I asked this question before and got a mix of answers, i actually ended up loving it personally and got almost to lvl 70 in matter of just a few weeks.

New ast players wont really notice any card problems, and 5.1 buffed it ever so slightly to raise damage. Plus ast is a little more complex than things like whm if you're a fan of less braindead classes (no offense whms, your class is just REALLY easy)

Best advice is to just try it a little and see what you think, at least get to lvl 40 or 50 imo since thats when you start really getting into the meat of classes. Opinions vary so much on ast it's hard to really know how you'll feel. Obviously it's all valid, but some people aren't as bothered by its flaws than others.