The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, 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 fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Details
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier 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)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked
Rewards and Additional Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
