When We Were Young

A pump spell that pays extra for board texture. The base mode gives up to two creatures +2/+2 at instant speed, a serviceable combat trick or double-block ambush on its own. The lifelink rider is the design choice worth studying: rather than name a single permanent, it gates the swing-and-drain payoff behind a broader permanent count, asking for two different card types committed before it will deliver. That gate does the balancing work. Instant-speed lifelink on two attackers is a genuine race-flipper, and the dual-type requirement is exactly what stops this from being a splashable staple wherever white plays fair. It rewards a build that already wants those permanents on the table for other reasons, so the trick becomes a payoff for a wide, synergistic board rather than something you jam anywhere. Structurally it sits with the white attack-step spells that scale with your commitment to the battlefield: the more you have invested, the more the spell returns. The wrinkle is that both the pump and the conditional lifelink evaluate on resolution, so the type check happens when the spell settles, not when you cast it. That opens a small stack window: an opponent can pull one of your qualifying permanents in response to fizzle the lifelink, or you can flash one in to complete the condition after the spell is already on the stack. Modest as an isolated card, sharper as the finisher on a board built to meet its terms.