I don't know that this is why specifically Chinese players are review bombing it, but this is true of StS2. You can build a super OP sly deck for silent only to get roflstomp'd by Doormaker. You can build a Defect deck that drops big attacks to get shutdown by Phrog Parasite. And so on.

If anything, thinning the deck, like one of the article's quotes suggest, makes the deck more susceptible to curses and status cards. Higher ascension runs need you to be able to build around many scenarios, and not every deck is Status Defect.

I like the direction the devs are going in with making lower ascensions easier and higher ascensions harder.