For now I actually but the bullet and bought IC Pro. It’s maybe the cheapest of all options (buying hardware, etc) and it integrates well with Nuendo. I feared it would be a bad choice as I’ve read lots of not so positive things about the app.
But I have to say, for what I’d like to use the app (i.e. surfacing shortcuts as buttons on a screen), it’s the perfect solution that works well. You can search by menu item name and quickly color them. Only drag and drop for re-arrangement is missing, but configuration of shortcuts is SO much easier than in EuControl. Yeah you don’t have control over the channel strip, cannot load plugins into inserts or control the EQ with a graphical interface but again that’s not what I was looking for. It’s an expensive solution for what I wanted it to so (having some buttons instead of shortcuts) but it works and I’m happy for now 
If only this app was updated more frequently with new features. In the forums there’s no shortage on ideas. Android was abandoned, iOS is still sold but updates are far and few between. A shame.