I started playing in invasion block, played less after the end of kamigawa block, and was out entirely after worldwake. Coming back has been…interesting to say the least.

I know is this probably happened gradually, but how far back set-wise would I have to go for Magic to feel similar to the mid-2000s? When did the power level pushing and set design really go off the rails?

I just want to play grizzly bears and not feel bad about it!

** thank you all for the feedback!**

To be clear, I’m not criticizing that the game has evolved (it must explore new design space to survive and remain interesting) but I do want to chase a little bit of the nostalgia and gameplay of the kitchen table and after school magic that I used to play.

I’ve had a go at Dominaria United and Dominaria Remastered and I’ll probably grab a box or two of some of the older core sets and see how it goes.