The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on October 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without needing to spend the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. Based on 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 poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
