Offering MTG Arena players a chance to use the Power Nine, Powered Cube is one of the strongest ways to play digital Magic. Draft the right deck, and players are even capable of creating turn-one kills in the format. For better or worse, due to this mode’s power level, many of the cards in Powered Cube are currently not craftable for play on MTG Arena.
That said, Wizards of the Coast is slowly increasing the number of Power Cube cards that MTG Arena players can craft. The Arena Cube prize packs, in particular, feature a small collection of previously uncraftable Cube cards for MTG Arena players, introducing them to new formats. Five new cards will be available starting March 31st, and one of them has been banned in Historic.
MTG Survival of the Fittest Banned in Historic
Of the five new cards being made craftable on MTG Arena for the first time, Survival of the Fittest is undeniably the most powerful. Thanks to its ability to repeatedly tutor creatures for cheap, this enchantment massively upgrades the consistency of creature combo decks. Due to this, the card is a Game Changer in Commander and sees strong play in Premodern, too.
While Survival of the Fittest would not have been a direct upgrade to any of Historic’s top-tier decks, it could have easily created a problematic creature combo deck. Golgari Yawgmoth, which is still debatably playable, would have gotten a massive upgrade, and Reanimator decks could have abused the enchantment’s discard clause. Given that one missed interaction led to Food Chain becoming a massive problem, banning Survival of the Fittest in advance is certainly the safe play.
That said, Survival of the Fittest coming to Arena will still mean big things for other formats. The card will notably be extremely powerful in Brawl, allowing Green creature decks to find the perfect answer to any situation. The enchantment will also be coming to Timeless, where it can increase the consistency of Balustrade Spy decks.
The Other Cards
Survival of the Fittest is definitely the star of the show here, but the other cards coming to MTG Arena may offer some serious mix-ups, too. Alongside Survival of the Fittest, Fireblast, Coalition Relic, Unexpectedly Absent, Preordain, and Figure of Destiny are also being added to the Arena Cube prize packs.
Parallax Wave seems to be the most interesting of these, thanks to the popularity of Stifle decks in Historic. Both Jeskai Blink and Lotus Field Combo are big contenders in the format, naturally taking advantage of ability-countering effects. By countering the leaves play trigger, Parallax Wave essentially wipes five creatures for just four mana. You can even line up a Replicated Consign to Memory to get rid of pesky Ward creatures like Kappa Cannoneer on the cheap.
Coveted Jewel could see some real combo potential, too, thanks to its partner-in-crime being legal in Historic. This card infamously goes infinite with Displacer Kitten, drawing your entire deck while creating tons of mana in any color. Dark Ritual could make Coveted Jewel interesting in Timeless, but chances are that this artifact will be relegated to Brawl.
The other two cards aren’t too interesting for MTG Arena’s competitive formats. Echo of Eons needs its partner-in-crime, Lion’s Eye Diamond, to make big plays, and that card is understandably not craftable yet. Fire Covenant could end up being an interesting sideboard card for the Historic Jund Goyf decks, but is otherwise unlikely to have a meaningful impact outside of Brawl.
A Disappointing Miss
While it’s always great to see new cards becoming craftable on MTG Arena, players generally aren’t too happy with the changes here. Outside of these five new cards, nothing is being changed about the Powered Cube prize packs. With multiple heavy hitters, like Urza’s Saga and Tolarian Academy in the Cube, many MTG Arena players are disappointed that Wizards didn’t do more.
Players are also leery about the Arena Cube updates themselves. Boros Aggro has remained one of, if not the best, strategies in the Cube, and this update might just make the archetype even more dominant. While Comet, Stellar Pup is being removed in favor of a more aggressive Cube, Broadside Bombadiers and Gut, True Soul Zealot, two of the best aggressive red cards in the format, are returning.
While there’s a lot of apprehension and disappointment about these changes, we do still have some games to play. These five new cards could make a more meaningful impact on MTG Arena, and Powered Cube might be surprisingly balanced. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see what these changes accomplish.
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