when you have resources and stats, but lack control and a way to acquire it, and you just watch helplessly as your opponent with control outplays you turn after turn...)

It's also worth noting that in SoD, the game is limited by the fact that players are reluctant to build a Town Hall, as there are no guarantees that they will find anything useful there. It only makes sense to build one if you need a scroll. In Warlords, any decent player considers building a Town Hall from the beginning of the second week.
Many complain that the game is already restricted by the rules and that many of its aspects are not used. So, what I'm getting at is that in SoD, on random maps, mages and building a Grand Mage are severely limited. When the Grand Mage is rebuilt, the game becomes more balanced in this regard.