The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables 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 new cube quicker. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Information
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Prizes and Extra Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
