I was one of the people that really disliked the card changes and even quit AST after making it my main since release but recently switched back to it. I definitely prefer the old cards, as it was satisfying when things went south being able to use an Ewer or Bole and whatnot, however as much as I hate to say it I really don't mind AST as it is right now. My biggest issue was when Divination had such a long cooldown. Now that it's shorter I find I enjoy it much more, as by the time you have the 3 seals generally Divination is pretty close to being ready again. When I think back to how often you actually would use a RR Balance before, I feel like Divination comes up just as often if not more and is satisfying when you can deploy it. I also like how there's less competition when you have another AST in the party, as that was always a huge pain having to constantly watch what cards they were using so that you don't accidentally overwrite the RR Balance they just did with your RR Spear that you hit 2 seconds after.

Might be an unpopular opinion but I actually really like playing in Nocturnal Sect and pretty much only use it unless I'm with a SCH. I find Celestial Opposition is super satisfying as well using it as a shield, and Neutral Sect also feels pretty badass. I don't do savage anything though so I understand a lot of issues come from that realm, but in terms of normal content, latest dungeons, EX and so on I prefer it.

I just wish that Horoscope triggered automatically at the end as I find it gets wasted often times.