I'm not so concerned about up/down or down/up. I am ecstatic about the five buttons on the bottom row for patch changes, and the 'tap' being on the bottom row is awesome.
I've owned several different midi boards, and the one thing they all have in common is that the bottom row is always patch changes, you only get to send your fx off/on or tap tempo info to the second or third row. Well, to tap tempo you have to enter it more than once - which means you're off balance a bit while you're tapping. Not a big deal if you're sitting at home but if you're playing a live gig and *cough* have had an adult beverage or three, it's a little hard sometimes to balance on one foot and reach up and over with another foot.
One thing that might be nice to consider (and I know I'm mentioning this late to the party) would be a 'four patch bank' setup, and allow assignment of that fifth patch change button to anything you use often, just to keep it on the lower row. One could assign that as a boost, or whatever - something used often. I hate reaching up to the second row to switch anything.
Pete