The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch 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 formats. According to the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Entry Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can include almost every card legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
