after some searching around i found some information about this game's battle system
from gamepro.com
"As co-director Hiroya Hatsushiba was quick to point out, there is more to Baten's battle system than is obvious from the screenshots. "The battle system appears to be card-based," he said at the event, "but these are not card battles here. All of the player's actions in battle are governed by these Magnus cards, but the player has to choose his moves from cards which are continually dealt out to him. It's not like a collectible-card game as much as it feels like a falling-block puzzle game of sorts. To launch a combo, all you have to do is use a card before your current attack is completed, so depending on your deck and the cards you use, your combos vary widely. Work it right and you can double the power of your attacks, but if, for example, you use a fire-element card with a water-element card, the net effect could be cut in half."
It's worth noting that everything you can do in battle—including using items and running away from enemies—can only be done if you have the right Magnus card in your current hand. There are also some "voice-only" cards that're used mostly to go with your combo moves and make your party look cool."
it seems like this game wont feel like lost kingdoms at all- hope this helps out