I get opponents with 4 or 5 spells maybe 20% of the time, and 2 or 3 spells maybe another 20%. It’s typically a lost cause to take those guys on, but I try my best anyway because I’ve already spent the ticket. (Sometimes I’ll get lucky and it’ll be a Pig Bay or Gravity Grove challenge and my otherwise formidable opponent won’t really know what they’re doing.) The rest have 0 are 1 spells and are close enough to my own bird levels that it feels like a challenging, but fair fight.
Spending $700 on spells and bird upgrades isn’t cheating, though. It’s a foolish waste of their money in my opinion, and it’s annoying to other players, but it’s within the confines of the game’s rules.