The Classic Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on October 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others 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?
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 instead from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has long been a fun and popular way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card versions, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, according to some reports.
How It Works and Entry Details
Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the prizes 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, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
