The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase 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 unique 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 Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Information
Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, 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)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Prizes and Extra Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
