Runes are the main buffs of your axies in axie infinity origins. There are 5 tiers: common, uncommon, rare, epic, mystic. Commons are pretty bad (leftover potion can be good with good charms and compatible cards). There are 4 neutral common, 2 rare, 1 epic, 1 mystic. There is 2 rare 1 epic 1 mystic of each for the 9 classes. That's 44 total. There are non seasonal and seasonal versions ( you can keep non seasonal, you need to disenchant seasonal and make it again). The non season runes are only neutrals and maybe some rewards later on from competitions.
Runes will be the main buffs, so you will need to build your cards and axie identity around them. Some cards will have better bonus with them. Best example is the new Rise and Ruin, which gives healing based on shield cards value, also 65% of the shield value. This made a card very powerful with the rune (Lotus, it was nerfed after). This was the old Mystic runes effect, which is now the Epic rune, so it's probably too strong for an epic. The new Mystic effect is the old Aqua mystic runes effect.
You can craft these runes, but you got to climb up the crafting levels slowly, spending on crafting with the lower levels. The higher rarity, the better. But some lower rarity runes work well with specific axies, like the attack bonuses are best with attackign cards, and no point giving shielding buffs if you don't use any shield. If you plan to use mystic runes, if you ever get them, you can't have two on two axies of the same class, all of them are solo, so if you like an effect, the best you can do is get 2 epic ones. You can use 3 mystic ones with 3 different class axies in a team. Cards don't matter for runes, only the class, so if the axie is a mech with beast cards, it will use mech runes not beast runes.
There is a big discrepancy between the numbers of the classes. The rock paper scrissors mechanics are gone (aqua bird dawn beats beast mech bug beats reptile plant dusk) but the effects are set up in a similar way, some of the classes identity changed, like some beasts can be tankier than the plants or reptiles, and mechs are especially defense oriented instead of attack or skill, as it used to be. But these old mechanics are still a hidden information. Based on the marketshare of the axies, it's probable that they will favor the beast/mech/bug classes in the future, since there is a lower number of them. And even tho the card combos are owerpowered, they don't nerf it yet (3x nut combos are strongest attack cards usually, only the early bird combos can come close). There are good card combos for mechs, but there are no axies with those cards so the runes are hard to judge. They could be super strong with an axie built for them but there are so few of them it wont be nerfed.
Mystic runes were super hard to craft. First I was able to get 200000 moon shards by disenchanting everything I earned (in beta, with the exploit), then I was crafting several times 150 intermediate at a time. Even when I had 1200ish of neutral charms each and close to 100 neutral runes, I haven't had a single mystic rune. Even after spending some of my extra shards on moon dust, around 100 of them in each slot, I didn't get any mystic runes and only some mystic charms. In this case I had a single lucky pull without any buff, and had both the aqua and plant mystic rune created. So it seems that mystic runes are super rare and multiple of them even more rare. Also I didn't had the beast epic rune for quite a while, but when I disenchanted everything again, which supposed to only get rid of common ones, deleted everything else too. Second time around I had different classes epic missing for a while and got the beast. You will get some runes for free, either randomly or as a choice, as you climb up the league, you will get a chance to make mystic runes at 0,5 % (plus a tiny bit with consumables which are not craftable right now).
The crafting recipes changed, and you can receive buffs that give better chances for higher runes/charms but you can't make these items on your own. Some runes and charms (I think rare or higher) can be sold on the marketplace, but can only sold after 7 days after you receive it or buy it.
So most probable scenario is that you will need Epic runes at least to fight seriously or get enough for your scholars. You will see more of these runes by the end of the season. The ymight be changed in next season or nerfed or buffed based on the popularity and win rates.
