I actually didn't run out of RC during my battles the first day.
I did when I published this post. I wanted to edit it, because of the @checky - comment above, but couldn't. The system told me I ran out of RC.
I still had to play the DQ for today, so I delegated 20 sp from my main account. (It was too much of a hassle to create a separate Gmail account in order to create a separate Discord account and ask SM for some RC. I'm not even sure they give out anymore. It used to be an automated process, but it wasn't this time. Maybe they don't offer SP delegations anymore. I should look that up.)

Anyway, I did take note of it so I can mention it in my post tomorrow.

And don't worry, I've already spent way too much on SM. I'm one of the fortunate few who can.
I've been fighting for the rights of new people who want to play but can't afford to buy their way up for a couple of weeks now. Because with every new update, they are closing the door a little more.

It has really become 'pay for play', and I only found out a couple of days ago that that is exactly the direction the founders want to go. Before, I still had hope that it would be different.

There are so many people here on SteemIt who really can't spare the money to even buy a starter deck. If they have been lucky, they got to play someone else's and shared the profits, or they won one in one of the giveaways. But since the booster packs disappeared, their chances of ever getting more than a level 1 deck have disappeared.

I have been playing since the beginning, so I was fortunate enough to have the 'free booster packs' seasons, which allowed me to build a large part of my decks for free. I'm afraid that the rules of the game as they are now, are going to make it more difficult to get new players to sign up.

That's why I wanted to do this experiment. A brand new account with only a starter deck, and the plan to spend absolutely no money. I just want to see how far it can take me, and for how long it will remain fun.