The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on October 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."
What Is 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 rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has long been a fun and popular way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card versions, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. Based on the official news, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a reaction to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — 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 Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
