The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding 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 instead from a predetermined pool. 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 game's history without needing to spend the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, 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 (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Extra Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.
