The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on October 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of draft format that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest 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 play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception 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 certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure 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:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k 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: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
