The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Entry Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can include almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
