The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as 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 needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set ever, according to some reports.
How It Works and Participation Details
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, 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)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
