Oops ... I Runi-ed Again!

A lot has been going on in the Splinterland community lately.

Recently, we received an exciting mini-update about land. We have also heard about difficult decisions the Splinterlands team made.

Despite everything going on, I continue to invest in Splinterland assets, including Runis. In this post, I want to share my thoughts on the recent news and explain some of the Runi moves I have made.

IMPORTANT: At the end of this post, I will recommend a feature that I believe would increase buy-in for the Runi project and make Runis even more unique.

_{source: Splinterlands}

Runi Is Live

The Runi Is Live article received mixed reviews.

There was confusion and concern between the "component swapping" functionality (that was initially described on the Runi roadmap) and the current "Runi Reconstruction" functionality.

The most significant call out (in my opinion) is that Runi Reconstruction will require at least one Runi to be burned.

Pros:

Reconstruction will reduce the overall number of Runis in circulation, which will increase demand.
Players/investors, who own multiple Runis, can still make design choices as they see fit if they are willing to burn cards.
Any burned Runi will still benefit a player/investor in cases when multiple Runis would have benefited a player/investor. Burned Runis will be tracked by a new trait (similar to BCX) that will be added to a Runi card.

Cons:

There is no timeline for when this functionality will be available. With changes to the size of the Splinterland team, I am sure some adjustments will need to be made to the roadmap.
Burning a fully maxed legendary card to "reconstruct" it with another fully maxed legendary card is new functionality. Anytime new gameplay or game management features are added, there will be some confusion and hesitation.
It is unclear what benefits are being assigned to Runis that have been constructed or rank higher on the rarity scale.

Runi Is Live, But Not For Long

On November 25, 2022, the Runi Public Mint will end (unless there is a complete sell-out of Runis before then). With only seven days left before the deadline, I am not optimistic that all 6,500 Runis will be sold. I could be wrong.

As of the writing of this article, only 47.6% of all Runis have been minted.

1,430 unique owners hold rights to 3,093 Runis. That means that many Runi owners have multiple cards, myself included.

If the benefits of burning a Runi are considered worth losing a card, we will see an overall drop in the total number of Runis in circulation. Again, this should drive up demand!

Additional Runi Utility

Utility will be a driving factor in how many total Runis are ultimately left in circulation. In addition to battling, the Splinterland team is exploring other ways to utilize Runi Cards.

IMPORTANT: Wait until the end of this post to learn more about my suggestion. It would impact battling with a Runi.

Guilds

As a guild member, I am intrigued by this possibility. The Splinterlands team has stated that there are ongoing changes planned for guides. However, it is unclear how Runis will be ultizied with guilds and what benefits they will bring.

My Optimism Level - MEDIUM
It sounds like ideas are being discussed, but it seems like the Splinterlands team is keeping things close to their chest. The phrase 'may be part' from the Runi Is Live article does not give much away.
Mechanism Used
Create a new guild building (or use an existing one) that can be leveled up or unlocked when Runi are staked to a guild.
Type of Runi Needed
Per Splinterlands, 'possibly just the cheapest Runi off the floor' may be able to help unlock future features. There are no details on how many Runis will be required or if additional benefits will be granted if more Runis are staked to a guild.

Land

Land is going to be a big deal. At least, I hope it will. I have 20 plots of land that are just waiting to be used. For land to be used, my understanding is that players will have to commit monsters to 'work' the land (my words, not the Splinterland team). If my memory is correct, better cards will produce a better yield from the land. That seems to indicate that a Runi, which may be considered one of the best cards, will produce a high output.

My Optimism Level - MEDIUM-HIGH
My assessment is based on the following statement from Splinterlands: "Runi is going to feature prominently within the world of Praetoria."
Mechanism Used
A Runi will be able to be staked to a plot of land.
Type of Runi Needed
Based on statements made by the Splinterland team, it is likely that the number of Runis burned as part of the reconstruction process, and the rarity level that results, will yield 'increased benefits over more common and un-reconstructed Runi.'

Membership

This idea will succeed or fail based on what type of benefits are provided to members. It would be rather amazing if people started buying Runi cards to receive member benefits!

My Optimism Level - MEDIUM-HIGH
Mechanism Used
A Runi would serve as an NFT token that represents membership. Depending on how many Runis are minted and how many are reconstructed, the number of total members might be relatively small.
Type of Runi Needed -
All Runis may represent 'a certain level of Splinterlands membership.' It is unclear, based on my understanding of existing information, if rare and reconstructive Runis impact membership levels.

BONUS RECOMMENDATION: Give an in-game title for Splinterland Mavericks and/or create a Runi Badge for Mavericks.

I was not content with just one Runi

Some may think that I went a bit overboard on purchasing Runis. My experience with Splinterlands makes me think overwise. I wish I had bought more plots of land at the entry price when I had the chance. I did not want to make the same mistake this time.

The following is how I acquired my Runis:

I minted #1071. I feel fortunate that I was whitelisted and could mint before public minting was offered.
Later, I purchased #509, #2050, and #2564. First, I was trying to make budget-focused purchases. Second, I wanted at least one Runi without the Dim Gray background.
Finally, I picked up #3082. I was still being mindful of price, but I was also trying to focus on rare Runi elements, specifically headware and left hand.

	Runi #509	Runi #1071	Runi # 2050	Runi #2564	Runi #3082

Background	Dim Gray	Dim Gray	Kelly Green	Dim Gray	Dim Gray
	66%	66%	1%	66%	66%
Body	Watcher's Robe	Illumina Robe	Ferexian Cape	Oracle Habit	Gray Leather
	3%	3%	*0.68%*	3%	3%
Head	Augur Trinity	Lowland Ape	Rose Scrymare	Warlock's Hex	Augur Trinity
	3%	*0.28%*	3%	3%	3%
Headware	None	None	None	None	Raider's Helm
	13%	13%	13%	13%	1%
Left Hand	Ruby Staff	Ebon Sword	Bronze Pike	Frost Trident	Pike of Chaos
	3%	3%	3%	1%	*0.52%*
Power Core	Helia Core	Violet Sprout	Molten Core	Jet Lockstone	Scoria Swirl
	5%	*0.45%*	4%	5%	4%

With five Runis, I have a lot of options.

I can rent out Runis I am not using while waiting for new features to be developed.
I have basic options that can be used for staking when rarity is not a concern/does not provide an increased benefit.
If I want to reconstruct a rare Runi, I have options. I can create a rather rare card by combining #1071, #2050, and #3082.

My Recommendation

I am not saying this is possible, but hear me out. If, in addition to all of the current benefits of reconstructing a card, you were allowed to add a new ability to your Runi, would you be more interested in Runi Reconstruction?

So this is how the process would play out:

One Runi comes with current abilities and stats.
If you reconstruct two Runis, you can choose an additional ability to be added to your Runi.
If you reconstruct three Runis (perhaps four), you can choose one more ability to be added to your Runi.

My thought is that there are two different buckets that a user can choose from. The first bucket (unlocked when two Runis are reconstructed) would contain current abilities that would improve a Runi's defensive ability (for example, SHIELD). From the list of four or five possibilities, the Runi owner could select one ability.

The second bucket (unlocked when three, or perhaps four, Runis are reconstructed) would contain current abilities that would improve a Runi's offensive ability (for example, PIERCE). From the list of four or five possibilities, the Runi owner could select one ability.

If giving a player four or five choices from a bucket is too technically challenging to implement, then a single ability (chosen by the Splinterlands team or by the community) could be added for each level of reconstruction.

The benefit of allowing players to select which ability they prefer is increased engagement and adding another layer of uniqueness to what is already considered one of the most unique Splinterland cards.