The new mode meant to introduce new players to Splinterlands after they go through the campaign has proved to be quite successful among older players as well.
I started playing it from the beginning, and as much time as it "requires" daily, it made me play Splinterlands again, on my own. I still only play Frontier and Brawls (and Land), because how much time can one spend playing Splinterlands, after all?
The new mode brought me back memories of the early game with the polished look of today. I believe it was a needed mode, even for older players, because enough of them, including myself, feel overwhelmed by all the new addition of cards, abilities or rule sets.
This way, the other modes can be a way to experience complexity when it comes to the base card game, while Frontier can be a way to play for fun or even competitively, but without staying up to date with dozens of new cards and abilities regularly. At least I hope so.
Land is also another game mode that favors complexity, but somehow I am more inclined to this kind of complexity than the one regarding playing cards.
Frontier is well thought-out, in my opinion. The cards you earn from the Campaign Mode offer you the starting point, but won't get you far. You either need to slowly earn more of them through daily rewards and upgrade, or if you are impatient and want quick results, you need to buy them from the market (either individual cards or Foundation packs).
The legendary cards (and perhaps some epics) aren't distributed through the Campaign mode, which means those who get them early have an advantage. And for that, unless you buy them, luck plays a role. For example, I don't have the legendary card from Water (Mystic Scaleweaver), and in a game Water against Water, I know I lost even without looking at the game, if the opponent has it.
Over time, I sold a few cards myself, but mostly I combined them to be able to reach higher levels. I currently play in Gold II, where I kinda hit a wall. I may have reached Gold I briefly, but mostly I struggle in Gold II nowadays—my new "frontier" to pass, I guess.
I haven't won anything in the weekly draws so far, but I have a couple of GFs. The question is, other than as a collector, what would be the reason to prefer a non-regular foil Foundations card, once the regular foil card has the same level?
In ranked games, there is a bonus for using GFs instead of RFs. That doesn't currently apply for Frontier.
They might be cooking something about this... Maybe a bonus will be added when they'll introduce Glint rewards to the new mode. Probably that won't be enough.