The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been a fun and popular way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the significant money required for physical Vintage play. 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, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable 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 cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube quicker. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Information
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
