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The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the Power Nine."

Understanding the Classic Cube?

For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, 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 Classic Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular 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. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Features of the New Cube Event

The Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.

Event Structure and Entry Details

Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:

• Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
• Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player 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; without ranking

Prizes and Additional Information

The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.