We study approximation properties of sequences of centered random elements $X_d$, $d\in\mathbb N$, with values in separable Hilbert spaces. We focus on sequences of tensor product-type and, in particular, degree-type random elements, which have covariance operators of corresponding tensor form. The average case approximation complexity $n^{X_d}(\varepsilon)$ is defined as the minimal number of continuous linear functionals that is needed to approximate $X_d$ with relative $2$-average error not exceeding a given threshold $\varepsilon\in(0,1)$. In the paper we investigate $n^{X_d}(\varepsilon)$ for arbitrary fixed $\varepsilon\in(0,1)$ and $d\to\infty$. Namely, we find criteria of (un)boundedness for $n^{X_d}(\varepsilon)$ on $d$ and of tending $n^{X_d}(\varepsilon)\to\infty$, $d\to\infty$, for any fixed $\varepsilon\in(0,1)$. In the latter case we obtain necessary and sufficient conditions for the following logarithmic asymptotics \begin{eqnarray*} \ln n^{X_d}(\varepsilon)= a_d+q(\varepsilon)b_d+o(b_d),\quad d\to\infty, \end{eqnarray*} at continuity points of a non-decreasing function $q\colon (0,1)\to\mathbb R$. Here $(a_d)_{d\in\mathbb N}$ is a sequence and $(b_d)_{d\in\mathbb N}$ is a positive sequence such that $b_d\to\infty$, $d\to\infty$. Under rather weak assumptions, we show that for tensor product-type random elements only special quantiles of self-decomposable or, in particular, stable (for tensor degrees) probability distributions appear as functions $q$ in the asymptotics. We apply our results to the tensor products of the Euler integrated processes with a given variation of smoothness parameters and to the tensor degrees of random elements with regularly varying eigenvalues of covariance operator.