Now that I think about it, some of us, even I liked the Rougeish HW Thancred aesthetic.
They likely looked for something close to it.
Since he was always the Core of it with ROG/NIN. Though eventually going GNB out of necessity. His core dual wield was there.
(what could of been, if his magic wasn't fully Fd.)

Which is why may would get AC, or adjacent vibes.