The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage 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 game's history without needing to spend the significant money required for physical Vintage play. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube quicker. Fans online are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
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 note. The Arena 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 event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: 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; unranked
Rewards and Extra Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards 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 share further insights on their video platforms.
