True!
There are ways to fix this.
- Design card synergy with cards in CORE Set.
Therefore reward cards are "meh", but they pair nicely with CORE cards.
They just work better with them because of their abilities. - Mid-cycle Sets like RW or DICE should also be cards that can boost CORE cards or used as Meta-Counters.
- No more summoners in future Reward cards.
- Anything special should come from Battle Pass Subscription, Promo Cards buyers, and PACK owners.
- I was never a fan of discounting (or bulk buying). By now, we can see it encouraged people to buy in bulk to get the "special prize" with no intention of opening packs. They sold it on the marketplace and purchase more packs in BULK. This means special prizes (or airdrop) went into fewer HANDS of player/asset owners. This is also what pushes prices down. CL pack were sold for ~$1.70
The concept of unlocking Soul Bounds will be another area that is already starting to drive some people away. Should it cost $5, $10, or $25 to unlock a reward card?
I understand the balancing acts between Play2Earn, Free2Play, and Pay2Win. Free2Play should only be used to let people test out without ever earning. Pay2Win is fine in TCG. In essence, the max level card is pay2win so that is BY design (and a good design feature).