You can play gauntlet and still have more than 100 arena battles, dont see were it is a money drain. To compete in the top 50 in the arena in costs extra SoW. To stay competitive in the arena you also need to earn the new OP toons or talis. You have to be very lucky pulling toons or spend money earning them.
The IC and rewards are more than fair for the average player compared to the arena. The gauntlet makes you play teams that would only get you losses in the arena. It's a chance to use the sharded toons that are sitting on the bench.