It seems that any time I summon a unit it is unable to cast tactical spells. Specifically with the Vigilant Demon and Fire Giant are missing their tactical abilities. From other forum posts it seems that others have functioning casters, and the AI is able to use these abilities.
I tried with both a custom sov/ custom faction and a stock faction (Kraxis) and it doesn't work in either case.
Also, I'm not afraid to poke at xml (or python for that matter)... so if there is a self fix I would love to hear it.