Well... after 10 games or so, I have to say I think the game is just a lot more random with Figures.
First is the thing that you never quite know what's there in the figures deck... technically you can, but in any game the figures deck rarely gets depleted and you always only see a small fraction of them. It is then not very beneficial to plan with them since there is no way to efficiently draw the figure you want. So to me it's more like lottery, with the decree as sort of the last resort/stable income.
That being said, when the situation's right (that is, you happen to draw a figure that is ideal for your/your opponent's current board) some of the figures are just overpowered. The game can be decided by just drawing one of those cards.
For example, today I had a game where I happen to draw a green figure (age 5 or 6) saying INSPIRE: score a top card with crown from anywhere; if you would score a card, first take the achievement of the value of the card ignoring the age requirement. This card is insane. First it is an attack that can not be stopped. Second it attacks, score, achieve at the same time. When the situation is right it is just nuts.
Another example is another card I forgot color and age, saying count the type of icons you have more than two times as your opponent as extra achievements. And my opponent won via clock and castle just by melding this card. It's really a sneak attack as I didn't see him have any way to achieve even a single achievement in a single action much less to say two.
I don't know, I think the game is wacky and fun and sort-of still skillful; I just don't find it as deep as the original (deep in the sense that a lot of play comes from anticipating or planning for the cards in the deck.)