I don't really know anything about Crystalline Conflict because I haven't played it yet. I got my 1000 wins in Rival Wings and am 1330 / 3000 towards completing Frontlines. I plan to pursue my Crystalline Conflict achievements after I finish Frontlines.

I always assumed Crystalline Conflict would be much easier than Frontlines or Rival Wings. For one, there are only two teams. Also, far less to keep track of. In Rival Wings, you gotta worry about goblin mercenary, train, enemy mechs, and just getting pops at all. In frontlines, you gotta worry about node spawns, incoming pinches, getting team to focus the lead team, etc... In Crystalline Conflict, it sounds like all you gotta think about is "go to crystal, stay on crystal, fight enemy players who come near crystal." Is that about the crux of it?

What worries me is how everyone here is talking about casual matchmaking. I haven't played Crystalline Conflict yet, and no guarantee that Ranked would even pop when I start, so I just assumed I would start me out at casual. If I perform too well, will this matchmaking system eventually work against me?