MTG's Top-Tier Draft Format Finally Arrives on Arena

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

Understanding the Classic Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans 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 tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Details of the New Cube Event

The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the official news, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.

How It Works and Entry Information

Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:

• Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
• Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
• Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
• Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
• Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
• Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked

Prizes and Extra Details

The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.