Expecting to be competitive in a game very quickly is unreasonable. You don't learn how to play chess and expect to be a grand master right away.

Yet in chess they don't only give you pawns and maybe 1 rook to play against the guy with a full board, do they? Player skill is what determines if you win in chess, not the money you spent on pieces. Sure, lots of that skill comes from playing thousands of hours, but you are not limited by a payment plan from competing as equals.

People say it's so P2W, but then you have real life evidence that backs up the fact that low cost decks are extremely competitive, and several players have shown that you can reach legendary rank with a completely free account.

This is such a stupid argument. Yes, top tier players can win with shitty decks. Top tier players can win in any game with disadvantages because they are better than their opponents. you will still be handicapped and lower rated than someone of equal skill with all the cards at their disposal. Let's watch someone play for money at a tournament using only the free cards you get for installing the game.

Here's why I don't play anymore. I took some time off and didn't get the first expansion right away even though I had nearly every vanilla card. For me to get back into the game at this point it would be a rough grind against cards I don't know just to break even, when people going into the next expansion are going to already have gold stockpiled.

I either sink absurd amounts of money into the game or I don't play. I'm choosing not to play. There's no room for someone who plays a few games a week in Hearthstone, which is a shame because a couple of my friends play and it would be fun every once in a while.