One controversial concern I have...

Just a note before the topic at hand, I have been having more fun than I thought transitioning from PTCGO to PTCGL. I find the change of style refreshing, like the new board layout and mood hyping music. Its nice that I kept my old collection moving forward. I also enjoy the idea of purchasing singles through the game's trades itself, rather than having to sift through a list of stingy, player-controlled trades like PTCGO was. Unfortunately, I feel like I had it easy, since I had a collection prior to start with, but I fear that this game might not be as enjoyable for the new players starting from the ground up, and not for a reason many may think.

I just feel that a lot of my opponents are running the same 5 or 6 decks, and they likely are. After all, the preset decks all players start with feature meta cards from the sword and shield era, and are very strong unaltered once new players gain experience with them. It doesn't really help that, being a new player, it will take a lot of pack opening before you can consistently gain Credits, the one currency that lets you purchase single cards of your choice. In a way, I feel it limits the idea of finding new strategies and cards to grind for when you have an arsenal of meta cards to your disposal on day 1. Of course, we will find new meta strategies moving into Scarlet and Violet, but right now, my ranked and casual games feel lack-luster after seeing so many people using the preset meta decks.

This isn't necessarily something that can be easily fixed, after all, in PTCG, there will always be a "meta" of sorts. I just find the Player vs Player experience on this game bland at the moment, since new players must use the preset meta decks to climb. It's not only making it harder to use off-meta cards, but making many matches feel repetitive throughout casual or ranked.