Apologies for the long post...
going back to the how does the game move forward in order to give a win / win for both players and developers a lot of players do call out some very good ideas and I am sure the developers do look at these with open eyes, however I am aware the developers are in for a business model and not purely as a fan, like so many of us are.
I am not a developer so don't know what is possible or not but with regards to the ability to use MB it is a grey area as those at the top shouldn't need to use it but with the way the match allocation works (such as practice matches and gvg) there is always a chance of a low ranking going up against a top ranking player, which can't be very motivational to the lower ranking person...rite of passage, etc I know. If you also add in the ability for users to spend money to accelerate their setup / ranking then there has to be some sort of levelling in the game..IMHO.
so my thoughts are:
1. Keep developer revenue streams open so users can spend if they choose and company still see benefit in continuing to invest
2. Restrict the use of MB on the basis: A) you can't use MB across the board if you are in the top two championship levels, those that are in 3 and below can only use against players who are at least 2 levels above, i.e. a level 3 can use against a level 1, but not a level 2, 4, 5, etc.
alternatively, at the start of each season each user is asked to confirm whether they will / will not use MB. that is then frozen for the season and they are placed into a champs with other users who have chosen the same option.
3. Add a points scoring system for successful defences in gvg and have a bonus if you defend against MB (i.e. 0.5pt for defence against non mb oppo, 1 pts when against MB use)
4. With regards to auctions, place a cap on either the number of bids you can have active anyone or time, or a maximum spend you can have at any one time, or a mixture of both. for example users could be capped at bidding up to 30k at any one time and only a max of 3 players, so they choose how they split the bidding.
5. Add set plays into tactics where a user can set up / save and use set pieces moves, i.e. no 8 pick up, miss one, scissors, preferred L/R sidestep, etc - this would a huge benefit for users to really get a unique team play together
I know some of the above have been mentioned by others previously so I am not wanting people to think these have all come from me but I'm trying to get across the depth of changes that need to be made to real keep this game at the top where it should be...may even tempt some of the old players back, but then it is only a game and life moves on.
I've played in the same guild as DK, ABS and cayden before they split away and set up on their own so know both the benefit of having players like that in your guild and how difficult opponents they were to overcome...and yes, I used MB against them but respect their frustration on having to win against it (btw I also know at least a couple of used MB in the past so I am not putting them on a pedestal of being virgin white - except cayden
cheers