The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, 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 obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong 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 speculating that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Information
Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 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; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
