The Vintage Cube is recognized 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, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."
What Is the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history 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 did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.
Details of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Event Start: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
- Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Prizes and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless format, 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 review the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
