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, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills 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 introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the release of the event. This allows for 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 latest cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Participation Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure 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)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
