Of course, you're not always playing with the combo, and that's where the politics come in
Urza's Saga nailed this aspect of the design, and you can see the clear narrative direction of the set following Urza's crusade against the Phyrexians just from taking in the artwork and flavor text from the set's 350 cards
Since Magic is a complicated game, being able to just pick up a fully playable deck out of the box is great for new, and even long-time players
There's a general sigh of relief as you review your mana base and you have your lands that are only lands, then a few MDFC lands that are mostly a spell, but a land if you need them
Then of course theres that ultimate, which is practically an instant kill for one player
Thought Vessel is especially impressivevery elegant design, very little clutter, and very valuable to almost any deck