When they come around once in a blue moon, Cube events on MTG Arena are always tons of fun. Offering a curated Draft experience, Cube is always beloved by fans, even if it is a limited-time phantom event. Now, or rather next week, Cube events will be getting even better, thanks to the Arena Powered Cube.
Just announced by Wizards of the Coast, this new Cube includes some of the most powerful and iconic cards in Magic’s history. As the name suggests, this includes the infamous Power Nine, including Black Lotus. For better or worse, the Power Nine won’t be legal in Arena when this event launches, but Wizards is still introducing tons of new cards.
New Event, New Rewards
So far, Wizards of the Coast has yet to announce the full card list for the Arena Powered Cube. This is expected to be revealed throughout the week, ahead of the event’s launch on October 28th. According to Wizards, there will be “over 100 new MTG Arena card printings,” featured in the Cube.
Notably, “Not all Powered Cube cards will be collectible upon the release of this event.” While this may be disappointing to some, it should allow Wizards to better curate the Draft experience without worrying about breaking competitive formats. Thankfully, MTG Arena is still getting a bunch of new cards thanks to this event’s new Cube Prize Pack bonus sheet.
As a new bonus sheet that evolves with time, the Cube Prize Pack bonus sheet is MTG Arena’s latest source of reprints. To start with, this bonus sheet contains 26 new-to-Arena cards, four of which are being pre banned in Historic. Curiously, according to Wizards, some of the 26 bonus cards won’t be playable in the Arena Powered Cube at launch.
From the sounds of things, when the Cube Prize Pack bonus sheet evolves, it should bring new iconic cards to MTG Arena. Many of these will be from the Cube’s first iteration, as Wizards has stated they’ll be “gradually releasing the cards.” When new cards do arrive, they should hopefully fill in some of the game’s blanks, especially for Pioneer.
“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.”
Wizards of the Coast
Notably, while one card from the bonus sheet is in each Cube Prize Pack, crafting may be more reliable. For starters, event entry costs 10,000 Gold, or 1,500 Gems, which is the same as a Premier Draft. On top of that you’ll only get Cube Prize Packs after two or five wins, depending on the format variant.
26 New Cards
The first iteration of the Arena Powered Cube Prize Pack bonus sheet really doesn’t disappoint. 26 new-to-Arena cards will arrive on Arena on the 28th, and there are plenty of spicy cards within that list. For the most part, Brawl is getting the most love, although some cards could mix up Historic and Timeless.
Being banned in Commander, Leovold, Emissary of Trest, and Upheaval are rather surprising sheet additions. Even in hell queue, these cards will be miserable to play against, especially when built around. Thankfully, a lot of the new Brawl-focused cards, like Pentad Prism, aren’t nearly as bad.
Similarly, cards like Titania, Protector of Argoth, Torsten, Founder of Benalia and Myr Battlesphere offer new support for existing archetypes. Carnage Interpreter should also be a fantastic addition to the format, as it sees surprisingly consistent Duel Commander play.
Outside of Brawl, Historic and Timeless are getting tons of interesting new cards, too. Dress Down and Snuff Out have been long requested additions that’re bound to see plenty of play. Preordain is also a huge new addition to Timeless, and is one of the four cards being prebanned in Historic. The other prebanend Historic cards are Fireblast, Pyrokinesis, and Seething Song.
With plenty more cards on top of that, the Cube Prize Pack bonus sheet should seriously shake up multiple formats. This is all just the start, however, as the Arena Powered Cube is bound to include tons of powerful cards. So far, the card list has just been teased, but cards like Comet, Stellar Pup, and Urza’s Saga are believed to be included. If these make to into the bonus sheet, MTG players are in for one hell of a time.
The Full Card List
The full card list for the Arena Powered Cube has yet to be announced by Wizards of the Coast. Thankfully, the Cube Prize Pack bonus sheet has already been revealed in its entirity. All of the 26 new-to-Arena cards found in this bonus sheet are below.
- 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
As for the rest of the Arena Powered Cube card list, more is expected to be revealed on October 22nd. Before then, Wizards did have a few extra surprises in store. On the 28th, when the new Cube launches, Wizards will be revamping Oracle of the Alpha’s conjured Moxen to feature the original Dan Frazier artwork. On top of that, there will also be a Squirrel Token sleeve up for grabs for those who enter the new event once live.
All in all, the Arena Powered Cube looks like a fantastic addition to MTG Arena that will hopefully continue to excel. With consistent support, and bonus sheet changes, this Cube could become a beloved Arena feature. Just how well Wizards handles it with ongoing support, however, remains to be seen.
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