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If your biggest issue with 40k is the pay to win aspect, let me introduce you to card games, sports, anything else that requires an investment. Magic the Gathering, Hearthstone, F1 are all examples where cash is needed in a sport or esport that changes when regulations or rules change, it's the same with Warhammer.

Skill is a pretty real aspect of the game, and in a shallow game, I am amazed at some of the nuanced plays you actually see in 40k.

Skill of course develops where the gaming groups play competitively, it's a game of one-up-manship the entire time, that's how you get better. Casual play is never going to help your game if you aren't treating it like a tournament game. That is how you see the same names make appearances at the top tables consistently, if it wasn't a game with a high enough ceiling, anyone could do it.