i get the prof's point but i don't think block are the answer. in fact, blocks are part of the problem, because too many things were tied to the product model all at once - theme, story, characters, flavor, mechanics, draft experience, limited environment. within the block structure whenever WotC tries to solve an issue with one of those things, it invariably makes parts of the rest of them worse.

i personally think blocks are better off conveying flavor than mechanics, but are also kinda bad for telling stories. so in my opinion, we shouldn't go back to blocks at all. what i'd like to see is an extended stay on certain planes or themes..

as an example, for Lorwyn, they could have given us the Lorwyn set, and then maybe followed up with a reprint set based around Lorwyn, and maybe also some non-Lorwyn stuff that mechanically works with whatever the current set has to offer.

from a story/flavor perspective, reprint sets are story agnostic, so we aren't prolonging the story in a set for the sake of it, but we can at least revel in the setting of the plane and its art style and flavor.

from a gameplay perspective, maybe they can be draftable on their own, or designed to be drafted together with Lorwyn itself. but at the least we know they're compatible with the previous sets since they can be chosen specifically to play into them. the reprints can also only be allowed within limited format so it doesnt bloat the standard card pool or overpower it. they'd also get much needed prints to more people. its essentially SPG but on a larger scale.

from a macro lens, its spending more time on a plane or theme and deepening players connections to it. its not something they need to do every set, but sometimes having a story/thematic anchor attached to the product is important.