The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of draft format that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh 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 extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a response to the poor reception 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 Entry Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked
Rewards and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
