The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic 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 game's history without having to pay the significant money required for physical Vintage play. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the release 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 latest cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card legal 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, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.
