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 was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. According to the official news, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Participation Information
Introducing a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
Prizes and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
