Magic: The Gathering's Most Popular Cube Finally Makes Its Debut on Arena

The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary 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 instead from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players 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. Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.

Details of the New Cube Event

The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. Based on the official news, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, according to some reports.

Event Structure and Entry Details

Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:

• Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 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; with ranking
• Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked

Rewards and Additional Information

The reward packs awarded during the event can include nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.