The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience 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 feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without needing to spend the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. Based on the official news, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Information
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the full details. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
