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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 Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. As per the official description, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the Power Nine."

What Is the Vintage Cube?

For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format 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 MTG players 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 Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Features of the New Cube Event

The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but some of these 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 cause balance problems in Constructed formats. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, according to some reports.

How It Works and Participation Details

Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:

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

Rewards and Extra Information

The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include almost every card legal in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the full details. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.