The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring 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 rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Participation Information
Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The reward packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the full details. Additionally, 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.