I am a new player. I have been playing for a month now. I am to a point where I am very competitive in bronze and i win a few DEC in Silver. I don't agree with a lot of what you are saying but I will say that Splinterlands is pay to play. If you don't have a lot of $$ you are not going to be competitive in tournaments. You will do alright by getting daily rewards and you can even climb the ladder. But without $$$ you are not going to do well in the season rank or tournaments at a high level. Unless there was a way to be competitive for not a lot of money... Have you tried renting cards? It's basically the first step in addressing a lot of the concerns that you have. You can't control what other people do. But if you enter a tournament with a deck that is maxed out for the league that you are in then the 'whales' don't have an advantage right? Why not rent to compete?