The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been 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 needing to spend the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables 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 new cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Entry Information
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
