Do caster out of combat options matter?

[Psyren]

Your viewpoint, presumably, aligns with the OP. Who expressed the idea that utility options don't matter because the GM will just provide a solution anyway, so the only thing that matters is combat efficacy.

If that's not the case, not sure why you're expressing disagreement with my assertion that this would be poor GMing.

Yeesh, now who's being zero-sum...

No, I neither hold the OP's view nor yours. The GM providing an alternative solution doesn't mean that said alternative is equivalent to the standard solution. There can be tradeoffs.