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 MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest 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 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 spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card printings, 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. 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 poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Details
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure 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:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.
