I got to rank 12 last month. This month, I have sat out of ranked play (except when I accidentally overlook a need to check the unranked box) as I felt I had advanced beyond my card holding ability to be competitive. I could probably advance a bit more now that my holdings have improved, but I doubt I could get to the next reward level anyway, so I prefer the creativity I encounter in unranked. Although I have used a lot of barrels for cards, I have been saving scraps (over 13,800 now) until I have better understanding of exactly which cards would prove useful. I strongly resist net-decking (unless I “accidentally” discover that deck on my own).
My best deck is a hybrid of self damage for growth (Olaf and Blueboy with Svalbard Priests and cultists) and enemy damage for growth (Dahir and Greatswords triggered mainly by neutral special cards - I don’t own Wild Boar and don’t use Morkvarg). It makes heavy use of replay cards (Freya’s Blessing, Sigrdrifa’s Blessing), and decoys ( An Craite Longships, Olaf, Blueboy, even priests) to draw out enemy control cards, and absolutely revolves around Covenant of Steel for points, drawing fire, and protecting engines.
I usually try to use the self damage engines to either win the first round or to overextend my opponent, and save the Greatswords for the final round, although I may reverse that if my initial deck leans heavily toward the latter. Although I love to have my defender destroyed (I just bring him back) and I can usually withstand having him purified or moved, the deck always tanks if he’s stolen by Yennifer or Philipa. The only defense possible against these cards is to offer a juicy (but expendable) target like Olaf first and hope my opponent bites. Good players usually don’t.
I like going first for several reasons: the Longships get more shots if played before the opponent; the tactical advantage strategem makes them a heftier (and more attractive) decoy target for enemy removal cards; first play helps with the tempo to set up my ideal row of Priest, Blueboy, Cultist; and the extra Mulligan helps me avoid an unfortunate situation where I have Blueboy and Olaf with nothing to trigger them, Priests and Cultists with nothing to target, or Greatswords with nothing to damage the enemy. Usually by third round, I’ve drawn necessary cards to have a solid hand, but first round can be iffy. For me, these advantages more than make up for loss of tactical control in the first round. Of course, my deck is much more proactive than reactive.