The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. As per the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, 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 enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the 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 a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but some of these 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 create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the official news, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Information
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier 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)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 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)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
