The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has consistently served as 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 needing to spend the significant money required for physical Vintage play. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion 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 latest cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set ever, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Information
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card permitted 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 Powered Cube, interested players can examine the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
