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 came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on October 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been a fun and popular way for Magic fans 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 play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card versions, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release of the event. This enables the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Details
Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
