The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but instead 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 history of the game without needing to spend the significant money required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, 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 faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
