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The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the Power Nine."

Understanding the Vintage Cube?

For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the significant money required for physical Vintage play. Arena previously offered a comparable option 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, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.

Details of the Arena Powered Cube

The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.

Event Structure and Participation Information

Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:

• Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
• Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
• Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
• Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
• Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked

Rewards and Additional Information

The reward packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.