The Classic Cube is recognized 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, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on October 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary 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 particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. 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, such as Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the New Cube Event
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 inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Fans online are already speculating that this move was a reaction to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.
How It Works and Entry Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
