Double-solution

QuiksilverHg

Two frequent complaints on this forum are: Event rewards feel lackluster, and there are no uses for runes for established late-game players.

Zendikar Expeditions perfectly embodies this problem.  Many of the rewards in the reward-ladder are just runes which are near-useless to long-established players, leading to a long grind through a lot of semi-useless rewards to get to a few desirable ones.  At the same time these runes are necessary for players on the newer end of the spectum.

To try and fix both of these at one time, I propose that each time a rune-only prize is awarded the game displays a pop-up window with a choice.  Get the runes shown as before, or choose a small percentage of that value as mana orbs for crafting; say 5%.  It would be easy enough to automate this so that it wouldn’t have to be programmed for each event.  A subroutine could be created such that whenever a rune-only reward is offered it is instead replaced with a pop-up menu offering both options.

Even a small amount of mana orbs would be preferable to a semi-useless pile of runes and make these events seem less grindy by having a comparatively worthwhile reward at each step, even if the amount of mana orbs would be small.

Firinmahlazer

I actually like this idea a lot instead of finding a way to convert already huge piles of runes. I keep my 4M for leveling and basically from here on out that would allow me to work towards crafting. 

Tezzeret

even buying potions with runes... I mean ANYTHING.

Or come out with a holographic animation for cards ( something that looks like the landfall bug when it makes each card shiney looking) foil out a common for 10,000 foil a uncommon for 50,000 a rare for 100,000 a mythic for 250,000 and a masterpiece  for 500,000

Tezzeret

or 50,000 runes to mulligan your opening hand or shuffle the board once before the match starts...