The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Information
Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
