The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of draft format that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without needing to spend the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Entry Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
