I started around 5th Edition / Ice Age and mostly played multiplayer in groups of 3-5 with others from our childhood friend group. Very casual play, usually with some type of house rules depending on where we were at. We used to have to call the Wizards of the Coast hotline number on the side of the box to settle disputes about new mechanics and whatnot. lol. Yeah, it was that long ago.
I've built several large collections of cards over the years but always seemed to find a need to sell them due to some unexpected bill or my car breaking down or whatever. Then I'd build a whole new collection from the ground up and the cycle would continue all over again. So many times I've spent extremely large amounts of money on these collections and had to sell them for a fraction of their value.
The last time I sold my collection, the whole friend group just kind of stopped playing and most of them sold their cards as well. About 3 years or so ago, I discovered Arena and have been actively playing on there ever since.
In many ways, I find Arena to be more enjoyable. For example: No more arguments over rules or mechanics. I do miss actually getting together with real people and I miss all the old cards that aren't available on Arena, but I'm glad there's a way I can still play without going broke.
I mostly play historic (occasionally timeless) because I like having access to all the cards available, though I have been kicking around the idea of trying some other formats just to mix things up a bit and try something new.
So yeah... that's my story.