The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding 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 Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a response 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, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Information
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked
Prizes and Extra Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts 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 video platforms.
