The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity 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 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 doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, 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 New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Fans online are already speculating that this move was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
How It Works and Entry Details
Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft events, 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 (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
