The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before MTG 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. As per 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 Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable 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 official news, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking
Prizes and Extra Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
