Yeah but old cards provided nothing of that. You either got the good cards, or you "busted". There was nothing else, as nothing of the combat system was built to accomodate the "lesser" options. And since the fights weren't balanced to work with randomized card draws - and don't get me wrong, I love randomness in MMORPG classes - it just had no purpose.

Plus, let's not forget: It was the community who boo'd random cards off the stage, utterly and consistently despising it at every corner. All SQEX did was listen to their community, and that's why we're here now: Where every job is neutered, tanks defend themselves, healer DPS is 1-button-only and no randomness anywhere while all fights and jobs are built around a 120s cycle for burst purposes.