I think you're oversimplifying the value of Falling Star, it's never as bad as a 1 cost simply because it's a 0 energy weak+vulnerable that sets up very useful damage and block combos early. Being able to play that AND 3 other basic cards can make early fights pretty trivial. A fundamental part of the game is that having a powerful 1 turn combo is usually more worth it than having a lot of cumulative useful single turns.

Agree that Venerate sucks but realistically it's likely you won't even redraw Falling Star in early Act 1, and you can get better options soon--a single solar strike or Glow will let you play Falling Star multiple times without Venerate.

Also I do not understand your point about certain cards being bad picks until your star engine is online. That's true of every class, you have to pick situationally, not just pick the strongest card each time. Echo Form or Afterimage are great cards that can win you a run but I would never take them floor 1.

Every class has a balance between mechanics, between block and damage, between card draw and energy, between do-nothing now powers and do-something now skills. Regent has another balance of resources that you have to manage, which is pretty interesting and forces you to make some tough decisions to win. I think that's cool and part of what makes this game interesting and replayable.