The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been a fun and popular 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 previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues 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 decision was a response 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 Entry Information
Introducing 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 prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, 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 (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
