The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, 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 Classic Cube has long been a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Entry Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
