The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has long been a fun and popular way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be obtainable 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 formats. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.
