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The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."

What Is the Vintage Cube?

For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of draft format 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 enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without needing to spend the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.

Details of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh 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 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. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.

Event Structure and Participation Information

Launching a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:

• Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
• Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
• Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
• Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking

Rewards and Extra Information

The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can review the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.