The Classic Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 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, including the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage 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 having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including 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 not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the official news, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Details
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain 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 cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
