Gwent: The Witcher Card Game (Part 2)

So I've made it to Rank 7 -- and unlocked the Radovid avatar, my only goal in this game #yayyy -- which is pretty cool since I'd never thought I'd made it this high on the ladder. I'm not aiming to play Pro Rank as I am not interested in meta decks (which you need to climb) and learning how to play just one faction is enough for me (need to play/master all factions to play in Pro Rank). So now I just hang around between ranks 9 and 7 playing unranked matches, which is fun and stress-free. 

This is the deck that I use to climb the ladder (and it is pretty solid!)

This (winning) deck is good because the cards I need tend to get shuffled into my hand during "mulligans". I also have cards like Oneiromancy and Amphibious Assault for consistency, as well as answers to debuffs/ statuses like poison, rupture, lock, defender etc. And the Revs and Ronvid + Mobilization lead skill still do their job nicely to spawn. They are formidable when unanswered.  

But I enjoy experimenting with the "devotion" deck -- i.e. playing a single faction (in my case, the Norther Realms) only without any neutral cards -- for extra buffs and synergy. Admittedly, this deck is not as good as the one above and, I think, requires a bit more strategising. 

I still have cards that give a degree of consistency (AA and John Natalis), as well as the Pincer Manevver lead skill, but I feel this particular deck is kinda weak and easy for opponent to answer. That is, my engines are killed before they can start piling up points. But when it does work, it is a really fun deck to play. 

Meanwhile, I have also decided to return to Steins;Gate to do Miyuri's route, which requires replaying the game from Chapter 4. Which is fine since the last time I played the game was, like, four years ago and I don't mind going through the (excellently written) story again. Everything also makes more sense now in my second playthrough. 

And I thought my original Nintendo Game Boy, yes, "DOT Matrix with Stereo Sound" (Made in Japan!!!) had died on me but I switched out the old batteries and it is working AGAIN! I need to turn it on every day from now on to make sure it LIVES!!!