Let’s think this idea through for a minute. Let’s say a new tier higher than platinum was created. The idea would be to segregate so-called whales from F2P players, with the expectation that these whales would be more likely to face each other in PVP events through the matchmaking algorithm.
First of all, why do you need a tier at all? You could simply modify the matchmaking to take into account the VIP status of the players. The higher the rank, the more likely you are to face a player of similar VIP status.
One big problem here is that you are creating a huge disincentive to remain a high level VIP. I do not know the exact population here, but I can assure you that these players would not be very happy to only be playing a much reduced pool of opponents. They would probably consider dropping out of the VIP program (maybe even just for the weekend) to be able to face less stiff competition. Some may consider not renewing their VIP membership again, which I am sure is not a result devs would like to encourage in the least.
One workaround could be to simply allow VIPs to continue to face whichever opponents they are facing now, but non VIPs would NEVER have to play against one of these players’ decks. That compromise could work, I guess. However, you are still favoring nonVIPs here, though, as you are curating the list of players they can face as it will exclude the super high spenders from their opponent list. This could once again lead to players who are supporting this game to stop supporting it, which none of us want.
How could you compensate VIPs enough to have them want to remain in the program? Let’s revisit the idea of creating a new tier just for them. We could call it Diamond tier. This tier would have to feature substantial rewards (not just more crystals or pinkies). Perhaps access to special exclusive, super powerful cards. Cool swag like animated avatars. Or access to VIP only events with exclusive content.
I’d say that could be feasible. I’d be sad that I would never have access to this tier. I would also be robbed of the chance of facing and beating these whales, something I particularly enjoy doing.
While the idea of creating a new tier is intriguing, I think the proposal as presented is making a fundamental assumption that needs to be addressed, and which has been discussed numerous times in these forums before. The idea that a player’s collection is what determines his or her level of success in the game. I will concede that a player with more cards and walkers will definitely have more tools to work with, which can increase their success rate. But I’ve seen more than a few players with very modest collections thrive in this game as well. Once you get a few decent cards and learn about the nuances of beating Greg (it behaves pretty much the same way regardless of the rarity of the cards he’s playing with), you will continue to win more often than not.