I don't see much difference between the business model of trading card games and the business model of the EA Sports Ultimate Team mode other than the existence

I don't see much difference between the business model of trading card games and the business model of the EA Sports Ultimate Team mode other than the existence of physical items. This business model is really good from the company's perspective because it increases revenue and involves less effort and less risk than releasing complete games at a single price. But it means that the way to win is to be willing to spend more money than everybody else. It doesn't surprise me in the slightest that companies that base their business model on pay to win would have about as much respect for their customers as a typical OnlyFans personality has for her customers. I think people who enjoy card games would be better off making alternatives where the focus is on skill rather than how much you're willing to pay. Even if you aren't a competitive Magic or Pokemon card player, playing those games casually supports a company that exists to extract money from "whales" just like EA Sports or the companies making those awful freemium phone games. And it is at least an order of magnitude easier to make a good card game without pay to win than it is to make a good football simulation game without pay to win.