The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on 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?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, 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 latest cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set ever, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Entry Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft events, 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 (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Extra Information
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
