The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the 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 particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Details
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 adopt a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube 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
Rewards and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the full details. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
