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The Classic Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the Power Nine."

Understanding the Vintage Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather 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 history of the game without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.

Features of the New Cube Event

The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.

How It Works and Participation Information

Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:

• Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
• Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
• Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
• Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
• Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking

Rewards and Extra Information

The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.