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The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."

Understanding the Vintage Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, 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 experience the thrills 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 format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.

Features of the Arena Powered Cube

The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card versions, but not all of them 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 create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Fans online are already speculating that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.

How It Works and Entry Information

Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:

• Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
• Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
• Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
• Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking

Prizes and Additional Information

The reward packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Additionally, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.