The format for Magic is a concession to the fact that they did not know what they were doing with card designs at the onset of the game. Banned and restricted lists were pieced together to give the format some structure to make it possible, but it is still a format of overpowered cards from the dawn of the game that will not be reprinted, in part created to placate card speculators so that there reserve list cards held value. I think I can reasonably say that if the lotus and moxen were not legal in any format they would drop in price as they would be relegated to collectors items.
Look at the eternal formats for any CCG that has lasted the test of time. Either the stuff from the early sets were vastly underpowered and therefor a non issue for players wishing to join the format, typically games that learned from Magics mis-steps, or they are in the same situation where the barrier to entry is much higher.
Elite players tend not to like to think of themselves as breathing rarefied air, same as how millionaires like to think they are "of the people", but the very fact that you are posting on this forum does in fact carry with it some level of elitism because you play a format of magic with a super high barrier to entry and a staunched, somewhat clique based community.
I'll equate this tread to a current political discussion. You are looking to make the format more accessible to people who do not currently play it, but instead of offering up the answer that could actually get us there, which would be removing the reserve list (the actual source of the issue) and reprinting vintage staples, you are trying to find a work around because you know that the actual solution will not happen because the people who call the shots wont move on it. It is a similar argument to the war on drugs right now. Instead of solving the problem of illegal drug which leads to crime, health issues, etc with the use of programs that are known to work, like early intervention, health care, legalization and regulation, your just doling out narcan to people to prevent people from dying and saying that since they are no longer dying job is done.
Making the format a proxy only format is not seeing the forest for the trees.