The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on October 28. As per the official description, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a fun and popular way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision 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, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Information
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Rewards and Extra Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
