The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on October 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, 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 instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a reaction to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Details
Introducing a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost comparable with 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 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.
