My point is that it seems to be very similar
Well, Caravan seems to be very similar to Lab, right? Yet we know they play differently, and that one can get away with costing less
Again, that is not what I'm getting at. I'm just saying that it feels weird to me that the action and the reaction are so very similar. They are certainly different, and I mentioned a few ways that they are different even when I first commented about it. It was not a comment on card strength or balance or price.
And Jimmmm hits it on the head too, part of it is also that this is a reaction specifically to an attack that feels unrelated to the attack (unlike all other such reactions), and the "Guard" name just exacerbates that thematic disconnect. (PPE: I don't think it's thematic or adds good flavour. The opposite, actually.)
The length of this discussion is making it seem like a bigger deal than it is. When I first commented on it, I didn't even say it was a bad thing. I just said that it was interesting.