The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. 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 significant money required for tabletop Vintage. 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, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube quicker. Fans online are already speculating that this decision 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 to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Entry Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
