Guess I should have just waited 3 hours...
The new card icons were the first thing that stood out to me in the battle scene. I felt like I was making more deliberate choices between cards and sides. In the previous version, I had completely avoided using the red side of cards, whereas that was not an option here. However, with the cards forgoing combined effects, the mechanics feel simpler than before.
I liked the change to enemies telegraphing their moves. I found this also helped in understanding the aggression mechanic. There's still a lot of mystery and figuring out what-to-do on the side of the player, though.
Overall, I think this was a step in the right direction. This update encouraged me to flip my cards more often than I was in the last.
Good luck with the next update! I have a release planned for later this week and would love your feedback when you get a chance.
I published it today! Here's the link: https://maaack.itch.io/battle-deck-energy-premature-release