Dryad Seasonal Mode

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DRK3

Forum veteran
So, yesterday we got a (not so) new seasonal mode - Seesaw. It's the same as last year, but im guessing most current players weren't around last year.

I didnt play it yesterday because i was busy trying the new leaders and changed cards, but on previous patches, when there isnt anything new to try i usually jump to seasonal day one.

This seasonal mode is quite tricky, one of the trickiest probably, and i was planning on making one of my seasonal mode text guides. But when i jumped into the mode, im facing already optimized decks, players who know exactly what they're doing while im still confused by all the +1,-1 going around.

My question is how is this possible, on day 2 of the mode?
- Is the seasonal matchmaking algorhytm still the same as last month? That means im facing Prestige 8-10 players, so it makes it more reasonable, but still, im impressed if they nailed the mode in just a single day.
- Are there seasonal guides already? The pro teams usually take longer to post seasonal guides, as they're more focused on ranked, so maybe there's some streamer guides already?
- I played this mode last year, but since it was September, 1 month before Iron Judgement, there was NO ARMOR yet. Now with armor and a ton of new cards, this seasonal mode delivers new layers of complexity, hence why im so confused how some players already dominate it. Maybe they theorycrafted decks, knowing the mode would be the same?

Anyway, share your thoughts on the seasonal mode
(Mods, please dont merge this thread with official season of dryad thread, since that one is being used mostly to discuss balance changes and leader abilities)
 
I really dont like this seasonal mode as much as most others, it's way too much math which takes away from my experience. I hope there are no guides etc around, as soon as that happens seasonal usually gets incredibly dull with atleast half of the players playing exactly the same deck. I want to point out season of the griffin with the lippy stuff.
 
- Are there seasonal guides already? The pro teams usually take longer to post seasonal guides, as they're more focused on ranked, so maybe there's some streamer guides already?
The streamer DevilDriven seems to make Seasonal Guides on Day One, last month he made the Overwhelming Hunger Deck which I faced countless Times until Trynet made a Hidden Cache guide.

I only played a few seasonal matches with Skellige yesterday because I don't like that seasonal mode that much ( the next one is even worse if it's the same like last year (after each turn switch hands with you're Opponent :facepalm:). but I didn't face any strong Decks at that time.
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
The streamer DevilDriven seems to make Seasonal Guides on Day One, last month he made the Overwhelming Hunger Deck which I faced countless Times until Trynet made a Hidden Cache guide.

I only played a few seasonal matches with Skellige yesterday because I don't like that seasonal mode that much ( the next one is even worse if it's the same like last year (after each turn switch hands with you're Opponent :facepalm:). but I didn't face any strong Decks at that time.

Thanks, but i may have been misleading with my words - i wasnt really asking for netdecks, im completely against netdecking and never GG any metadecks, i think general guides are fine, specially for tricky stuff like this seasonal mode, but not guides saying exactly what to do, there should be something left for players to figure out on their own.

Also, i think next month's seasonal is Mahakam, so the one where every unit is resilient?
 
Thanks, but i may have been misleading with my words - i wasnt really asking for netdecks, im completely against netdecking and never GG any metadecks, i think general guides are fine, specially for tricky stuff like this seasonal mode, but not guides saying exactly what to do, there should be something left for players to figure out on their own.

Also, i think next month's seasonal is Mahakam, so the one where every unit is resilient?
You asked if there is already a Guide around, so i posted it, i know that you don't need a guide it was to show you why you probably run in to this Deck a lot, like last Month in the first few days with OH.

Season of the Cat is Next (After 2 turns the players switch hands.) after that Mahakam and after that a lot healthier Wild Hunt with Strategic Withdrawal gone.
 
The big takeaway for me is that the seesaw action is applied before any boosts / vitality stuff takes place.

Just wait until you run into the NG defender / Cahir combination... Seesaw boosts should NOT trigger that damned card. It makes Yrden an auto-include in this seasonal, I think.
 

DRK3

Forum veteran
You asked if there is already a Guide around, so i posted it, i know that you don't need a guide it was to show you why you probably run in to this Deck a lot, like last Month in the first few days with OH.

