The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring 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 pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this move 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 version of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Information
The reward packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.
