noone will disagree that disparity between ranks during matches can suck, it absolutely does. I'm a 46 at the moment. I'm running a deck that still wins about 70% of the games i play. I hate facing people in their 20s and low 30s. It isn't fair to them. I've paid money for this game. I have four of every plant card including snake grass at this point. I've had time and experience testing my strategies and builds to tweek them and put myself in the position to compete with some of the best in the game. I don't want to face new players. I don't want to be the reason some players never come back (because they feel cheated having to face players from a higher division of play)...
That being said, there are a few things to consider:
1. It doesn't happen often. At my level I'm generally matched with 50s. They're fair matches for me. When i lose, i don't feel cheated. It's either a lucky draw, a counter deck to my strategy, or i just plain got outplayed... ...which happens. I use those losses as learning experiences to either better my decks or the way i play them in order to be more prepared the next time. The matchmaking has gotten better.
2. Moving up the ladder isn't a right. It does suck to lose to people way ahead of you in rank, but there are people who pay for the cards who are only tens; and they can also have great decks and understanding of the game. A loss is a loss. See, the way the matchmaking is supposed to work is that you get matched with equally skilled players with equally built decks. The rank is just there (in theory) to provide you with the most fun experience by matching you with similar players. It's obviously not perfect. Some players are in their way up, be it skill, luck or better cards, they'll win, even though you're "equal level" in the games programmed opinion. But the game also has to try to match you up quickly. It has to do this from what seems to be a sizeable player base, but you do have to consider: it's player base is spread across the world, two playlists, 50 ranks, who's actually online AND who's not already in a match. Sometimes this means you won't get a fair match. Moving up in rank might be your goal, but in reality, matchmaking is a tool for quality matches, not a ladder everyone is intended to reach the top of.
3. If you're still pretty low in rank, you're kind of late to the party. Be it that you're just starting or haven't had time, getting to 35 is easy. After that it's much harder to advance ranks. But this late in the season, you're going to be facing a lot of players passed that threshold. There may even be more above that threshold than below it. That diminishes your chances for an equal match.
4. 50s just want a fair match too! The best way to get it is ranked. Casual games are everyone vs everyone. They have a better chance at finding a fun even match playing ranked. So while no-one will disagree 50s vs 20s suck, it's not the 50s fault, they just want a fair match too.
The better solution is to petition for longer matchmaking queues before pulling from the available ranks. I know is gladly wait a minute to play someone between 40 and 50 over the five to ten second wait now where I'm facing a level 18. It's not fun for me either... And i know when i reach rank 50, i am not going to want to be forced to stop playing ranked where my chances are best for an even match.
My final note is mostly a reality check. I hope this doesn't come across as insulting or mean spirited, it truly isn't meant to be. I'm just trying to shed light from a business perspective. The majority of the people who have spent the most on this game are higher ranks. As a business owner would you want to keep those who continue to spend a lot of money on your game happy, or those who might spend a little money eventually, but only if you do something for them first? It's not a pretty truth, but it is the reality of it. Again, that isn't meant to insult you at all.
I hope this helped. I know it doesn't make it better, but hopefully it helps you understand the reasons why it occurs and why it wouldn't be fair to exclude them from a playlist.
