MTG's Most Popular Draft Format At Last Arrives on Arena

The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before Arena was launched. 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 thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."

What Is the Vintage Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive 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 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. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Features of the New Cube Event

The Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG 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 massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.

Event Structure and Entry Details

Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:

• Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Registration Ends: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
• Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
• Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
• Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
• Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked

Prizes and Extra Information

The reward packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.