I'm a level 1 player and recently got offered a 6-star ST on loan for just 4T, so I took the gamble. He was a good player and scored a few invaluable goals. To buy this loan player would have cost 29T, but I wouldn't have bought him even if I did have the T's. I stopped playing 2 ST's in a game for quite some time now, relying on just 1, and it seems to work fine. Some games, I don't even use a ST at all and still grind out wins with an AMC.