The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players 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 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, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Launching 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 Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure 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 (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
