I've been down that road a few times. I've found that I prefer carbon hinoki blades that that are on the stiffer side. The soft feeling of the hinoki outer ply balances out the stiffness. That wood/carbon combination has a springy feel. I understand how it is going to work and it suits my game. I've even went as far as trying many different kinds of carbon and differently quantities of plies, 5 ply, 7 ply, etc.. Inner carbon, outer carbon, even a bunch of different kinds of carbon. I'm pretty set on the Xiom Strato. You are definitely correct about the blade, it can surely make or break your game. I purchased an FZD ALC awhile back. I was terrible with that. It seemed like it was going to work out okay at first, but I got worse every day I played with that thing. I just could not get my stokes in a grove.
I have Nittaku Acoustic carbon and Viscaria. And I keep on going back to my cheap $40 Gambler carbon. It just works the best for me! With the Gambler Blackout carbon, I have found H3 neo on the forehand with Rakza 7 soft or Fastarc C-1 at 2.0 mm sponge works the best on the backhand (Fastarc C-1 comes in 2.0mm max sponge only but Rakza 7 soft comes in thicker max sponge thickness).
Why? I don't know. H3 on the forehand has always been my go to rubber there. I have tried Sanwei Target National, Sanwei Targer Provincial, Mercury II, Big Dipper 40 degree, Tibhar K1 European version, and Tibhar K2. I don't feel right so I keep on going back to H3 there.
Backhand, I found Rakza 7 soft and C-1 to have the right softness and yet catapulty enough but not too much (for example, Tenergy 05 fx is too springy and I could not excecute my strokes). 2.0 mm allows me to loop backhand with confidence. Rakza 7 soft max sponge, I can easily hit my loop long and does not have the arc to get over the net. Why? I don't know. It is just the way it is. Razka 7 regular, Rakza X regular, Rasanter 47, Xiom Vega X, etc. are just too hard for me.
Do I lose power using softer ESN rubbers? No, I have been forced to go back away from the table and my fishing of the ball on the backhand side has been of decent quality. I don't feel any loss of power by going with Rakza 7 soft or C-1. I feel more confident with softer ESN rubbers and willing to do bigger strokes because of that.
Will I try slapping Xiom Vega Europe there or Rasanter R37 or R42 there? Yeah when I get a chance.
Will I try the harder Rakza 7 or G-1 on the backhand side in the future? Sure, but not right now.
I have tried other Gambler blades. Fire Dragon Fast is too fast. No dwell time. GLine X Fast carbon is a bit slower than Fire Dragon Fast but makes this annoying clicking sound. Fire Dragon Hinoki is good but too heavy. Vector Hinoki, AC hero, Vector speed are too slow.
Have I tried to tame the Fire Dragon Fast blade? Yes, I put Mercury II on the forehand and a Gambler tacky rubber on the backhand, both boosted heavily. Is it slower now? Yes. Do I like it? No. I still feel that my stroke is too "hard" and I don't like the way it feels.
In general, I don't like to waste a blade or the rubber. I always try to find a home for them so I can still enjoy the blade (like slapping on Mercury II on a fast carbon blade). I would put faster rubbers (such as Tenergy fx series or Tibhar Revolution series) on my 5-ply or 7-ply wood blades so I can still enjoy them. Will I play a tournament with those set-up's? No.
My next phase of experimentation will be trying various cheap carbon blades I got from Aliexpress.