I once had to do battle with Jo Po
From her Fast Food cities in Grepo
I got Horsemen with pizzas
and burgers from Slingers
Sadly she's no longer around though
Personally I think the game should stay free and if you want gold then buy some. As OBLADAET stated, you can always trade resources for gold.
This is a War Game after all, if new players are not willing to stick around and learn how the game works first before worrying about a bit of gold, maybe...