Black Lotus | Art by: Chris Rahn

On October 28, MTG Arena will unleash a new limited-time event: Arena Powered Cube! This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine. With over 100 new MTG Arena card printings, some of which you've seen in recent Arena Anthologies, the cube presents a massive update to the game. We will be going over all the details in a series of articles and videos in the coming days that dig into all aspects of this cube, but first, we will detail the new event structure and exciting rewards.

Powered Cube Event Details and Rewards

Powered Cube is a unique, premier Limited experience. We wanted to take this opportunity to update our cube event structure based on feedback from the community on the rewards and competition. At release, we will offer Best-of-One Ranked Draft and Traditional Best-of-Three Unranked Draft. The entry price and rewards have been updated to further enhance this competitive event. The event is now in line with the structure of Premier Draft, as this has proven to be the most popular event format on MTG Arena. You will notice that the packs rewarded in the event look different than the ones rewarded in Premier Draft, with the new Cube Prize Packs adding additional value.

Cube Prize Packs are a way for MTG Arena to release new cards into the game and provide an exciting reward for event winners. Cube Prize Packs contain 7 cards in total, with at least 2 rare or mythic rare cards. Each Cube Prize Pack also contains at least 1 card from a rotating bonus sheet of new-to-MTG Arena cards. Players can also craft new cards released through Cube Prize Packs with wildcards. With the additional rare and mythic rare cards and the high-powered bonus sheet, these packs have over twice the value of a normal Store pack!

Each Cube Prize Pack contains the following:

  • 1 Timeless rare or mythic rare card from any* card legal in Timeless (see exclusions below)
    • Any rare is twice as likely as any mythic rare
  • 1 Cube bonus sheet rare or mythic rare card
    • Any rare is twice as likely as any mythic rare
  • 1 Flex card that contains:
    • Any* Timeless rare (20%)
    • Any* Timeless uncommon (30%)
    • A card from the bonus sheet (50%)
      • All bonus sheet cards have an equal chance of dropping from this slot.
  • 2 Uncommon cards from any* card legal in Timeless
  • 4 Common cards from any* card legal in Timeless

*Exceptions for cards listed as "any* card legal in Timeless" include the following:

  • Any cards that are from Universes Beyond sets.
  • Cards that are fully banned in Timeless. At the time of this publishing, there were none.
  • Cards previously used as exclusive MTG Arena rewards or other specifically uncraftable cards.

Event Structure

Like all Cube events, this will be a Phantom event, meaning players do not add the cards they pick during the draft to their collections. These events focus on the Limited play experience as opposed to collecting cards through drafting. The full event details are as follows:

  • Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
  • Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
  • Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token.
  • Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards.)
  • Structure:
    • Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
    • Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked

Best-of-One Rewards

Wins

Gems

Historic Booster

Cube Prize Packs

0

50

1

1

100

1

2

250

2

3

1,000

2

4

1,400

3

5

1,600

4

1

6

1,800

4

2

7

2,200

4

3

Best-of-Three Rewards

Wins

Gems

Historic Booster

Cube Prize Packs

Play-In Points

0

100

1

1

250

1

2

1,000

2

1

3

2,500

3

2

2

Collecting Powered Cube Prize Packs and Cards

Not all Powered Cube cards will be collectible upon the release of this event. This was a trade-off we made to accelerate this release and maintain the best play experience possible across our Constructed formats. There are four main reasons we made this trade-off:

  1. By restricting the collectability of the Powered Cube cards, we were able to be more inclusive with our card list. Decisions around Constructed format legality did not impact whether we included a card.
  2. By restricting some cards for play in Powered Cube only, we reduced the number of interactions our development team needed to consider from both a gameplay and implementation standpoint. This enabled us to pull a wider array of cards into the event.
  3. Releasing all the cards at once would overwhelm Historic and Timeless. By gradually releasing the cards, we can ensure more balanced and diverse formats.
  4. Some of these cards are among the most powerful cards ever printed. We don't see cards like Black Lotus, the Moxen, Sol Ring, or even true dual lands entering Constructed play on MTG Arena any time soon.

What Cards Are in the Cube Prize Pack Bonus Sheet?

The cards in the bonus sheet will update over time as we change which cards are collectible on MTG Arena. In the future, they may include new competitive Pioneer cards, new card printings with classic artwork, and additional cards from the cube that have not been collectible before. While not every card on the bonus sheet is in this version of Powered Cube, each card is an exciting piece of Magic history. The initial list of cards on the bonus sheet are:

  • Carnage Interpreter
  • Coalition Relic
  • Dack Fayden
  • Death-Greeter's Champion
  • Dress Down
  • Figure of Destiny
  • Fireblast
  • Glimmer Lens
  • Leovold, Emissary of Trest
  • Mine Collapse
  • Myr Battlesphere
  • Preordain
  • Pentad Prism
  • Pyrokinesis
  • Seething Song
  • Snuff Out
  • Titania, Protector of Argoth
  • Torsten, Founder of Benalia
  • Tourach, Dread Cantor
  • Unexpectedly Absent
  • Unmarked Grave
  • Upheaval
  • Vampire Hexmage
  • Winds of Abandon
  • Woodfall Primus
  • Zuran Orb

Due to their power level, ability to accelerate mana, and/or status as free spells, the following cards will be pre-banned in Historic:

  • Fireblast
  • Preordain
  • Pyrokinesis
  • Seething Song

What Cards Are in Powered Cube?

So, what are the new cards coming to MTG Arena? Most of these cards are new-to-MTG Arena, while a few of them are new art reprints from classic sets not yet on MTG Arena.

We are not ready to reveal the entire list yet, but here are some hints for players to ponder in the meantime:

  • A card with audio performed by a nonhuman actor
  • A card which, when printed, was the sixth card in a five-card cycle
  • A card that is not from Limited Edition (Alpha) whose name appears, in full, in the card text of at least 800 other cards, none of which were printed before it
  • A card whose name spelled backward is a different Magic card
  • At least four cards that were at one point restricted in formats other than Vintage
  • A card with two or more words in its name, each of which has appeared in the type line of a card other than this card
  • A card that has never been available on any digital Magic platform

More cards will be revealed throughout the week. Check out Luis Scott-Vargas's and Paul Cheon's YouTube channels on October 22 for more updates!

Prepare for Powered Cube in Style

Mox Pearl Mox Sapphire Mox Jet Mox Ruby Mox Emerald

Before we sign off, we have two more surprises for you. Since we're celebrating the old-school (and new-school) powerhouses of Magic with Powered Cube, we wanted to do something special for some of our favorite cards. While the original Moxen have appeared on MTG Arena when conjured by Oracle of the Alpha, the Moxen in Powered Cube have Dan Frazier's original artwork.

Finally, we're adding one more reward for players who jump into the excitement of Powered Cube. All players who enter any of these new events will receive a very special card sleeve featuring a new Squirrel token. Go nuts!