The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event 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."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. 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 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 did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This allows for the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Details
Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking
Prizes and Extra Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the full details. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
