The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."
Understanding the Vintage Cube?
As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without having to pay the significant money required for physical Vintage play. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.
Features of the Arena Powered Cube
The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the official news, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.
Event Structure and Participation Details
Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:
- Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
- Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
- Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
- Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
- Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
- Best-of-Three: Three matches; unranked
Rewards and Additional Information
The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.
