The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been 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 format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG 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 create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Entry Details
Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking
Prizes and Extra Information
The reward packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
