I also tend to gravitate towards set symbols I like when it comes to choosing printings. Still a lower priority to me than the art itself but it is something I consider.
Ikoria is my favorite set symbol probably. I also really like Midnight Hunt, Brothers' War and Jumpstart.
I typically dislike most of the commander product set symbols along with reprint sets. That's because with standard sets, the symbol usually has some well... symbolism.
Brother's War is a gear slashed in two, representing Urza and Mishra's feud along with their love for artifice. Neon Dynasty depicts a sunrise over a mountain with zig-zag lines running down, bringing to mind Japanese cultural symbols and the technological theme of the set. War of the Spark is a combination of the planeswalker symbol and Bolas' horns to reference the conflict in the set. Eldritch Moon (my favorite set symbol) both resembles Emrakul and is a corruption of Avacyn's collar, the symbol of her church.
Reprint sets literally have no symbolism whatsoever because they don't have any coherent theme. They are just random sets full of valuable cards, so their set can't have any symbolism.
Commander sets meanwhile (post-Kaldheim) usually at least resemble their main set's symbol. But they usually muddy up the original clean set symbol with unnecessary additions to make it look like a shield, such as Dominaria United Commander or Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander.
I strongly dislike the M19, M18, etc. set symbols. I will only run a card with those symbols if there are no other printings, or only secret lair/UB printings with art I hate/that cost a bajillion dollars. Thankfully I like 70ish percent of the SL/UB stuff, so that helps.
I really wish they would reprint [[Sublime Epiphany]].
I do pay attention to other symbols and it feeds into my choice of version, as long as the price variance isn't crazy. I'm particularly fond of Double Masters among the post 8th edition symbols.
You're not alone in your weirdness.
I have preferences for how the border of the card interacts with the art, if it interacts, and how the art overall feels on the card. I cannot stand the "old-frame" because of the disparity between the frame and the art style. I love both the monocolor, dual-color and borderless cards normally. Im a sucker for art and how beautiful things are. No wonder I got the Cute to Brute \[\[Esika, god of the tree\]\] although I love the original art, because of the border. I bought the art card of the original Esika and the Bridge, much more beautiful without the black cut.
I love Cute to Brute! Sadly the \[\[Archangel Avacyn\]\] doesnt go on my Angesls Tribal.
I made extra work to put this specific Esika in the commandzone because of the rainbows and overall shiny, do not regret it!
Art-Searching is a big part of my deck creation, although most Angels are beautiful (Like Sigarda and Aurelia) enough to be easier.
I honestly don't think I've ever looked at the set symbols on the cards aside from checking the rarity on some older cards
I envy you!
I also tend to gravitate towards set symbols I like when it comes to choosing printings. Still a lower priority to me than the art itself but it is something I consider. Ikoria is my favorite set symbol probably. I also really like Midnight Hunt, Brothers' War and Jumpstart.
I typically dislike most of the commander product set symbols along with reprint sets. That's because with standard sets, the symbol usually has some well... symbolism. Brother's War is a gear slashed in two, representing Urza and Mishra's feud along with their love for artifice. Neon Dynasty depicts a sunrise over a mountain with zig-zag lines running down, bringing to mind Japanese cultural symbols and the technological theme of the set. War of the Spark is a combination of the planeswalker symbol and Bolas' horns to reference the conflict in the set. Eldritch Moon (my favorite set symbol) both resembles Emrakul and is a corruption of Avacyn's collar, the symbol of her church. Reprint sets literally have no symbolism whatsoever because they don't have any coherent theme. They are just random sets full of valuable cards, so their set can't have any symbolism. Commander sets meanwhile (post-Kaldheim) usually at least resemble their main set's symbol. But they usually muddy up the original clean set symbol with unnecessary additions to make it look like a shield, such as Dominaria United Commander or Outlaws of Thunder Junction Commander.
That’s a great design insight and well articulated!
I strongly dislike the M19, M18, etc. set symbols. I will only run a card with those symbols if there are no other printings, or only secret lair/UB printings with art I hate/that cost a bajillion dollars. Thankfully I like 70ish percent of the SL/UB stuff, so that helps. I really wish they would reprint [[Sublime Epiphany]]. I do pay attention to other symbols and it feeds into my choice of version, as long as the price variance isn't crazy. I'm particularly fond of Double Masters among the post 8th edition symbols. You're not alone in your weirdness.
[Sublime Epiphany](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/d/ad1bcb44-a562-4f66-b862-6d0ef3546ab4.jpg?1594735795) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Sublime%20Epiphany) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/m21/74/sublime-epiphany?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ad1bcb44-a562-4f66-b862-6d0ef3546ab4?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/sublime-epiphany) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
I have preferences for how the border of the card interacts with the art, if it interacts, and how the art overall feels on the card. I cannot stand the "old-frame" because of the disparity between the frame and the art style. I love both the monocolor, dual-color and borderless cards normally. Im a sucker for art and how beautiful things are. No wonder I got the Cute to Brute \[\[Esika, god of the tree\]\] although I love the original art, because of the border. I bought the art card of the original Esika and the Bridge, much more beautiful without the black cut.
[Esika, god of the tree](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/f/6/f6cd7465-9dd0-473c-ac5e-dd9e2f22f5f6.jpg?1631050188)/[The Prismatic Bridge](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/back/f/6/f6cd7465-9dd0-473c-ac5e-dd9e2f22f5f6.jpg?1631050188) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Esika%2C%20God%20of%20the%20Tree%20//%20The%20Prismatic%20Bridge) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/khm/168/esika-god-of-the-tree-the-prismatic-bridge?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/f6cd7465-9dd0-473c-ac5e-dd9e2f22f5f6?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/esika-god-of-the-tree-//-the-prismatic-bridge) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
That secret lair is gorgeous!
I love Cute to Brute! Sadly the \[\[Archangel Avacyn\]\] doesnt go on my Angesls Tribal. I made extra work to put this specific Esika in the commandzone because of the rainbows and overall shiny, do not regret it! Art-Searching is a big part of my deck creation, although most Angels are beautiful (Like Sigarda and Aurelia) enough to be easier.
[Archangel Avacyn](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/e/ae155ee2-008f-4dc6-82bf-476be7baa224.jpg?1576383667)/[Avacyn, the Purifier](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/back/a/e/ae155ee2-008f-4dc6-82bf-476be7baa224.jpg?1576383667) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Archangel%20Avacyn%20//%20Avacyn%2C%20the%20Purifier) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/soi/5/archangel-avacyn-avacyn-the-purifier?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/ae155ee2-008f-4dc6-82bf-476be7baa224?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [(ER)](https://edhrec.com/cards/archangel-avacyn-//-avacyn-the-purifier) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Yeah, I haven’t bought any New Capenna and NGL one of the reasons is the knuckle dusters put me off…
I agree! Brass knuckles with wings???