The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a fun and popular way for MTG players to experience the thrills 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 previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, 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 new cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Information
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 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)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three 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. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the full details. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
