The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Information
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost comparable with 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)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
