Having sunk thousands into MTG I would tend to agree with you… established players only open packs in drafts and the like, so the lottery aspect is purely to wow new players and get them with a lucky draw or a shiny timmy-card… it’s based on gambling mechanics and is predatory because of it

Shoutout to the second to last chapter of Inscryption for just opening up everything and anything to the player, including making your own bullshit creatures.

If you enjoy deck construction but hate rare chasing, definitely look into some LCGs (living card game). Their model is that when you buy a pack you get a playset of each card, and nothing is random. I don’t know which is the best competitive one atm (rip Netrunner) but LOTR The Card Game is quite amazing if you want to build decks with friends to fight the game cooperatively.

That’s one reason I prefer closed set games, like Netrunner, Blue Moon Legends, or Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn.