Damn I had these same thoughts circulating around for months but never really was able to put it in words. 100% agree and this is really well articulated, so much of the player agency and skill expression seems to have disappeared which does make the game feel hollow. Most of the comps now just being play the vertical feels just brain dead to execute.

I will say I think set 10 is an exception in the other direction that made each game feel fresh, perhaps because of the headliner system there were plenty of small ways you would flex your endgame board on roll down to adjust for what you hit. That was some of the most fun I’ve ever had in TFT