The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
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 larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
How It Works and Entry Details
Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers 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 tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
