The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without needing to spend the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards legal 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. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
