The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive 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 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 physical Vintage play. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. According to the official news, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Online community members are already speculating 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 lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Entry Details
Introducing a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Arena 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:
- Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
