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 Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used 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 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 Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The 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 allows for the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man 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 surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
