Blessings are still a thing though, so the fantasy is still there - what we lost is the long duration blessings that require little thought to use and just provided passive group power to paladin.
I think all things considered I'd rather have the auras than raid blessings if I had to choose one, since the CD blessings remain.
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If both specs choose all active talents, both have 13 buttons to press for DPS. So I was wrong, Ret doesn't have more - but neither does Affliction.