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The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else 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 distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull 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 experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Details of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card versions, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating 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 to date, according to some reports.

Event Structure and Participation Details

Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:

• Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
• Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
• Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
• Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
• Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
• Best-of-Three: Three matches; without ranking

Prizes and Extra Information

The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.