The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man 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 surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system 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 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
