Magic is in yet another transition, and all transitions are painful. The ten sets in the 'no core set' era have some awesome cards, but as a whole, were a path that cannot be taken again. It was a profound mistake. No one wants a two mana mana dork, and no one should play Standard without Naturalize.
Magic should have some bold innovators at Wizards with the guts to make the decision to take the game down the Pokemon/Yugioh path: everything is reprinted, everything. MTG Finance will be fine, it will just be a very different game. Instead of a few people who got in early, like Bitcoin, and now have a $5,000 card they pulled out of a pack, there can be 5,000 people with a card that's worth $1, and everyone wants to play. This is a mind bend for many, but believe me, it can work.
I just bought an LOB unlimited Pot of Greed (equivalent of an Unlimited-the Magic set; Ancestral Recall) for $3. Yugioh has thousands of people doing the same. It's equivalent, it just means many small collectors and not that many whales.
Dominaria and beyond needs to get us back to Innistrad block, to a reshaping of the foundations of all Magic competitive decks. Until that happens, even more players will walk away from battlecruiser Standard. I know I have. I review the sets here to keep myself up to date for the next Snapcaster Mage set, but the two-set blocks have been a disappointment for Johnny deck-builders like yours truly.
The Heart of the Cards is what Magic needs.
"My heart is in the cards, and that is what you do not understand."
Yugi Muto.
I will end with a rhetorical question: what happens when the money lost from players walking away is greater than the financial cost of whatever lawsuits are filed when the Reserved List is abolished?
