The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding 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 rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the significant money required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, 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 obtainable at the release of the event. This enables the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this move was a reaction to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Introducing a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 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; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked
Rewards and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
