The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."
What Is the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay 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 iconic Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release 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 formats. Based on the official news, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this move was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Participation Information
Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:
- Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking
Rewards and Extra Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.
