[note: only going to record interesting/memorable runs from now on]
So I had a few more Watcher losses (I still haven't beaten zero-ascension Watcher) and a few Defect 2 losses. I keep taking Coffee Dripper and then being unable to hold my beer. I had one Defect run I thought might go the distance, but died when Reptomancer and co. decided to do 80+ damage on turn 2. Control those adds!!
I finally broke my loss streak with:
Defect 2 - victory vs. the Heart:
For this run, I had what HGR called "a basic-ass Defect deck." Echo Form, a couple Capacitors, a couple Defrags, Loop. Glacier + an extremely fed Genetic Algorithm. For most of the game, I severely lacked damage; my deck was all setup and no dps. As a result, I took a lot of Act 3 cards I would ordinarily have passed up (Barrage, Streamline, Ball Lightning (imagine taking Ball Lightning in Act 3) (it synergized with my previously defunct Thunder Strike though!!)).
The end product was kinda bloated and unwieldy. But I beat the Heart with relative ease. HGR, who watched me stream Act 4, said: "Don't think you had a good deck. You should think, 'I got lucky that I drew Echo Form on turn 1 and Defrag on turn 2.' " Because if Echo Form had been at the bottom of my deck, I didn't have Seek or Overclock to find it. My only card draw was Compile Driver and Coolheaded.