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The Classic Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on October 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."

Understanding the Vintage Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.

Features of the Arena Powered Cube

The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this move was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.

How It Works and Participation Information

Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:

• Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
• Registration Ends: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
• Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
• Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
• Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking

Prizes and Extra Information

The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.