Magic: The Gathering's Top-Tier Cube At Last Arrives on Arena

The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. As per the official description, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."

What Is the Classic Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft 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 experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the history of the game without having to pay 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 — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.

Details of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible at the release of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this move was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.

How It Works and Entry Details

Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, 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)
  • Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
  • Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
  • Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
  • Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
  • Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking

Prizes and Additional Details

The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can include almost every card legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.

Colleen Perez
Colleen Perez

A passionate writer and mindfulness coach dedicated to helping others find peace and purpose in everyday life.