The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without having to pay the significant money required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Entry Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement 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 more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card legal 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 Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
