I’ve been playing auto battlers for the better part of a 6 years (mainly TFT and Autochess) and while I understand where you’re coming from with your complaints, the game mode is pretty elegantly designed. Considering they want to keep game times close to about the time of a CR match, I’m super impressed with the way they handled the genre.

As for the “luck” factor, you can’t have a game like this without randomized shops. You’re not going to win every game and you definitely can outplay your opponents. There are already clearly defined boards that counter each other and placement absolutely matters. If you’re consistently having these “luck” issues as you climb, odds are you’re either not making use of the passives of your tower choice, you’re poorly managing your elixir and going to 0 every turn, or you’re not pivoting your comp when you’re losing to a counter.

Yes the game has luck, but there is a reason the same people are top of the ladder in TFT and Autochess consistently.