The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead 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 strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the launch 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 formats. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point 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 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the full details. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
