Since you guys seem to encourage people coming up with a way to fix wands that isn't a pain in the ass recode or proves to be "better" than the current system in place, I thought I would try my hand at a simple answer.

Does my idea seem like it might be a viable thing to try? Or do you think it would create game balance issues.

I don't think it solves the problem that there would be some people still bitching out there, but speaking for myself, I would be much, much more inclined to play another AP or start playing mages more regularly.

Input maybe from big D?

Another solution for this is that if the attunement edges were much, much, much cheaper to take. Like one of the cheapest edges, not one of the most expensive. Im talking like mana flood cheap. I am willing to bet the attunement edges are not taken much because they are SO expensive, that by the time people feel they need them, they basically won't have a chance to take them till well after hero, because they spent some of their edge points and never catch back up because they didn't "save" them until the sleek hunt went bad...which I think is unfair that every mage should have to do.