The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest 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 draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The 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 larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this decision 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.
How It Works and Participation Information
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the full details. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
