MTG's Top-Tier Cube At Last Arrives on Arena

The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the most powerful 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 does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a fun and popular way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without having to pay the significant money required for physical Vintage play. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.

Features of the New Cube Event

The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This enables 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 new cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.

Event Structure and Participation Information

Introducing a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:

• Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Signup Close: 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 event cards)
• Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
• Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked

Rewards and Extra Details

The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include 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 Oct. 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.