Reply to Investment or Entertainment?
I've been checking it out from an investment standpoint. There are ample opportunities to get money including buying and holding DEC on Steem-Engine, using the Splinterlands buy-sell bot on Minnowbooster, or just buying extra beta packs to sell later.
For new players it can be difficult if you haven't invested in many booster packs. I would just lose every battle. It would be nice if they crafted a tutorial "training" quest where you make creatures a little stronger, win a few battles against some weaker A.I., and get used to the interface before challenging other players. I know there's the non-ranked battle function but I think they'll get more mass adoption with the confidence-boosting tutorial battles with a few small rewards before you get into ranked battles. How much initial money would you guys say you will get a player winning instead of straight losses?