The Classic Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on October 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been a fun and popular way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Entry Information
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
Prizes and Additional Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
