The cost of
Second Wind takes into account the balance of
Blessing and considers that for the mass buff to equal the targeting attack increase, (not considering damage reduction shields and/or Momentum) there should be a minimum of 3 creatures in play on your side of the field to begin with. Aside, the buff will also be applied to the airborne creatures of the opponent, creating an incentive to opt for airborne creatures. Dragons being a primary airborne creature in every element, they can be considered for offensive play, however their cost can be a bit of a mitigating factor, which is where the other effect of
Second Wind comes into play. Not only permitting the possibility for Only
-producing Rainbow Decks, part of the effect of
Second Wind is a never-before-seen cost reduction effect which is tricky to balance and as such, is cautiously balanced by being able to affect both players. Of course, only the player using the effect will be able to seize the right opportunity to use the card and possibly swing the tides of the match in their favour. Featuring strong synergies between this alchemy card and several classic
Air cards such as
Dragonfly,
Shard of Freedom,
Wyrm and
Fog Shield, this particular Alchemy card presents itself as a well-balanced and a perfectly suited tool in the element's arsenal.
Whereas the proposed alchemy card is not as direct as the current alchemy card,
Unstable Gas, this does not mean that the proposed alchemy card won't find situations where its power will rival and at times surpass the current in-game card. The loss of
Unstable Gas, however, would mean quite a change in the War metagame. Teams often have to prepare not only for the potential direct onslaught that can be the powerhouse of cheap and mid-hitting creatures, but also direct spell damage through the explosiveness that is
Unstable Gas and often struggle to find a way to counter both. Though a simple
Reflective Shield may directly counter the current alchemy card, teams often have to store a few away specifically for the dread that is
Unstable Gas, among others. Having said that, if an opponent's deck does not bring the reflecting shields, the gases will present an immediate and, often, deadly threat. Removing
Unstable Gas from our arsenal would almost certainly mean that teams would overall be less concerned about spell damage, possibly packing less reflecting shields and almost certainly opting for different shields when facing
Air.
Where we would lose the direct firepower of
Unstable Gas, we would make up for in the versatile and synergizing
Second Wind which would not only give many of our Duos more consistency, but also the ability to capitalize on our
Shard of Freedom, a serious threat in the recent War metagame. Furthermore, being able to have a Nymph that can hypothetically increase her own attack damage with time means that previously more passive
Stalls can become more ramp-style decks, potentially able to overcome opposing stalls themselves.
Considering that
Air itself is an element of relatively inexpensive cards and creatures which always appreciate even the slightest attack boost,
Second Wind would be a welcome addition to any deck
Air can currently field and furthermore may even expand deck possibilities.