Beast epic: Single attacks apply Bleed for 2 turns if the target doesn't have Bleed and this Axie’s HP is above 75%. Deal 20% more DMG and take 10% less DMG from Bleeding Enemies. Bug epic: Single attacks consume 25% of current Shield and deal bonus DMG equal to 2 times that amount.(Used to be draw 1 more card (5+1) at turn start and have 30 shield at end.) Bird epic: deal 20% more damage above 50% hp and take 20% less below 50% Plant epic: Solo. Shielding cards of this Axie also restore HP equal to 100% of Shield gained but grant 35% less Shield. (former mystic rune, two solo epic runes only, got a 35% nerf but still should be strong). Aqua epic: 12 lifesteal per hit and 4 lifesteal per multihit (nerfed by 3 on single) Reptile epic: Solo. Apply 1 Poison to the Attacker. Take 2% less DMG per Poison stack on the attacking enemy. Max at 20 stacks. (used to be 20 for any stack, now you need 20 stacks for the most efficiency and can only have one axie with it) Mech epic: get 10 more shield per shielding card and 4 damage boost when using shield cards (used to be 3 boost only) Dawn epic: Your allies gain 1 Damage Boost whenever this Axie attacks. Your allies gain 15 Shield whenever this Axie uses a Skill. (used to be 8 shield only) Dusk epic: deal 15% more damage to debuffed and take 15% less from them. (used to be 10% attack 20% defense)
One thing, we can notice from the axie team buff and nerf choices is that they are really impulsive. One reason why aquas were nerfed super heavily, was because Jihoz lost against them while playing. Founders shouldn't ever have such a power, I'm talking about nerfs that changed the aqua prices from 400 to 120 dollars in a few weeks, just when people FOMO into the game and can't even decide what to buy, I personally lost quite a lot because of this change. There were some good cards that were nerfed to the ground, like 'perch' that wasn't viable anymore unless you played against a 4 year old who doesn't know what it does. Or piranha was nerfed heavily and turned from a build defining card into the worst mouth, now they kind of changed how it works so it's good again. The nightmare bad cards like 'silence whisper' turned into a pretty good card now. This is good, some cards need that fix, but they do it with too many and not for the right reasons. They still don't touch the 3x nut cracker/nut throw combo, while it was and is a menace in the game, but since they want people to breed more beasts, they don't nerf the combo, but it's more than 90% of the beasts was 2x nut rimp and the ones that wasn't were failed breeds. They buff the other cards but those combos don't make sense as much so there isn't much development from players. I hate the terminators just as the next guy, but they at least needed a long process of creating the base Dusk, with mixed cards, then reinforcing good traits and eliminating bad ones. Now there is a focus on purity, with a decent rune, and the higher quality charms also need at least 5/6 of the same class cards (and body counts as a part so 6/7) and the really mixed axies (3 cards from 3 classes) are quite bad for origins. But then they are other builds which gained popularity and now they didn't get a buff or any support (tri spikes reptiles or leaf bug plants), and some cards turned from defensive into offensive and ruined axies. Cleanse card seems very important, and while some runes give this effect (red and white sage for plants as far as I saw), only 5 cards cleanse. Confident for beast mouth which also grants rage, was a bad card in v2 so probably they want to make it best now. Bidens is single target and mint is all team, both plant back cards. Gecko eye for reptile is cleansing others and small heal while losing some hp yourself. Seaslug ears for aqua which deals a massive 110 damage for 2 energy, cleanse 2 and gain 2 cleanser which negates the next 2 incoming debuffs.
The mystic reptile cleanses 2 debuffs or heals 10% every turn. So probably bruiser style, you need to apply debuffs and defend yourself each turn to wear them down. They seem very well round offensive tanks, maybe their damage output is not enough against heavy shield or healing.
Aquas and bubbles were nerfed quick, ruining their epic charms too. Aquas work well together so the neutral charms seems to be better for them than others. The bloodlust is quite good still, but the mystic was ruined and reworked to something else entirely, making aquas start strong then lose damage by the end.
Mystic bird rune grants 2 feather per attack, feathers do more damage. There are a bunch of Eggshell birds, there is an epic charm to make the card go away so probably the gameplay is to take some damage and regenerate with the help of leafs or other methods. The blackmail card is taunting the backline if the opponent choses so, if they refuse to use it, it occupies a slot in their hand so might be good for curse decks too.
