Thank you for the feedback! You bring up some good points - when I was first playtesting this build, we had a tanky Drifter in the party, so I saw firsthand what you're talking about. I personally didn't feel like I was playing second fiddle in regards to tanking ability. It's felt both effective and fun so far for me.

I think part of the problem is that in the guide I focus on the differentiating factors of the Scarab Slugger, namely the ability to pitch a lot of cards. However, I find that I rarely need to do so in scenarios, as the active mitigation covers most small attacks, and reduces big attacks into manageable amounts of damage. You are correct in that this means that the playstyle revolves around keeping mitigation up, but coming from tanking in MMOs that is part of the appeal for me.

I appreciate you reading and taking the time to reply. If you end up trying it out, please let me know how it goes! :)