The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for Magic fans to experience the thrills 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 format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable 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 theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
