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 have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 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 across Magic's legacy, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Classic 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 significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Entry Information
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Prizes and Extra Information
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the full details. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.
