The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on October 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a predetermined pool. 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 history of the game without needing to spend the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Participation Information
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, plus 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 full details. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
