The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues 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 decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, 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 one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes 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, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
