The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "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 legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
