The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on October 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has long been a fun and popular way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Details
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
