Let me begin by saying that this was not the case before, but, now, Gwent beats beta Gwent in every single aspect, especially at: thematic decks where all cards synergise with each other. There are some nice combo decks, for sure, and the archetypes are well cooked, to the point that, sometimes, it feels that cards are both cosmetically and gameplay-wise singularities of the space-time continuum. Let me illustrate with an example: what is a mage in this game? Some heal, some deal damage, yes, but many other cards do that too (and, sometimes, even better so…) – and I think this is beautiful. IMHO, a more meaningful approach which would make cards feel unique – mages, for instance, could make spells deal + damage, or reduce their provision cost, dwarves could do something similar to artifacts, idk – can never be conceived to the point that criticizing current Gwent should be held as a heresy.
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/gwent/comments/luqeht/i_feel_nothing_is_missing_beta_gwent_pre_hc/