Agree that the emphasis on PvP is good. Also, didn't know that the game used to be an auto battler as well. I am glad that we can actually make our own plays now.

On your racecar vs sedan analogy, I think we have to acknowledge that team compositions do make a difference. The best players cannot play at their level using floor teams forever. A racecar driver cannot win races against other racecar drivers with a sedan. The point is that for PvP you need a good car and a good driver, but the more important of the two is the driver. A non-professional driver will drive a Ferrari like a normal sedan or crash it trying to do pro-moves. A good driver might be able to make more out of a normal sedan than others. You probably won't win a race with a beat-up car, but this doesn't mean that beat-up cars are useless. Just need to manage expectations and find their use. Don't expect it to be an apple to apple comparison with a Ferari.

Interesting that you talked about praying for crits, that has become a touchy subject after the recently concluded E1337 tournament. I allude to it in an article I am writing, hopefully will be ready soon. For me crits are part of the game and no one will be able to stay at any MMR relying on crits alone. Often, your MMR reaches equilibrium at the level you can sustain at based on your skill. Crits might push you up higher for a while but you will drop back down to where you belong.