I'm on an older server, I think. When I was level 3, I played a level 17 Cup. I don't buy tokens, operate on 35T a season from the sponsor, plus any extras I can pick up from referrals or free offers. I play with a full 5* squad every season, and my results can be seen in my signature.

If you're on a newer server, you'd definitely lose out to token buyers. A bit of power training and he'd have by far the best players on the server.

dimdim, those 3-4 decent players will not be easy to buy on a newer server, there will be huge bidding wars.