🔗 Share this article

The Classic Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."

What Is the Vintage Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has long been 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 needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Features of the New Cube Event

The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.

How It Works 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 important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:

• Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
• Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
• Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
• Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
• Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked

Prizes and Extra Information

The reward packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards 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 examine the full details. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.