i think land is too costly and complex to be a direct competitor to the base game. ITs for the OG's, the card whales, and players who are genuinely interested in investing in idle resource management. The base game is far more accessible and gives instant entertainment. Plus like mango says, eventually land production will produce enhancements for the base game to increase options for player strategy. If no-one is playing the base game, no-one will buy the land-produced items, so no-one would bother farming land. We need the card battles to thrive for land to be successful long term.
Edit: Ive just realised what you meant by your comment. Hmm. I guess land whales will have a strategic advantage in the base game because they will be able to hold back certain produced items, or use them for their own battles. You are right to be concerned about that. We will have to see how it plays out, and what measures might be taken to mitigate any problems that arise.