The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on October 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without needing to spend the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the official news, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction 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 Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly 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 tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Additional Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details 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 LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
