The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. 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 game's history without needing to spend the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. According to the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Information
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
