Key Design Idea:

Initiative

Many of Ken's attacks get better when he is the one who initiated the strike. His Shoryuken is his most iconic move. While viable on defense due to its Guard, it can be used at high speed at close range, giving Ken a card that outclasses the faster Normals in terms of damage.

Since he has plenty of built-in power, Ken's boosts mostly help to improve his speed–increasing the viability of his attacks and discouraging opponents from attacking into him since he'll be striking above the speed curve anyway.