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Magic: The Gathering's Top-Tier Draft Format At Last Makes Its Debut on MTG Arena

The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."

Understanding the Classic Cube?

For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been a fun and popular way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Features of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible at the launch of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.

How It Works and Participation Information

Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:

  • Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
  • Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
  • Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
  • Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
  • Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
  • Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked

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 unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.

About the author

Dominique Montoya

Lena Verhoeven is a Dutch artist and writer passionate about exploring the intersection of technology and creativity.

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