For those that have been playing Axie Infinity: Origins consistently for Season 4, you probably have a Choice Epic Rune Box as a Reward from the Rare Era. I have compiled some data on the Epic Runes and Charms used by the top players in the early Epic Era meta, and hopefully this will give you some information on what Rune you may want to get from your Choice Box.

Epic Runes

Leech is the leader of the Epic Runes in Top 100, 200, and 500 despite its nerf to only stealing 35% Shield (from 40%). This is most likely due to top teams like Topaz and Aggro running a front bug to fight against Sustain. Last wish is the most popular Epic Rune in the Top 1000 as it is a Neutral Rune that can be put on any team. Wicked Ward, and Moonlight Thief are the amongst the most popular runes followed by Hearty Warrior and Calcium Armor (Figure 1). The popularity of runes are most likely due to: 1) the power level of the runes, and 2) the fit of the runes to existing well-performing archetypes. Wicked Ward is a good example of its fit to Jinx teams which has a good performance so far in Season 4. Ultimately, the usage of Runes is primarily based on what archetypes are represented at each level.

Epic Charms

Scotch Tape is the king of Epic Charms despite the change in the Keep mechanic in Season 4. Being able to keep a card without using Energy Fragment is still good because it enables early Cottontail turns / Energy Burst. Sticky Octopus and Gecko Mask are also amongst the most popular charms in Top 1000. There is a bit of a difference between the Top 100 and Top 1000 as Bubble Paste seems to be higher on the list in Top 100 than Top 1000 probably due to the dominance of Topaz teams with Nimo. For Charms, the popularity is most likely determined by the archetype more than the raw power level of the Charm. And of course Scotch Tape being a neutral rune is much more likely to be used as it can be put on Cards from any class.

Note that this data is from very early meta before any Epic Runes and Charms are available from the marketplace. The distribution will likelyl change as the meta develops and as the Epic Runes and Charms populate the marketplace. I hope this post has given you some insights into what Runes and Charms are good in the current meta. Good luck; have fun with the Epic Era of Season 4!