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The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."

What Is the Classic Cube?

For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Details of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible 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. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.

Event Structure and Entry Information

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

• Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Registration Ends: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
• Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
• Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
• Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking

Rewards and Additional Details

The reward packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.