The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding 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 rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage 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 needing to spend the significant money required for physical Vintage play. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this move was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Extra Information
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the full details. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
