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 have the chance to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Vintage 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 game's history without having to pay the significant money required for physical Vintage play. MTG 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, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This allows for 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 announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
How It Works and Entry Details
Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking
Prizes and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
