The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Online community members 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 ever, according to some reports.
How It Works and Entry Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the full details. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
