yeah, the game has been growing but if Blizzard expects people still to pay through the nose for classic sets in a year or so, while there are overwhelming number of other cards and 25 bucks adventure sets and there is a huge gap between existing players and new ones, yeah it's not going to grow much more than that. It will be interesting how they will handle it. I don't think it will remain the same.
People will naturally start with the classic set though since Blizzard pushes you to collect those cards via achievement drops. I recently got back into the game after not playing for about a year and a half, and I agree it can be overwhelming even though I've had some experience with the game. If you want all the single player adventure content, you gotta drop $50. However, that content is really there for people who have moved far beyond working with the classic deck and want to experiment more with new cards. Why should I buy Naxxramus or Blackrock when there are so many Classic and GvG cards I'm missing? The answer is I shouldn't because I'm not at a high enough level where using those cards will be beneficial. That content isn't geared toward new players, but for veterans who have been playing this nearly every day since beta.
I do agree that they should have better overall rewards. They give you some gold, dust, and packs starting off, but eventually there will be a content dearth as you are lucky to make 60 gold a day, and that's if you play every day. I would like to see actual card drops, and just the basic soulbound card drops you get leveling up that makes it possible for you to even have a 30 card deck in the first place. In Dota 2, you get a free item every time you level up. You typically average a random drop per level in addition to that. So basically every time you level up, you get at least two items. This encourages people to play more and therefore spend money since not every item is on the drop table. They could have a system where every time you level up a hero, you get a random card drop (not soulbound). It will most likely be a common, but also has a small chance of dropping rarer cards. For new players, it allows them to build their deck quicker, and therefore more eager to jump into the other (paid) content. For players who have tons of card... hey, free dust. Maybe one card per level is a bit too much, but they could follow a similar system to what they have now in regards to the soulbound and golden soulbound cards.
Also, there's really no reason to get Legend status, or any status above twenty, in Ranked. What's the difference between someone who is 19 and someone who is 9? The person at ranked 9 has the exact same reward as the person at rank 19, which is nothing. Blizzard could certainly incentivize climbing the ladder more outside of the thrill of competition.
tl;dr gimme cards
