Interesting perspectives, about the part on burning of cards. I actually feel that are just too many changes for me to keep up - maybe because I am not a hardcore player, so it's not easy for me to read up on changes every week.
For me, one issue I face is the forced upgrade. I don't have much SPS, but because I am able to climb all the way to Gold even with Level 1 and 2 summoners, and I cannot stay in Silver, I need around 10 wins just earn 1 Gold chest (which is 22500 FP). In Silver, the chests are 6500 FP, and I just need 2 to 3 wins to get 1 chest. So these days, I tend to stop playing once I reach Silver.
Speaking about card values, the cards values have been dropping since the changes as well. So again, I am not sure if this was a good change after all.
At the end of the day, for me, it's just a game for fun so I don't have much issues with it. Just that I am less motivated to play now.
I think it's note really necessary to upgrade but you would need if you wanted to reach higher ranks. The fact that now it will be possible to upgrade the soulbound cards in an easier fashion offers quite a lot of options even to people who don't want to invest more money.
Ah I was referring to the leagues. In the past, I could stay in Silver and choose not to go into Gold, but now I am kinda being "forced" to move up when I don't want to.