The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved 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 encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar 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 New Cube Event
The 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 enables 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 new cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely increase engagement 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 previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
