The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on October 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a fun and popular way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the launch of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — 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 Details
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Additional Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.