The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on October 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, 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 needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k 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
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Prizes and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
