The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on October 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage 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 predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the significant money required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will incorporate 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 broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch 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 Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Entry Details
Introducing a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
