The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event 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."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been 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 needing to spend the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the addition 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 faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
