The Vintage Cube stands 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 get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a fun and popular way for Magic fans 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 tabletop Vintage. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
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 launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a reaction to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — 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 version 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 earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Information
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.
