The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, 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 most powerful cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the substantial cost 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 classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch 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. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Fans online 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 least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Participation Information
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 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)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, along with 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 examine the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
