I don’t have the muse to read through all this. It’s a fact that duelyst is still even after some nerfs to the reward system more generous than hearthstone. It’s also a fact that with basic commons and rares one can build very viable decks. I myself got to diamond in my first month without paying money, which isn’t uncommon at all, and there even are some people like @freethinker that got into S during their first month. Sure, if they keep up releasing expansions as fast as they do, as a f2p newcomer you won’t achieve a full collection, especially if only playing a spare few matches a week. You can’t expect something else, there needs to be some space for profit.
TLDR: You won’t be able to get a full collection as a f2p, but it’s pretty easy to get competitive.
Oh yah and comparing CPG to valve is maybe a little bit unrealistic.
