The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on October 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a fun and popular 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 previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. According to the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
