But I agree that Standard would be consistently better if a solid baseline of staple effects were consistently available in the form of broad, constructed-playable effects reprinted consistently at common, with certain vectors being pushed or emphasized each set to keep the meta shifting.
I don't necessarily agree that Core sets are the way to do it. They're dry and unnecessary - I think the older sets, with their consistent reprinting and reuse of broadly usable cards like Rampant Growth or Dark Banishing, demonstrated that a large portion of a flavorful distinct large set can be allocated to the same baseline of cards over and over without diminishing interest in the set's flavor itself.
I think the best solution would be do what they did back in the days of Mirage/Ice Age/Tempest... Give the first set in each block core cards again. We all know what those cards are, wizards knows what those cards are. Make it a bit bigger, (Lets go back to 350 cards....)
I agree I too miss standard legal counterspell, Stone Rain and Dark Ritual.
But I agree that Standard would be consistently better if a solid baseline of staple effects were consistently available in the form of broad, constructed-playable effects reprinted consistently at common, with certain vectors being pushed or emphasized each set to keep the meta shifting.
I don't necessarily agree that Core sets are the way to do it. They're dry and unnecessary - I think the older sets, with their consistent reprinting and reuse of broadly usable cards like Rampant Growth or Dark Banishing, demonstrated that a large portion of a flavorful distinct large set can be allocated to the same baseline of cards over and over without diminishing interest in the set's flavor itself.
Behind the eyes of truth, is a world of illustions.
Dragon Riderof a Mist Dragonn anyway with the Dragon Riders Clan.