The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on October 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead 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 history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card versions, 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 extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the official news, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
