The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay 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, such as Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Online community members 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 lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Entry Information
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
