Finally reached pro rank, just want to share my experience and joy with the ladder and meta

Damn it was difficult! (and strange at times..)

I played only hombrewed NG Buhurt deck which I called "Knightmare", very creative I know, with custom elements here and there. Had to constantly change and adapt. Worst matchups were Syndicate decks with bounty or poison, almost never won. Harmony was the favorite matchup, because they gave me big nice boosted units and did not interact with me much.

Rank 6-3 were the toughest for some reason. From 2 to 1, I met some strange decks with no points whatsoever, almost like new players, I even suspected the game matched me against lower ranked players because nobody was playing at my rank.

At 6-3 I met a lot of NR reavers, Harmony decks, Movement Scoiatel decks, Poison Syndicate, and Bounty decks and sometimes SK discard and Veteran decks. After rank 3, Bounty Hunters became a lot more common, a lot of Lock NG decks appeared with endless removals. A lot of Renfri decks with custom variations.

Overall it is a very diverse meta, most games had the sense of wonder, most players had their own gimmicks and custom elements in their decks. Very little balance unfortunately, but it's fun in its own way. But I kind of miss the days where every point mattered.

Key moments and personal takeaways and a bonus secret tip (keep in mind I played only the Knightmare deck) :

1. Renfri is not OP as people claim. Not as a card nor as a deck archetype. It is too expensive provisionwise and the ability does not do much in the current meta against heavy swings from every little card.
2. Harmony and Wild hunt decks are the weakest.
3. Syndicate poison is super strong and almost impossible to counter even if you have purify and veils. You can counter them perhaps if you have poison, I didn't use any so I struggled a lot.
4. Bounty decks are crazy, gotta kill/control the units fast and properly, prioritizing the ones which do damage by Fee, or those which give bounties, actively or passively. Winning first round is a must.
5. NR Reavers are broken af, the card which removes armor from a lane and damages everyone by 2 is a must.
6. NR Mages are super impressive, rarely saw them but they were cool with those patient 8 damage dealing 6p mages.
7. NG Cultists aren't as strong as they might seem.
8. Dagon is impressive, seems broken if unanswered, but I somehow could win, even without banishing/destroying or locking them.
9. The Secret Bonus Tip: Puppeteer is a secret legendary card for 5p. You can use it instead of the 11p Order-Conspiracy-Seize legendary, the same way with a Zeal artifact. All you got to do is win the first round (without it), use it on a big bronze as a finisher on 3rd. It is actually much easier to use since it does not need "spying" status on the enemy. Just beware of the lane fullness. If there's no big bronze unit on the enemy side, you can make one with spies or/and buffs 😉
10. High provision cards aren't as strong as they were before and often not worth it. A lot of new 4-7p cards are better than the expensive legendaries + there are mini-Dandelions everywhere. Also you don't need tutors and thinning as much as before. You can get 20+ points from a 4p bronze, but 10 points from a 13p card, which is nuts. Always got to keep that mind while deckbuilding.

Thanks for reading, feel free to argue about anything.