Fire Elementals and Fire Giants, etc..

I'd argue that under the new Mana Generation system, the cost of Summoning creatures is now more significant than it was under the old system (which I like better btw, but that's a topic for another thread).  If you are only generating 6 mana a turn, and 4 mana is tied up with summoned creatures, that reduces your mana regeneration rate significantly.

Plus I just like having Element specific creatures at my beck and call, to run blocker for my Sovereign.

I never considered summoned Elementals as game breaking.  They weren't really that much tougher than regular units (in some cases less powerful), and were nice flavor for the game.  Even so, the cost to summon them can easily be adjusted to reflect however powerful they may be under the new system.

JMHO