With the removal of critical finishes - is SRSH A+B really that big of a loss do you think?
CFs alone isn't what makes RSH'A+B good. The long range mid helps to mix with long range highs vs crouching or stepping. SC5's RSH'A alone might get frequently crouched because without a RSH'A+B-like move, there's no reason not to crouch at far range. Without a long range mid variation from the same stance, SC5 RSH'A could be somewhat useless, not entirely but.. yea.
SC4 RSH'A+B's big push back + SSH'A+B's retreat = Zoning-bread-&-butter. I play zoning "can't touch me?" style with these two moves even in SC2 (NLS'A+B + NSSr'bA) n_n. I'm all into range play, "I have a ZWEIHANDER, no reason for me to get close at all as long as I have more HP left.
I think the good about SC5 RSH'A is that at least is faster than SC4's, but the game in general is faster..
So, does SC5 have lesser moves than SC4? Which are less moves than SC3, which are less moves than SC2. I don't its that bad to simplify sometimes, but more variety within a character means more effective ways to play it & not falling into a "best way only" to play a character. The BEs might fill-in that variety element in SC5, but for how long before it gets optimized in core-play?
I like playing Sig, watching Sig battles & knowing that I play differently, I mean, its me there.. on the display picture at the left of this post heheheh :P