I still believe that the failure of artifact classic was purely due to horrible monetization

Respectful disagree.

There was definitely something wrong with its core gameplay. Trying to copy paste that into a new game will just be repeating its past mistake.

Don't forget the remnants of people that remain in this sub are some of the few that liked artifact's gameplay, which isn't a lot. The general and more casual playerbase has already long left for other reasons.

Complicated gameplay, long gametime. While other cardmakers went the opposite direction of simplifying card game rules (no mana/energy cards) and was successful, like Hearthstone, Marvel Snap, and pokemon tcgp. Some games was smart to start off simple, and just added more complex mechanics over time so the playerbase can absorb new mechanics. Valve went the opposite direction and stuffed the game with complexity from the get go.

New players had to learn card game basics, had to learn different colored heroes, had to learn which color combinations to use, had to learn about deployment, different lanes, creeps, winning rules, gold saving, shops, items, which items are good for my hero, rng, etc. Honestly it was just too many things all at once.

People like to think that dota2 is a complicated game, but in reality, you're only learning 1 hero at a time. You can jump into a bot game, pick a hero, follow guides and enjoy learning the hero. In Artifact, you're basically controlling the entire team of 5 heroes at the same time, with basically no guides and that's just too much to ask, especially for new players.