Runic Energy

Runic Energy is the representation of the cost of resources sacrificed to build a rune. Rare blocks like gold or diamond have more Runic Energy than common blocks like cobblestone or clay. Each Tier has double the energy of the previous tier. So 3x3 block recipes like Redstone Block or Iron Block are +3 Tiers above their single counterpart (2*2*2 = 8). Qixsilver is condensed liquid Runic Energy and is the highest value substance in the game.

Economics
The full equations for determining the value of a block are listed on the Runix Tier Balance Spreadsheet. As a summary: stone is 1 energy. You must go through an average of 3,566 stone to find one Diamond Ore, so Diamond has an energy value of 3,566. Numbers are based on chunk percentages where possible. Whenver you find a Mob Spawner, you'll find ~25 Moss Stone. So Moss Stone is 1/25th the value of a mob spawner.

Dynamic Adjustment
While the spreadsheet is a valiant attempt at a purely mathematical solution, player behavior cannot be fully accounted for. The second part of Runic Energy Economics is that Runix will devalue blocks that are frequently used in runes. For example, a vanilla server has only one Ender Dragon, making the Dragon Egg a totally unique and invaluable block. Other servers have a mod that allows the Ender Dragon to respawn constantly and people can acquire stacks of Dragon Eggs. On these servers, the value of the Egg should be reduced in proportion to how common it is. Every time the number of that block on the server doubles, the energy drops by 1/2.

Legacy Notes
Runix eliminates the concept of a "Tier 0". All blocks have some energy value, even if it's just 1 energy. Runes can be made from any block. The "blank" positions in a rune (like the corners) can be any block, not just Tier 0. Instead, Conductance does employ the concept of natural blocks that might be touching your build in the environment. See the page on Conductance for a full list.