The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without needing to spend the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Additional Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can include almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the full details. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
