The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage 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 Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans 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. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a reaction to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Details
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked
Rewards and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
