MTG's Top-Tier Cube At Last Makes Its Debut on Arena

The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."

What Is the Vintage Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without needing to spend the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Features of the New Cube Event

The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for 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 official news, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, according to some reports.

Event Structure and Participation Information

Introducing a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:

• Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
• Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
• Format: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
• Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
• Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked

Prizes and Additional Details

The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.