The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others 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 distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a pre-selected collection. 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 having to pay the significant money required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
