lol your niece? why this game... i wouldnt want my family members to know i play this game, let alone a younger female member.
ANYWAY, yes, this game has always been corrupt like this. And the artwork isnt very good so dont spend money! I am a free to play kind of gamer, and although i dont win tournaments, i won some christmas ones and i got a OP elf girl card. I can almost win any fight if she goes against a card, since she can kill 3 cards with her 1HKO in duels.
Dont spend money, but if you enjoy collecting cards, play this game. Every day i use my energy to power up my main deck, and every day one of my cards can gain a level. Not to mention the free chest you get from the shop, or the 5 chests you can get for duels (4 from wins, 1 for winning 3). And thats only if you log on once a day. If you can log on every hour, you can do a few more duels (most duel chests time out in a hour) and do a few more campaign. Its not as interactive as cunt wars, which i find way more diverse, better artwork, better story, and just more silly in general.