The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered 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 theorizing that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes 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 similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 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: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked
Prizes and Extra Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
