Edges clearly from the moment they were introduced, went a lot further
than just enticing ppl to use different skills.

They *changed the way classes played, and in some cases this happened in a major way*.

To me they always felt like a compromise to changing the classes themselves. It is easier to introduce changes with edges, see how they work out in practice, and maybe in the future roll them into the class (or not), than go in and change the class outright.

A lot of the class mechanics were downright broken and edges helped a lot with this.
Some mechanics are still broken (and a few edges broke some of their own), but hey, they're fewer than before so overall I'd say the edge changes have been overwhelmingly positive.

If someone removed all edges right now, you'd end up with a broken game.

Forget the complicated stuff that Isildur is proposing, the following (2) steps would introduce a lot more FUN in CF:

+ Find ways to make edges *easier to get* without tedium, not harder, across the board for everyone.
+ Play around with edges a lot more, meaning code new ones/remove existing ones that are deemed broken and so on. The barrier to entry for this is low.