🔗 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 MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."

What Is the Vintage Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has long been a fun and popular 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 significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.

Details of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.

Event Structure and Entry Details

Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:

• Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
• Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
• Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
• Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
• Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked

Rewards and Extra Details

The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include almost every card legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.