The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the significant money required for physical Vintage play. 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 Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a reaction to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure 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:
- Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking
Prizes and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
