Here, the 'cleanest' line of argument for plague themed cards being banned is: "MtG has plague themed cards, there is a current pandemic whihc is bigger than any other recent pandemic, I know somebody who died becuase of the pandemic, I'm angry at any reminder about the pandemic, ergo, I am angry at WotC for having cards which remind me of this." This is very clearly a stretch, as the same argument could be that the game in general depicts death and somebody might be upset about the death of a loved one (from a COVID unrelated issue)
Starting in the year 2000, WotC updated the tournament rules to allow Alpha cards universally, as long as you played with opaque sleeves
Look at the Color & Print Quality Color and print quality are also important indicators of a card's authenticity
Its blink-through-the-graveyard
You can ditch clunky draws to keep digging for action, and enable graveyard payoffs like Lord of the Undead or Diregraf Colossus
Direct selling is ideal for serious MTG card flippers, while the marketplace is suitable for those in need of a quick sale