Aeon’s End has more interesting decisions than other deck builders that I’ve seen. Mana Aether is not only used to purchase cards, but also
to power up the special abilities of the mages (up to 4) cooperatively trying to defeat the Nemesis. Also used to open breaches, which is important since a spell can’t be cast unless it’s been parked in a Breach for at least one turn.
The two mechanics that really set it apart are turn order and how the discard pile. is handled. The pile is never shuffled. Instead, after a hand, the player determines the order in which cards are discarded, allowing you to set up the combos your want in upcoming hands.
More important, in every round, which consists of each mage and the Nemesis going twice the actual turn order is randomized, so a particular mage going twice in a row can do some serious damage. OTOH, when the Nemesis goes twice in a row is can be devastating.
There are some very interesting and novel ideas at work here.