The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic 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 having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Information
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 prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 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; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
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 new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
