How does a gold token's `add` work? If I'm trying to play Spellfire which has 2 cost + 2 pay and I have two gold tokens, does that mean I still have to exhaust 2 runes in addition to spending my gold tokens?

To address your question regarding Gold gear tokens and paying costs, we must look at the official rules and the provided FAQ clarifications.

1. How a Gold gear token's Add ability works

According to FAQ #8649, a Gold gear token does not provide resources directly by being "spent" as a payment. Instead, it has an activated ability that you must trigger.

• The Cost: To use the ability, you must pay the cost specified on the token, which is killing the Gold gear token (as noted in FAQ #8649).
• The Effect: Once the cost is paid (the token is killed), the ability resolves and adds Power to your Rune Pool.
• Timing: Because this is an activated ability, you must initiate this process during an Open State (or as a Reaction if the token's ability has the Reaction tag, as per Rule 416.3).

2. Paying for a spell with Gold tokens

If you are playing a spell that requires both Energy and Power, you must satisfy both requirements using your Rune Pool.

• Energy vs. Power: Gold tokens generate Power, not Energy (as clarified in FAQ #307).
• The Payment Process:
  1. Initiate Play: You begin the process of playing your spell.
  2. Pay Costs: You must pay the total Energy cost and the total Power cost.
  3. Using Gold Tokens: If you need Power, you can activate your Gold gear tokens. You kill the tokens to add Power to your Rune Pool.
  4. Rune Requirements: Gold tokens provide Universal power that can be used to pay any power cost of any domain.
  5. Exhausting Runes: You do not necessarily have to exhaust runes if you have already added sufficient Energy and Power to your Rune Pool through other means (like the Gold tokens). However, if you do not have enough resources in your Rune Pool, you must exhaust/recycle runes to add the remaining required resources to your pool before you can complete the payment step.

Summary: You do not "spend" the tokens directly. You kill the tokens to generate Power in your Rune Pool. Once that Power is in your pool, you use it to pay the Power portion of the spell's cost. You still need to ensure you have paid the required Energy cost separately, as Gold tokens do not provide Energy.

Note: I could not find a card named "Spellfire" in the database. If this is a specific card, please verify the name so I can provide a more precise ruling on its specific costs.