I just want to clarify that Steem Monsters has no formal partnership with NLC. One of our team members runs a regular poker tournament there and gives out Steem Monsters cards as prizes, and we have discussed potentially doing some cross promotion with them, but that is the extent of it really.

Other than that your points are all correct. Ultimately though, I think their success (just like most projects) will come down to their marketing. Even the crappiest project can be successful through good marketing. NLC has a long way to go on that front though, so the question really comes down to whether you think they can execute or not.