Magic: The Gathering's Top-Tier Cube At Last Makes Its Debut on MTG Arena

The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring 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 predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.

Details of the New Cube Event

The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card printings, but some of these will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this move was a reaction to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.

How It Works and Entry Information

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

• Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
• Signup Close: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
• Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
• Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
• Best-of-Three: 3 matches; unranked

Prizes and Extra Details

The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless format, plus 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 full details. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.