The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this decision was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
Prizes and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
