Concept art? But of course. ;)
Well yeah that can be an option to open the crates, or you know, tc >_> cuz not all of us has really been winning a lot oc GMTourneys lately..
Gum honestly not too sure why you're so against it. I think it'd be good if it was done right. Put items into categories, like higher tier items in a rare category that's obviously rarer to get rather than common which would be like orc or something. I think it's fine and have a very rare category with collectors items, just do categories based off of the worth, I don't think it's a bad idea at all, just may need some tweaking just like any good idea.
Maybe have seperate cases for different tiers and values? Have a case that's for collectors items and then one for each tier of colors. Hell you could even make the color tier one purchasable with TC.
Rare items are only rare because of how many are in distribution. Same concept with high priced items.
To make this even remotely appealing, the prices for crates will either have to be dirt cheap or they will need to have really nice drop chance for the items people want.
In reality, for every 1 void or demon joint you see people get, at least 500 or more will get useless items like gradients.
There are different priced items where you can make your tc back or make a few 1000 at a time. Winning big is rare, like it is supposed to be. Losing is part of the game, that's why it's called a gamble not a give-away. You win some, you lose some. 1 void or demon joint is the "jackpot" prize. There are other prizes that you can win where you will still make money. The jackpot prize is not the only prize, I hope you have figured that out by now. If you don't like the chance of losing tc then you can go sign your ass up for a fuckin give-away cuz this idea isn't for pussies scared of some numbers dropping in a free game on the internet.
If you don't want to use the cases then nothing is stopping you from not using them, they are simply there for people that want to try something new and maybe make some tc while doing it. It's not always about winning with these either, the rush of opening a case is worth the price in itself. That's coming from someone that has opened 3 cases in csgo and gotten 3 $.04 items from them, if you didn't know that cost me around $7.47.
This is similar to the csgo cases, I will admit, but with lower prices in comparison to csgo's cases. Not everyone wins and that is what gambling is. So, if you can't put your big boy pants on and accept that you didn't win something expensive or even made your tc back then you should go grow a pair and suck it the fuck up.
HA! HAHA! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Ive made and lost more tc in the market in this game than you could ever hope to see, kid. Im just pointing out the flaws in your idea to try and help you realize them. If you cant take the criticism from someone who has forgotten more about toribash's market and economy than most people know, then maybe you should go back to CS. Seems you like that game way more.
This idea might work for a short time, but I dont see it lasting for long at all. Look at things like the old toribash lottery for example. It was great for the short time it lasted, then people lost interest.