The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used 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 physical Vintage play. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card versions, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Information
Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
