Hey, thanks. Wrapping my head around it all is still a work in progress, I think...
My one free Gauntlet attempt was a learning experience. I managed one win before being trounced.
Not sure I like it as much as the ladder, since I prefer using my own cards, even if they kind of suck right now.
Right now I've managed (somehow) to reach rank 16 with a slightly modified Vanar starter deck. I like Vanar the best thematically, but I kind of expected them to be a bit too complicated for me. I'm actually really enjoying the position-dependent stuff though... the way you can punish the opponent for their positioning no matter where they are on the board, with Avalanche and Infiltrate and the general's bloodborne spell.
I don't really want to craft any cards until I'm further along, so I've just been using stuff I pulled from booster packs... I swapped out some of the high-cost cards for 3 Azure Horn Shamans and added my 1 copy of Frostburn, among a couple other changes I probably forgot. A lot happier with how the early game goes now than I was with the default deck.
I still have a Dragonbone Golem in my deck as my only 7 cost... but today I got a legendary "Pandora" as an achievement reward, and it looks pretty fun. Any reason why I shouldn't swap her in instead of the golem?
My biggest weakness in card games is I always want to pick the cooler monsters over the more useful ones. :<