Everybody understands that in non-rotating formats old card will eventually get replaced by better or more synergistic new cards. That's not a problem. What upsets people is how fast and extreme that replacement has become.

Modern has gone from a format where you can play any card from 8th edition onwards to a format where you can play any card from War of the Spark onwards (with few hate cards in the sideboard from older sets).

Modern no longer feels like a format that draws from a significant part of magic's history - it feels like Extended + Modern Horizons/LOTR block constructed. And that change happened *very* fast.

That’s a result of making sets that rotate directly into Modern. It’s a combination of the higher power level (sets aimed at a Standard power level rotate at a slower rate into Modern) and designing cards specifically for the format (what we do when we design a set specifically for a format). I do hear from players that wish we didn’t design sets that rotated directly into Modern, but the fact that the top two selling sets of all time (The Lord of the Rings and Modern Horizons II, respectively) rotated into Modern does indicate a pretty big audience that wants it. That said, we have heard the complaints that the first two Modern Horizons were a bit too aggressive in displacing older cards, and Modern Horizons III is more aimed at enabling second tier decks rather than just making cards that are powerful in a vacuum.

With the current Legendary rule, can I get a maybe on Lin Sivvi being unbanned from Mercadian Masques block construcked?

Is anyone playing Mercadian Masques block constructed?

Will back-to-back sets set on the same plane after Ixalan/Rivals of Ixalan still considered one block (i.e. a Large, Large/Large, Large/Large/Large, etc block structure where none are drafted together, but are one block for block constructed.)?

The idea of a block is going away.

I see a lot of people are asking about Block Constructed as a format. As a relatively new player to the game, I don't see why this is a bad idea. I mean the new sets have been designed with great interaction from a limited point of view. In fact there are now "Box Sealed" events which are essentially Block Constructed decks. Why not just bring back the format to see what happens? I bet it'd be interesting to see the variety of decks that come out.

We tried to make Block Constructed work for fifteen years. Nothing worked. Players just didn’t play it except when forced by us. So we stopped supporting it.

To what extent does block constructed showcase new mechanics and individual designs better than other formats like standard and modern?

A lot of Kaladesh and Aether Revolt cards and mechanics get used in Kaladesh Block Constructed. : )

I personally was a huge fan of block constructed when it was available on mtgo as it was usually fairly cheap to buy into compared to other formats and the queues were consistent enough, i can understand not running bigger events for it but why not have the option's online for it?

We only have so many resources and don’t want to fracture our playerbase too much.

Hey, Mark, this is really random, but you once mentioned that making Coldsnap part of Ice Age Block Constructed might have been a mistake. I just wanted to tell you that a group of friends and I invented a format, and one of the most fun decks works because Coldsnap is part of Ice Age block, so thanks.

You’re welcome. I’m happy that worked out for you.

On block constructed in the head-to-head you said "It’s still a format and people can play it. Just not enough are currently playing it to make the next Head-to-Head, on formats." - is Mental Magic really that much of a format? It seems way less due a slot than block. I literally had to go and look up mental magic just now to make sure I was thinking of the right format (and I actually had it wrong, I thought it was a weird format played without cards that a friend tried a few years ago).

Mental Magic is a popular casual format with a dedicated audience. That’s just not true of Block Constructed. I wish it was. I personally really like Block Constructed.

How does Magic plan to handle Block Constructed? I'm a new player, and the last thing I've seen on constructed was 2014. I personally think Block Constructed is a pretty good way to introduce players since it keeps the cardpool relatively small but still interesting.

Unfortunately, players didn’t like it and seldom played it unless forced by us.

Will the new 2-set system lead to more instances of or support for Block Constructed events? It seems that WotC has been phasing it out recently, but I kind of like the clarity and consistent flavor of it. :)

Block Constructed has proven over time to be an unpopular format almost exclusively played because we required it at Pro Tours and PT Qualifiers. Players almost never played it of their own volition.