The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event 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 Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible at the release of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
