The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement 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. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. Based on the official news, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked
Rewards and Additional Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can include almost every card legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
