I get what you're saying, and you're right.
The problem I have with dark is how it behaves in the common ch2 encounter, where there is a second enemy. I don't want to play a memorisation game, and even then it's not rare to risk wasting heals instead of blocking. Even though I understand it's just bad luck, it's still annoying when it happens very frequently.
I'm kind of saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Slay the Spire is a good game. But I fully understand wanting to not be too similar.
I will stand by my opinion on the gamble intent effectively hiding potential damage from the player. I can't really complain much about card steal though, especially since it can't steal your last hand of cards (if that part is unintentional, I say don't fix it).