The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on October 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as 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 substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables 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 decision was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.
