The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on October 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but instead 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 substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. Arena introduced something similar 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 five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this decision was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Details
Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, 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: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
