The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills 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. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the release 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 formats. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation 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 Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review 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 video platforms.
