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 Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans 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. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. According to 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 the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost 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: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. 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 Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the full details. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
