First of all the system takes your collection score and ranking points into account, so yes skill is still needed. And don't forget the purpose of these changes to the whole Splinterlands economy...the Team has been giving out rewards to easy for account not holding enough card value.
Don't forget this is a proof of stake Blockchain Game...the more Stake you have the higher the rewards. It doesn't make sense to complain about pay to play in a proof of stake environement. The real growth for all players comes from new players who value the gameplay and the cards they hold.
Soon, we will all be able to produce items and spells on land that we manage. So the gameplay gets constantly updated.
From my experience, I'm very happy how far we have come and I can see this community growing by a lot.
!monster