I'm an alpha kid, been playing from the release date for alpha and i can say the old game is top notch, this is why magic got so big. But my comment is more on fun then winning decks. Play some 7-9 player games with old pro's using nothing but 4th edition and before. Theme your deck. I played 1 of every green card, well i had one of every green card for the first 5-7 years. My deck was about 200 cards, no doubles. that was really strong and super fun. My friend (ray) would quit if you played "raise dead" say it fast and it sounds like "Rays dead" house rules big games can be a blast. on the other hand, my kird ape llanowar elves deck was straight mean, and got me to the top 2 players at many tourneys. Even got a 1 turn kill right after i lost the overall tourney.