The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage 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 substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. 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 card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This enables the addition 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 facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Fans online 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 least-played 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 increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Prizes and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
