The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on October 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive 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 consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable at the release 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 formats. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Information
Introducing 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 adopt a prize structure and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Information
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include almost every card legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
