if there were for example, a couple million people playing Splinterlands, does that mean that only a sliver of users will be able to compete at the top because they have a full deck from the early days?
I would guess so. I have some of these earlier Summoners at max level but don't have some of the 7 mana Summoners which were released later. This means I can give anyone a good game at 12-25 mana with Water splinter, but have little chance at 50 mana because the 7 mana Summoner will likely be played.
So far I think the team have a done a great job balancing things out. The mad rush this year may have caught them a little off guard but so far so good and so you have to put faith in the fact have a plan to keep the early adopters happy, and make the game work for those just joining in.
Most games seem to be in the lower mana levels that I play, which is why I asked about some cards to play in that range. I think I have an okay earth setup, but i struggle with experience - which is what my wife has said in the past as well.
The team has done a great job and hopefully they can stabilize the infra to scale up further.