The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the official news, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can include almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, plus 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 full details. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.
