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 get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the Power Nine."
Understanding the Classic Cube?
For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the significant money required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include 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 New Cube Event
The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG 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 create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.
How It Works and Entry Information
Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
- Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
- Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
- Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking
Rewards and Additional Details
The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.
