Hey all, it seems my f2p experiment came to an end. It's technically day 18 since I registered and downloaded the app to my phone, but the last 3 days I've already got back to my main account, as I'm happy to say, I've reached Mythic with the f2p account on Thursday. Let's sum these eventful 2 weeks up.
Last update I was committing to the Dragon war route, but that deck just did not work consistently over the Gold ranks without some more expensive cards (reckless dive, draka scout, maybe Ember Onis?). However, my second WR rewards came with some deception support (a diamond Crooked Quartermaster, my best pull in a long time), so I went on that popular strength steal deception route I sometimes play variants of in my main account anyways. It's one of the most versatile decks for under $10-20. My build was not the most optimised, but these were the cards I could afford with the daily rewards, and core drops I've had. Here is the link: https://gudecks.com/decks/GU_1_2_KCZKCZKCgKCgKDPKDPMBdMBdMBgMBgCAJCCZCCmCDDCDDCEQCEQCEuCEwCEwCFTCFTCFVHADHADIAnIAoIAoIClICl?godPowers=100125&creator=FusingHowler&userId=4700777&archetype=Strength%20Steal%20Deception
It's currently valued at just under $7 (at $6.97), and even 1 week of daily rewards, 2 wr packs, and a bit of grinding was enough to afford it. Notable cards are Crooked Quartermaster, Blade Borrower, Whisper Baron and my favourite undervalued card, Scavenger Impling. It's not the easiest deck to pilot, you need to know when to commit and what spells to delve with Thievery, but it can even beat expensive control decks and quick aggro if lucky with draws.
Anyhow, that deck was consistent enough, even for Diamond to carry me all the way to Mythic, so I think it shows that even in your first month as a f2p, it is possible to reach the highest rank in GU with a bit of dedication and understanding of the game.
Overall mobile experiment:
I don't have much more to say than in previous posts, at the end I've used the app for like 2-3 games a day, the rest I played on desktop. I was one of the lucky ones, I did not really encounter game-breaking bugs, but I'm aware not everyone had the same experience. As for f2p people, you just can't solely depend on the app to progress atm, so I'm eagerly waiting on bug fixes and new functionalities.
Overall f2p experience:
On one hand, it's possible to reach Mythic in 2 weeks without spending a dime of your own money, and that's amazing, but it's also true that once you reach Midnight Shadow, games become sweatier, and you can encounter quite good and expensive decks even in those lower ranks. There are also some diamond decks farming dailies in lower ranks too, but they aren't always the best decks. My second-ever game was against such a deck, and if I didn't know the game so well, and didn't have lucky draws, I could not stand a chance against them. Once you reach the Gold ranks, it gets to hard mode, you need a meta deck to progress, and that deck has to be quite tight, but as said previously, I see 2-3 budget archetypes that could work, Strength Steal Deception, Aggro War, and maybe Zoo Light. I think this is an ok spot for f2p players, but there are some cards you'll probably never be able to afford without spending, and that's not the best for the enjoyment of the game, but understandable from a business perspective, GU needs pack/market sales.
I hope this short series helped some of you, and maybe gave you a bit of a motivational boost if you think that Mythic is out of reach if you're f2p. Let me know what you think!