I actually liked the new deco tools. Despite the fact that some people didn't know how to use them, it's pretty simple. If you've worked with collor palletes, Adobe Illustrator, Autodesk: Sketchbook... etc. you'll understand. In the new UI it is much easier to make colors that you actually have in mind. Plus, the blending tools are amazing. Although... there are some downsides. The majority of tpt users aren't tech savvy and would rather have a simpler, more ergonomic decoration toolset. What I suggest is using an older version of tpt to do whatever you want. Aslo, to please us all [devs] might wan't to consider re-add the "B" shortcut while keeping the new deco tools.
I'm amazed at how many "good" art saves are appearing now. The silly-spamming ones have either been forgotten or deleted. The non-deco preview succesfully filtered art saves in a way.