Magic: The Gathering's Most Popular Draft Format At Last Arrives on MTG Arena

The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the Power Nine."

Understanding the Classic Cube?

For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the significant money required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.

Details of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already theorizing that this move was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.

Event Structure and Entry Details

Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:

• Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
• Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
• Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
• Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
• Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked

Rewards and Additional Details

The reward 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, interested players can review the full details. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.