Magic: The Gathering's Most Popular Draft Format At Last Makes Its Debut on Arena

The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the legendary Power Nine."

Understanding the Classic Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it did not include 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.

Features of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.

Event Structure and Entry Details

Launching a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will use a prize structure and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:

• Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
• Registration Ends: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
• Format: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
• Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
• Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked

Rewards and Additional Information

The reward packs issued as rewards can include nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the full details. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.