Many people asked for an option to convert runes to other currencies. I’d love this, too, but I get that devs won’t add it - after all, they have to make money somehow.
What if we were able to convert runes to XP, e.g. 1000 runes for 100 XP? Getting a level would need 65000 runes which is a lot, but doable - I believe it would’t break the mechanics. The Quest system proved that XP points don’t have to relate to card mastery only. Of course, new levels give you some currency (5-15 Jewels) but it’s rare and not a direct process.
I believe this would be beneficial for devs, too, as it would increase the time people spend in MPQ, which is one of factors to show to the investors. There are events I skip or play less beacuse I don’t need runes (e.g. the last reward in Awakened Inferno). Adding such a mechanics, would make me play more.
I’m all for making use out of runes (or kicking the rune rewards from platinum tier) but my gut tells me they would remove the non-dupe pack we get for every 10 levels.
When the level system was released we were promised that it would be the first step in a massive overhaul of the matchmaking system, and how you progress through the game in general. Since then there have been none of those changes, but given how long it took for quests to be added in (also promised to be included with XP) I guess there is still a chance that overhaul comes.
Overall I agree though, Runes into XP is probably a bad idea. I still like the idea of having a very expensive pack option or a very expensive jewel/crystal converter instead. Or maybe some events with a Rune buy-in instead of crystals?