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 came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. As per the official description, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Participation Information
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 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
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
