The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on October 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful 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 draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage 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 needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the launch 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. According to the official news, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.
How It Works and Entry Information
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure 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: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
Prizes and Extra Information
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
