The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service 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 debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as 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 previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. According to the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.
How It Works and Entry Information
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, 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)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked
Prizes and Extra Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
