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 came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the launch 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 formats. According to the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception 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.
Event Structure and Entry Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 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 event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
