The Classic Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage 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 pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee 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 (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
