The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts 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 unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been a fun and popular way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Entry Information
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the prizes and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
