The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This allows for the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this move was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement 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 certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Prizes and Additional Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
