The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive 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 Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will include 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 broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Details
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can include almost every card legal 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 review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
