The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on October 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Details
Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.
