Quote Originally Posted by bruizar View Post
It's only solved if you have the money to buy the optimal deck. That's the whole point of the format! It used to be very difficult to acquire cards because ABU/ANAQLG weren't widely available! You would have to play with what you have! That's why old school is a format of those who love the old feel of Magic, not of spikes and netdeckers. Basically, everyone is playing suboptimal decks. Old school players aren't all super wealthy lawyers and technocrats.
I think you are expanding the arguments by calling it a literal pay-to-win format in addition to being a solved one. Neither is really attractive and if it's for pure nostalgia, i'd rather play with Championship decks on my end.

I am also not sure if people dropping ~1400$ on single moxen, without cutting back in other aspects of their lives, qualify as average joe in terms of financial aspects. Maybe that's just a certain view i gained by seeing a lot of poverty every day on my way to work. I see us folks able to spend that much money on cardboard in addition to car, apartment, time with friends, family, partners, vacation, etc as absolutely privileged