Well, the usual problem of promoting beyond Silver III is still there for me. It is relatively easy to get into Silver III but to get beyond that it is almost impossible as it is one step forward and one step backward.
There's also a luck factor of not getting quests that I don't have good cards for. So, I think for the third straight season in a row, maybe it is time to rent an Alric. It might even be beneficial to rent him for a couple of days extra and get the extra rewards chests.
Are 2 rewards chests worth more than 10 DEC a day? I think it is, actually or at least it would be really close. It isn't a big investment, anyway. The rental market has definitely been a big improvement in the game mechanics.