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 MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. As per the announcement, "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."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but instead from a pre-selected collection. 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 game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
How It Works and Entry Information
Introducing 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 similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.
