The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card printings, 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 gameplay. According to the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Online community members 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
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The 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:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 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, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
