The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on October 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. According to the official news, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the poor reception 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
Launching 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 Powered Cube will use a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, 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)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Prizes and Additional Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the full details. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.
