The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but some of these 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 announcement, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
Prizes and Extra Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
