I agree with most of your comments, but I really think Heartstone is Free to Play done right (not to the extent of DOTA2 or Path of Exile, but almost).
After more than a hundred of hours on it, to date I haven't spent a dime of real money (I'll happily buy the single player expansion, though).
Just do daily quests in Ranking and spend the coins on Arena,which doesn’t depend at all on real money spent, and you'll get a lot of mileage (also considering that for an Arena run you get a pack of cards, so you'll get better at Ranking).
BTW, to the OP: thanks for ruining my plans for the weekend :)
After more than a hundred of hours on it, to date I haven't spent a dime of real money (I'll happily buy the single player expansion, though).
Just do daily quests in Ranking and spend the coins on Arena,which doesn’t depend at all on real money spent, and you'll get a lot of mileage (also considering that for an Arena run you get a pack of cards, so you'll get better at Ranking).
BTW, to the OP: thanks for ruining my plans for the weekend :)