The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Classic 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 instead from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Fans online are already speculating that this decision was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Entry Information
Introducing a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked
Rewards and Additional Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the full details. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
