The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed 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 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables 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 announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can include almost every card legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
