Another factor has been Friday Night Magic the weekly organised play programme which sees thousands of games shops around the world organising informal local tournaments and providing players with a reliable source of opponents to test their skills against
2013 I spent a couple years adapting Mood Swings to be more Magic adjacent
Both sets will have 78 cards before SR, UR, or even a new rarity
These alt-art versions were followed up in Fall 2021 with another 63 full-frame Japanese-language-only alt-art treatments, including Demonic Tutor, which may be my single favorite MTG card printing ever and I have to own it even though it costs over $100 and starting this newsletter may or may not have all been an excuse solely to acquire this card
Appearance isn't everything (we still love you, Grimer, you weird-looking, living blob of dirty oil) but it's an important factor when trying to whittle down over 16,000 cards to find the most important