Sure, but that is not different than the same time/money dichotomy.
Someone, somewhere is capable of out spending you in time or money. Some players capable of both.
To the end player experience, it's merely a matter of which you have in excess.
That is still a matter of time. You spent a lot of time gaining all that stuff without spending a cent in LOL. Which you can also gain in Runes of Magic [a game I am v. familiar with] via time. Albeit, on a more grueling scale of grind than LOL.I'd accept and even applaude if needed,a F2P game that is based on selling vanity or items of minor importance.Life i did with LoL.
Yea,i leveled without a boost,i have my 3 pages full and even a few runes to swap,many many heroes bought,without spending a thing.I never felt dis-advantaged to skinned characters (usually it was the opposite :P).I did all this with a group of mates,none of us ever felt we lost a game cause of not enough runes.
League of Legends being inherently competitive game whereas MMOs are expressly not by design or intent.
Time or money. That is all the argument ever comes down to regardless of how or when it is raised on countless forums.
The trend to F2P will continue unabated as the model is more inclusive to gamers and profitable to publishers.