The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique 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 consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG 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 extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new 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 lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Information
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee comparable with 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)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Prizes and Extra Information
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
