The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has long been a fun and popular way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
How It Works and Entry Details
Introducing a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely 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 previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Details
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.
