Shiranui can be that expensive, but also it can be very f2p friendly.
I'm f2p and have been using Shiranui. Only 1 Gozuki and definitely no 12 UR traps. But with it, I got KOG every month, even this month (I already got the Icon for 10x KOG)
They gave us so many free UR & SR dream tickets over the past few months. Everyone basically got 2 Floodgate, 1 CC, 2 WoD all for free. Along with free gems + 50% discount you can get all the staple traps easily. If you waste your gems on trash boxes without staples then you have only yourself to blame.
There is no other way for you to get 3 CC, 3 Floodgate, 3 Sphere Kuriboh, 3 Canadia, Galaxy Cyclone, Drowning, Raigeki Break, Ballista, Lance, Karma, Trunade, WoD, Staple Synchros.... Your dream ticket is not unlimited and you still have to dig old boxes for staples to complete your deck.