If it ain't broke (wait, Firefox recognizes 'ain't'?), don't fix it, but if it will be broke, then pay attention. All my past experiences point towards skill based "casting" mechanisms not working like their supposed to, so that's why I'm leery of this being skill based. And since binders and martial adepts work great, why not take something that DOES work? Though I am willing to trust your experience with this system if it does work.

Yay! You are the second person to announce that they figured it out! That was the entire reason I chose dman11235 as opposed to something else. Just call me dman for short.

I think I like your start on Ice Shards, but I don't see a problem with it being /5 DC on the cold damage. This is trading range for damage IMO. You would add str to damage though, since you are actually wielding it. Your str of...+1. Or +0. Anyways, it's like the Eldritch Blast vs Eldritch Glaive. EG gives up the protection of staying away from battle for an increase in damage output (via more attacks). EB stays viable since it can be used at distance, while EG cannot. One question, do you agree with the crit stuff? I think increasing the crit modifier and threat range would be perfectly acceptable things, since they are a result of the quality of the weapon, unlike base damage.

I'm not sure what I think on the Tornado dilemma. I'll have to go over it again, but as for cloud shaping? Manipulate. Thus it works for both air and water bending, and if you're REALLY good, fire (create heat to cause up drafts and down drafts in the right spots). Maybe Earth if you use earth to for currents to move. Though that's not cloud shaping as a direct result of fire.