As far as looking to games for inspiration, I always think about Doom and Diablo. Back when they were released, everyone (myself included) called similar games Doom clones and Diablo clones. But now they are First Person Shooters and Action Role Playing Games.
You can have a game that wears its inspiration on its sleeve and still distinguish it with unique mechanics or settings, just as Hostile Takeover does. It's not a "Slay the Spire" clone, but a Tactical Roguelike Deckbuilder.
For the aggro portion, maybe one of the ninja's starting cards could be one that helps offset squishiness. Dodge helps, but there are a ton of times where I need more than one move and the +3 shield doesn't usually help all that much. Meat Shield is definitely my favorite, and doesn't push you towards a certain build like any of the clone cards would.
Anyway, just my two cents. I'm exicted to see the new patch, and I'll be playing this a lot for the forseeable future.