Great article and I completely agree that renting is the way to go for now. Hopefully the rentals stay affordable for some time to come.

For a brand new player, the 3,000 credits certainly go a very long way if you rent as you potentially can earn your rental back from getting so many daily chests. So it's just a case of being smart with your rentals and playing heaps.

Not sure what your previous league was, but it will be ill advised to jump so many leagues as the cost to play in Gold will outweigh any rewards you get if you are only getting bronze chests. It's about sustainability unless you don't mind keep throwing $$ at this game.