🔗 Share this article

The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."

Understanding the Classic Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without needing to spend the significant money required for physical Vintage play. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.

Details of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.

How It Works and Entry Details

Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:

• Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
• Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
• Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
• Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
• Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked

Prizes and Additional Details

The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.