The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but instead 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 needing to spend 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 iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already speculating 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.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Extra Information
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. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
