The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, 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 Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh 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 made the release of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 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; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards permitted 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, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
