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The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."

What Is the Vintage Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without needing to spend the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.

Features of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the launch of the event. This allows for the inclusion 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 quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.

Event Structure and Entry Details

Introducing 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 reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:

• Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
• Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
• Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
• Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
• Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
• Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked

Prizes and Additional Information

The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.