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The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing MTG before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on Oct. 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."

Understanding the Classic Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has long been a fun and popular way for Magic fans 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 previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.

Features of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube quicker. Fans online 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.

How It Works and Participation Details

Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:

• Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
• Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
• Entry: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
• Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
• Best-of-One: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
• Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking

Rewards and Additional Details

The reward packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.