True re:
ELO play, which, sadly, I don't get to stick a toe in very often.
ELO players are some of the best of the best and, sadly, my frequent time off leaves me in their wake... I *wish* I was good enough for full-time
ELO play but, alas, 160-ish is my high point ... and that was with mono-
Freaks, of all things!
Uppers in DT play, however, still have access to Jackie and
Zatman, two chaaracters who needed to be kicked to CR status ages ago... they're banned from
ELO play, but they still wreck people in dailies.
Which is why I so often push for Type 1 to be a "No CR" environment. Type 2, they're on par with everything else, but new players who run into
Zatman, Jackie, or, say,
Vickie Cr? That's not a happy match, and new players comming in is the lifeblood of any game. When those two, plus
Oxen and topped off with 1 more Upper, you have a mean halfdeck that combines with, for example,
Montana, to beat most anything out there.
But that's probably drifting off topic from just 'how to beat Rescue'.
Rescue lives on winning three or four rounds. If they lose two, they're usually out ... they just don't have the damage to catch up against most decks. As such, even if you get a bad matchup, you should angle for winning just a couple of rounds, not fight against each and every one. If you have, say, Junta, two wins is often a knockout... pick the two openings you think you see, pill up, and punch through. (And out of room. Ack!)