The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on October 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the full details. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
