meta teams arent strictly for those who pay. As a level 75 free to play player i formed the water meta. Im not sure why everyone thinks mei can only be obtained with ingots. I got GNW tenten from my first jin 1 ten pull in the game (i think it was jin 1). I got Mei after 6 kage ten draws and Mabui on a kage free draw. most of these meta teams can be obtained for free like in my case.