The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used 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 substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option 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 five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card versions, but some of these 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 formats. According to the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube 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 Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
