The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, 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 substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the release 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. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this decision was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The 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: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the full details. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
