I folded and joined the ranks of the Damien players. From what I've found, it's just as horrible and unfun to pilot as it is to play against. It's almost Gwent's answer to those MTGA decks that rope out on both your's and your opponent's time due to the many steps that have to be taken in the turn.
It's also very binary in mirror-matches, favouring whoever gets to go first in R1. Even then, it comes down to your opponent playing dumber or greedier than you and overcomitting to getting Damien back in hand in R2, especially when you run the mill varient. If it's not a mirror, then most players forfiet as soon as they see Strategic Withdrawl, before the mulligan phase is even over in some cases. Honestly, I can't blame them for doing so.
Oh well, 10 more rounds to win and I can leave seasonal for another month. CDPR, you probably didn't intend for seasonal to be grindy, opressive and just unfun, but letting shit like this run unchecked is why players like myself and others often don't even bother playing seasonal after the first day if the cosmetics don't appeal. You might not realise it, but this also impacts our decision to how much Gwent we play in a week, too. If there's no relief from try-hard meta in either unranked or seasonal, you can bet we go play or find other games. Don't get complacent and think the good karma you've accrued in the past means you can let things slide in the present.
((( It says Jan 9 CDPR, I want that cardback ! 
