The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on 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?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a fun and popular way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable 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 formats. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking
Prizes and Additional Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
