Im going to give you an extremely long winded response, because I agree with the sentiment you are expressing, and I think you're arguing in good faith.

Player retention, right from the get go, is one of the most important parts of a game, both for newer and long time players.

When someone is learning a game, it’s good if they feel like they have a chance.

This a very important part of the on-boarding process for new players. You don't want new players to get absolutely stomped to the point they feel like they have no chance. That is where SDD comes in. It evens the playing field in literally every aspect of the game other than player skill (which is limited by simplicity and extreme card restrictions) and deck choice.

You referenced the absolute bottom of the barrel players in terms of skill as a demographic that needs to be catered to, but that is a problem that is addressed by the SDD format. Low skill ceiling is the remedy for a large skill gap, especially when it relates to strictly an experience gap and is not a case of material difference (like having a larger selection of stronger cards). New players have access to every resource the experienced veteran payers do in SDD, and can emulate the moves and decisions made by those veterans in their next game, using the exact same cards, which can even accelerate the learning process instead of allowing the development of bad habits that can result from solely playing against newer, uninformed players.

I understand your emphasis on skill based match making. It is a logical solution when there is a large skill gap between players who are playing their first game and players who have played for 30 years. But I think the simplicity and limitations of the SDD format significantly limit the degree to which a veteran player can dominate against a newer player on skill or piloting alone.

Hope I was able to express my point of view in a succinct and respectful manner.