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

The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."

Understanding the Vintage Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, such as Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.

Details of the Arena Powered Cube

The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible at the release of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, according to some reports.

Event Structure and Participation Details

Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. 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)
• Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
• Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
• Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; ranked
• Match Play Mode: Three matches; unranked

Rewards and Extra Information

The reward packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the full details. Also, on October 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.