I agree and I guess I'd place myself about 3/4 towards the casual end of the player spectrum, but that doesn't mean I don't recognise worrying trends. At some point, it will even become annoying to casual players when the other guy just happens to think that the newer and better stuff looks cool, while they themselves are still playing, say, a left behind ISS. When the Crane Spitfire looks completely badass but falls behind comparable units in terms of relevant skills on the table, it's still going to leave the player with a bad feeling. Those things tend to manifest strongest in the high competitive circles, but the effect is also felt on the casual end.
Whether or not you're playing in a tournament setting has nothing to do with whether or not the game should have tight balance. The guy trying to play ISS because it looks cool and running into even a rather tame Corregidor list is going to find out real hard and fast that CB have decided he made a poor choice of faction, and that's something CB needs to nip in the bud sooner rather than later. Power creep affects all level of play.