Design can make Magic more accessible to newer players by making cards and mechanics that are straightforward either have no drawback other than mana cost or have drawbacks that new players don’t mind.
The M10 two color lands were a great example of making a card that was good enough for tournament play but had a necessary drawback that newer players could accept. Those players would balk at the life loss from Painlands, Fetchlands, or Ravnica Duals but do not mind lands that enter the battlefield tapped. The Worldwake two color manlands are similarly good: enters the battlefield tapped as an acceptable drawback and newer players would enjoy turning their land into an extra creature. Lands like Terramorphic Expanse and the Panoramas introduce the land fetching concept to players at the common rarity with the very tolerable drawback of the land being basic and starting tapped.
Linear mechanics are also good for newer players. Experienced players scoff at them because they don’t want their deck “built for them” but they are a great tool for newer players to help nudge them toward more focused deckbuilding rather than cramming together 60 random cards and some land of the appropriate colors. Tribal was a great mechanic because it is straightforward: more creatures with the same type are good. Metalcraft is similar: playing more artifacts is good. Every player can grasp the idea and why it is good. The limitations on deck building will not be noticed or be shrugged off by new players. The “creatures with power 5 or greater” mechanic from the Naya shard in Alara is good for newer players as it rewards them for something they want to do anyway: play big creatures.
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