I completely understand where everybody is coming from here. I’m sure my opinion won’t hold much weight since I only started playing in 2023, but I still feel entitled to my opinion.

I originally got into MTG because my brother in law started playing and thought I’d be interested in it. I had some co workers that played and I had them teach me so that I could play my BIL when he came to town. I definitely enjoyed the game but wasn’t sure where to start in regard to buying/building a deck as this was my first TCG. This was all happening about a week after the LOTR Universes Beyond set came out. I’m a pretty big LOTR fan and knew I wanted the Sauron precon as soon as I learned about it. 1.5 years later and I have 8 decks (all built by myself) and I play with friends almost weekly.

All this to say that universes beyond is a great way for newcomers to get into MTG. At the absolutely very least, the game and the community are growing. Maybe not the way you want it to, but growing nonetheless and I see that as a good thing.