Many KeyForge players ask the questions: when is Heavy Subsidies good? How do I play around it? What do I do with this panicked feeling in my chest as my brain overloads while trying to calculate my optimal plays? Is the card designer making a statement about government and economics?
KeyForge Public Radio exists to address the first two inquiries.
This rare Sanctum artifact comes with an aember pip, comes with the Law trait (only 6 laws existed in the first five sets; Winds of Exchange includes three more), and gives one of the biggest, static, no-setup key cost increases in the entire game. Instead, this artifact gives all creatures "After Reap: Gain 1 
."
This means key costs are doubled, and aember gained from reaping is doubled. So it all evens out, right? There's no meaningful change in the game?
If aember only came from reaping, that would be correct. But aember comes from pips and card effects too. When keys cost six aember, gaining one aember through a pip or card effect gains you one-sixth of a key. But when keys cost twelve, gaining one aember through a pip or card effect gains you one-twelfth of a key.
Thus:
When Heavy Subsidies is in play, the value of aember pips and and aember gained through a card effect is halved.
Each reap (including the additional aember gained through abilities from Heavy Subsidies) is now gaining you two aember instead of one, while card abilities or pips (like Membership Drive, Rogue Operation, or Pax Sauriana) remain the same - all while the key cost has skyrocketed. If key costs and reaping are doubled, then the value of everything else is halved.
The basic of the shift in math is clear - all non-reaping aember is halved in value. Now the game, generally, will favor the player who reaps more often. Big aember burst plays can still be very effective, but their power is halved; if there's a choice between reaping out and running a burst play, reaping out may be better option.
Keep in mind this also halves the value of other aember-related effects, like key cost increases. Now a +3 cost to keys is worth 1/4 of a key instead of 1/2 of a key. Still helpful? Yes. But keep in mind the impact has changed. It's likely that key cost increase still matters in the course of a game, but you shouldn't make decisions as if it's worth half a key; now, it is worth less than two reaps are.
Those are the basics on the tactical level, where you're making decisions turn by turn which guide your sequencing. The next question is: what cards, strategies, or goals does this synergize with in a way which creates a powerful out?
It will take some time to gather enough data from Winds of Exchange to determine what kind of matchups and decks are ideal for Heavy Subsidies. But before then, we can list a few cards and situations that are likely to work great with Heavy Subsidies:
- Strategic bouncing and/or removal of Heavy Subsidies by the owner, with cards like Celestial Gorm and Barehanded, to get the reaping bonus for a small amount of time, or place/remove the key cost increase on their opponent strategically.
- Reap-hate effects like Saurarium now cut off access to the best aember-gain strategy.
- A house which can get ahead and stay ahead on board, like Winds of Exchange Brobnar, is heavily favored if it can keep the delta down.
- Halves the key-forging value of Aemberling.
- Causes most scaling aember control to become much more powerful (Martyr of the Vault, Rant and Rive).
- Cards which can grant additional reaps are now at a premium, like Ironyx Rebel or Symposium.
Those are the absolute basics of Heavy Subsidies. If you plan on playing Winds of Exchange in a tournament and want to do well, go in equipped knowing the basics of this game-warping artifact so that you're not learning as you go. Unless you plan to use Auction Off, then just do that.
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