The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic 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 instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been a fun and popular way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the official news, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include almost every card legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
