The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of draft format 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 enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power 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 Arena card versions, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Extra Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards 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, interested players can review the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
