The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches 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, including the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as 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 significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Information
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. 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 (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Prizes and Additional Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
