The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used 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 significant money 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, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Entry Information
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a reward system and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Extra Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.
