I think not seeing who we are playing against during the set up stage is an improvement.
It's probably not that you are not good at strategy, rather that the game has so many variables. I have a go-to set up that does well most of the time, but gets defeated fairly often too. I also like the way special rules are added to some games so that you can't always set up in the way you'd like to. It keeps you on your toes and hovering between frustration and elation!
Found this post via Listnerds.