Season of the Cat is Next (After 2 turns the players switch hands.) after that Mahakam and after that a lot healthier Wild Hunt with Strategic Withdrawal gone.

Actually, the NR deck is one of the best for this seasonal but it was not that one that impressed me more, because:
a) it's very similar to the one already dominating standard modes
b) its only based on boosts - boost the odd numbered units whenever you can

But i saw some SK decks, that are based on damage and self damage, so you got units going up and down, its way more confusing but the players already dominated it, meanwhile im taking +30 seconds each turn to figure it out, while usually im one of the fastest players, blitz mode or not.
 

Easha

Forum regular
How it is possible?
We knew this mode ruleset from last year, so building a deck for it on day 1 is not diffcult at all. What is more important is to react to the netdeckers on day one, if there is already a netdeck. Just run the direct counter to that very deck and it is easy sailing for a few days to get all the quests done. Especially since the standard netdecker refuses to adjust the list they copied. As I am already done with seasonal, here are my strategies:

I farm the NR decks with Nilfgaard. Defender, Letho, (Renew) and Cahir. You can spare the provisions for Renew and Defender 2x, as Cahir alone wins the matches for you. He also counts for the seasonal rule set boost and thus grows to nice numbers. Pack some Assassinations and Joust to deal with engines that can move ( Kerack City Guard and Malena) and you are good versus that prevalent NR deck. Informants are great as well, they die at one power so they are basically free and copy your opponent's engines/movement cards. You can also run Movement via Strays of Spalla or Veil with Fortune Teller - the low end bronzes don't really matter if you get Cahir to stick. NR has no Purify, so Kerack City Guard and raw damage is their only hope outside of Yrden - if they bother to adjust the list, that is.

You can do a similar strategy with SK: Defender, Dagur and Craiteswords. The rules also make Dimun Light Longships an infinite source of pings to ruin the evens of your opponent. Blueboy Lugos next to a priest is great as well, as the 2 damage never accidentally help your opponent - for that reason better do not use Drummond Berserker, even though he is a self-sustaining damage engine as well, but the randomness might be to your disadvantage.

Oneiromancy helps if you can fit it in, as missing Dagur/Cahir will lead to problems if you neglect your bronze cards too much and run too many techs just to keep those two cards online. Try to find a balance here and choose according to waht you meet: Cahir performs better versus NR, Dagur worked better versus the other decks for me.

Seasonal modes reward smart deckbuilding and punishes net decking - which is why I do like them. Even during Season of the Wild Hunt where it was Damien over and over again: Just by countering that one strategy with everything you have and suceeding to do so made them forfeit.
 
I accidentally made a decent deck by doing the Ciri quest. Figured out how to manipulate the numbers and won a few with a slapped together deck. Use cards that can put your opponent at an odd number, and keep your units at even numbers.
 
I farm the NR decks with Nilfgaard. Defender, Letho, (Renew) and Cahir. You can spare the provisions for Renew and Defender 2x, as Cahir alone wins the matches for you. He also counts for the seasonal rule set boost and thus grows to nice numbers. Pack some Assassinations and Joust to deal with engines that can move ( Kerack City Guard and Malena) and you are good versus that prevalent NR deck. Informants are great as well, they die at one power so they are basically free and copy your opponent's engines/movement cards. You can also run Movement via Strays of Spalla or Veil with Fortune Teller - the low end bronzes don't really matter if you get Cahir to stick. NR has no Purify, so Kerack City Guard and raw damage is their only hope outside of Yrden - if they bother to adjust the list, that is.

You know...the days I played seasonal, I ended farming NG decks with the NR deck. After they put they defender, then Cahir, I just pretended like if I wanted to go through the defender. Then I started boosting with NR engines (of course they allowed it, that was feeding Cahir), and also killing whatever units they played in ranged. Last play was always Geralt: Yrden. With this strategy didn't lose a single match against NG. My real problem at the end was SK, which killed every engine and their decks were a pain in the ass.
 
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