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The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."

Understanding the Vintage Cube?

For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. 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 strongest cards in the game's history without needing to spend the significant money required for physical Vintage play. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.

Features of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Online community members 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 lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.

How It Works and Participation Information

Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, 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: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
• Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
• Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
• Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
• Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked

Prizes and Extra Details

The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.