[ayrx]

That's actually untrue for Hearthstone.

You can be perfectly competitive without playing arena or buying packs. I haven't paid a cent for the past 2 years and can play all the competitive decks I want in every meta. Blizzard has been very good with bumping up the rewards you get from playing normally.

[SmallDeadGuy]

I stopped playing 2 years ago so that's likely it, for the first 2 years of hearthstone from closed beta to when I stopped the rewards were lacking. When I had time to play a lot in early student years, I could play some expansions without paying a thing but getting busier in later student years I fell behind too quickly.

[ayrx]

Yeah, it was a pain in the early days but I feel like Blizzard has recognised that and are actively taking steps to improve things.