The Classic Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format 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 enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the significant money required for physical Vintage play. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card printings, 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 extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Fans online are already speculating that this move 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, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Details
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards 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 Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
