It was removed when they split bgs into epic and normal queues due to the reduced pools.
I said it back when they made this thread
https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/upcoming-changes-to-the-ashran-isle-of-conquest-and-wintergrasp-epic-battlegrounds/
The increase to the time reduced from towers is as significant if not more to the defenders as the reduction to tower health is to the attackers.
On top of that the nerfs to Seige Engines and Demo’s were more significant to the attackers who are forced to rely more heavily on them, whilst defenders can make better useage of catapults to hold and capture workshops stifling the attackers efforts.
Pretty sure the forced ranking also better helps the defenders as well as they have more potential to unintentionally avoid conflict than the attackers do.