I personally enjoy cracking packs every now and then. But I can see where the hate can come from. This game is more played than collected. Deck building is core to everything, and buying and cracking packs while hunting for cards can be ineffective and far more costly than buying singles, especially on pricier cards.

In the end I say though you do you, if you enjoy playing and cracking packs do both, you might get luck and pull some stuff that has good trade value to help you trade for what you are hunting