You hit the nail on the head with the assessment of the pace and commitment to options.
One of my biggest strengths in any fighting game has always been my ability to control the pace of a match by a decent defense and taking advantage of reads in order to trip my opponents up and have them second guess themselves in put them into the position I want them to. In most fighting games (SCIV including), I think that type of ability becomes second to things like abusing low-risk+above-average reward (or playing 'lame'). While I don't think SCV will completely abolish that type of playstyle, I do think that it will allow players who excel at particular playstyles and things to do well, rather than bog them down in the system of the game.
The fact that lots of stuff doesn't seem as heavily punishable on block as it used to be (without meter, of course) will make it that much harder to simply idly stand back and try to let your opponent open themselves up (along with the pace of the game), while at the same time making whiff punishment that much more crucial; the GB system coupled with the frames will make playing a smart offense a scary thing against a basic defense, being able to apply a very real threat with the amount of damage the characters can do.
In summation, I'm in love with this game and no one's going to be able to stop me once I get my hands on it!
