The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement 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 format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Information
Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking
Prizes and Additional Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
