The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a predetermined pool. 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 having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Entry Information
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
