WotC realized that they could more effectively use core sets to introduce players to the flavor of Magic just as much as its gameplay, and that this might solve some of the problems earlier core sets had
Mishra, Eminent One - Loves making token copies of artifacts
We had some strong synergies as well as many Cat enablers that cared about equipment, both new and old
No -1/-1 counters are put on creatures, and no damage is marked on them
Basim can hit the battlefield very early, but sometimes it's better to wait until you can give it some form of protection to prevent it from getting removed and forcing you to start from square one
For those of you who missed last year's review, we'll be reviewing and revising these decks through the lens of multiplayer functionality, and trying to keep individual card cost manageable