The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."
What Is the Classic 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 pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players 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. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card printings, 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 create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the official news, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost comparable with 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 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
