What makes a setting/plane feel like its own thing, not just "Magic does X"?

It’s very subjective. Bloomburrow is as much “Magic does X” as Murders at Karlov Manor or Outlaws of Thunder Junction, but it feels different to a lot of players.

I seem to always find lots and lots of discourse about block sets. Two sides of the same argument every time.
Side 1 says something like:"I hate all these random sets, I miss block sets."
To which, Side 2 says; "Well block sets never sold as well at the end, players attention span's are better suited for one and done blocks."
My problem with this response is that it essentially ignores the initial statement. Rather than clarifying what they mean, they assume and answer.
Personally, I miss block sets, but ONLY from a story perspective.
Basically, do sets exactly the same as you're doing now. Draft is better now than blocks were, standard with Foundations sounds fantastic. The only thing I'd like to see is a set of setup, and a set of payoff.
MKM was a set based on a murder mystery with the big twist ending basically included in the release, as an example. It could've benefitted from a real, but delayed, payoff. Set up the consequences for each suspect, then reveal and give different consequences that were hinted at in other ways. Bam. Improved.
The last time we visited New Phyrexia, it was a block, I remember ubiquitous speculation over how the story would wrap up. There were factions events at local game stores, branded posters and packs for the factions at play, etc. I had a friend get the New Phyrexian emblem tattooed on themselves. The story felt *Important* and so much less divorced from magic than it does today.
Usually, in my experience, when someone asks for blocks, they're asking for the story to matter. There are lots of mechanically interesting card games out there, and mechanics are only part of what makes magic, magic!
All I would ask is that writers get the opportunity to do setups and payoffs with magic's evolving story with multiple sers, and that story related sets have *some* play synergies. They don't need to share mechanical themes just to share story themes, but it would be a nice little florish if they had mechanical synchronisets,
Hell, a REALLY good idea (in my opinion) would be to do these sets in a different order than the old method. Modern fantasy novels swap POV characters and follow different stories. Why not set up multiple stories in a row, then start to alternate resolving an older, established plot line, and then starting a new one or swapping to another established one. This really gives players time to get interested and speculate (and making the story FEEL present will likely also boost novels and comics numbers, etc., if you need a monetary reasoning.)
What do you think Mark?

We already do a lot of what you’re asking. Each Magic “year” does have a larger connected story, often with different POV characters.

For purposes of how long until we return to a plane, does murders at Karlov Manor count as a Ravnica set?

Not in a traditional sense. It’s a backdrop set.

Good day, Mark! Just adding yet another lengthy Duskmourn opinion to the stack.Personally, I don’t mind the more modern vibes as long as they’re something used very sparingly across sets as a whole. As in, I’d probably start having problems if we saw another set with a “modern” setting within the next year or two (not counting UB, which I consider a whole separate thing), but getting one every once in a blue moon is a neat little curiosity if nothing else.I actually think the fact that Duskmourn is so horror-focused helps the modern-ness fit better. Like, since the whole vibe of the set is that it’s full of things that are bizarre and out-of-place, modern things like TVs create a fitting contrast with the fantasy characters and concepts. It truly does feel like an invasion from an “alien” world into the one we’re familiar with. Which is kind of perfect!However, there is one thing I’d like to voice a complaint about: the card Chainsaw. It’s not even the fact that it’s a chainsaw that bugs me, but that its name is just… Chainsaw. Even if the setting is more modern, I feel like there should be an underlying level of fantasticalness that never goes away. I think the razorkin from the PW guide are an excellent example of this; taking the Slasher Monster trope and twisting it a bit so it still feels fantastical. But the Chainsaw is just a chainsaw. It’s not even, like, “[Adjective] Chainsaw.” It feels mundane and unexciting. I felt similarly about the Clue weapons in MKM, for what it’s worth. I want every Magic card to feel like it’s something that could only come out of the Magic multiverse.Obviously, that’s just one card, but I’m a tad concerned there are going to be more cards like it revealed later on. It wouldn’t ruin the set or anything, but it would be disappointing to me, especially if I like the mechanics of the cards themselves.

Would an adjective make it feel more fantastical? We made a Chainsaw in original Innistrad and it turned into Trepanation Blade. I still refer to it as Chainsaw. I’m kind of excited to make a set that can have an actual chainsaw. I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts about the name Chainsaw.

Set B "obsoletes" set A is a strong word, but let's focus a moment on pioneer, not very old vintage cards. I have a database of "top playables" in pioneer, restarted after every banning. Cards get into list based on certain number of appearances in goldfish's tournament winners, but criteria is equal to all cards. 9 OG Theros cards are on the list, 5 KTK cards. 4 RTR cards (+ shocks) 21 MKM cards are. 20 LCI cards. 13 OTJ. New sets have vastly more cards in list, thus are stronger.

The switch for a Standard-focus to an Eternal-focus forced us to up the overall power level of premier sets in Throne of Eldraine, so yes, Throne of Eldraine and sets after do have an overall high power level. That wasn’t set by set creep though, but a conscious one-time adjustment.

This is one of those questions that might be impossible to answer. Other than power level, why is one set's draft environment more fun than another set's? Take MH3, which I've enjoyed more than OTJ, which I liked more than MKM (although I enjoyed both). I think this is a common sentiment. Did MH3 get more time or resources than the other two? Is it just luck of the draw in a "sometimes they hit, sometimes, they don't" way? When an MKM is going out the door, do y'all know it's not quite as fun?

Modern Horizon sets are of a higher complexity, and have a strong nostalgia element, so appeal strongly to players that enjoy that. We learned from Time Spiral block that it’s a minority, so it’s not something we do in premier sets, but a great choice for a supplemental one.We ship every set with the goal of it being as fun as possible, knowing that different sets will appeal more to different players. We just try to mix it up, so everyone gets sets that maximize their enjoyment.

Does mkm's underperformance hurt the rating of ravnica any or has past success ensured it's still a 1

The plane of Ravnica will be fine.

How did the set Murders at Karlov Manor perform?

Below expectations.

Hey mark,I had a thought. One of if not the big points of OTJ is that everyone there(except cactusfolk) came from different planes thanks to the omenpaths. I was wondering, why did Wizards not do that for the Detective Agency in MKM? It feels far more believable that the organization came from another plane(possibly started by someone from New Capenna, seeing a familiar cityscape and wanting to capitalize) rather than just being there The Whole Time and only now being relevant.

The first Ravnica novel is literally about a cop solving a murder. People solving murders is not new to Ravnica.

Was conspire ever considered for MKM?

Not seriously.