The Vintage Cube stands 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, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 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, including the Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set ever, according to some reports.
How It Works and Entry Information
Introducing a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