Mystic bug: non multihit attacks deal damage equal to current shield. There are no cards that got attack and shield at the same time, and only some that got shield and heal. I might miss some of it but this basically means that others have to place the shield on the bug then he uses attacks to deal damage with it. The bug strategy and charms make it the class with most cards, most tools to look into their own or opponents cards and charms attached can draw more, epic rune can add 1 more card and the two leafbug cards add shield when drawn so that can use the armor as a damage bonus. Square teeth is a 0 cost that does just that but has to be initial so the shield has to be present already. Shield goes away at the end of turn so can't be there at start unless it's from a rune (and bumpy which stacks for the whole game once placed, then gains the bonus each turn). But with a lot of banish and heavy draw you could make a bug deal huge damage with a retained 0 cost card.
Dawn mystic: remove 1 curse card each of your turn and if successful heal all for 30 total (10 each) and 1 bonus damage. Would be quite hard to stack curses against a team with a dawn. Hotbutt was quite strong, now nerfed, since the bubble nerf, people prefer inkling and the unremovable daze it gives. Some people use this in high MMR but not lower on, as decks aren't really stacking curses, most people just have a few randomly.
Dusk mystic: odd rounds hex 2 turn even round fear 2 turn. it's a super distruptive style and hard to have enough cleansers against this so without good draw cards or discarding is really slow and painful. Probably too overpowered. Other than that dusks seem to be good with curse cards and against them, the multihit and curse cards from bugs would work for them better than for the bugs.
Mech mystic: the shield isn't removed when the enemy turn ends. Now this is an interesting rune, and potentially broken. Square teeth on a mech? If the opponent can't remove the shield, which can even be on the backline, square teeth could deal a serious crazy damage. I think Bumpy is staying as well, but only the 10 bonus per card, the cards itself go away once the turn ends, which makes it tanky but not too crazy if the opponent can make use of the turn without attacking. But every shield permanently sounds broken. Shield cards are 60-65 maximum and most of them can be appied on others. Scry mechanics (antenna and larva) could discard cards before pulled giving a chance for another card to return so isn't impossible to get the card you want more often than normally. This was buffed for extra 15% value, it's not that it's nto strong but there aren't perfect mechs still.
Neutral cards are quite boring and bland, some of the charms are the same as class specific but with 1 cost higher, the one advantage is that some of them applies to all and 15 stacks and thus is hard to remove it with Oranda even, so might protect other buffs. The Mystic is interesting, it gives 1 energy more in Even rounds but gives 2 Daze (used to be 1 Daze 1 Goo and 1 Void.) So the old version was 1 energy paid off, 1 randomly taken and 1 card draw to counteract, now 2 card draw and this rune is fixed. Also with puppy ears or a dawn, this rune can lose the disadvantages easily. Doesn't even have to be same axie, but a frontline that gives an innate card like bumpy or sakura and a backline dawn.
Mystic beast deals bleed and receives less damage from bleeding. This is quite good on the leaderboard, and quite a few axies got the ears by random (a lot of breeders got the same things when it had no function so for example clear/telescope/nimo and chubby nut crackers are quite easy to find, papi-lotus is also common combo). But pangolin seems to be too strong, even after reduced from 25% to 15% defense. I mean It triggers for each card, every turn with no energy cost. Crazy that they misjudge this, next nerf might be like 12% and that's half of the original, while they doubled the shield bonuses for bugs and it's still bad.
Mystic Plant is now the old mystic aqua, which used to be 75 , so even a nerfed version of that was better than the old mystic plant rune, which triggered a few nerfs on dual stat cards, but then the epic became the old mystic. Weirdly enough the aqua bubbles now shred this bonus faster, which goes against the old RPS system.
Reptile mystic: cleanse 2 debuffs above 75% or heal 10% if under it. used to be on 100% to cleanse but some debuffs also deal dmg. There are some strong aoe combos that can ruin teams with no cleanses, but those are also reptiles :) I think it's good that you can debuff them without hurting them to trigger heals, so it's overall a buff for backliners but it's more complex on what card is what.