The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful 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 excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Fans online are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
