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The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."

Understanding the Classic Cube?

For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans 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 Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall.

Features of the Arena Powered Cube

The Arena Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube quicker. Fans online are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — 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

Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will surely increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will use a prize structure 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:

• Begins On: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
• Registration Ends: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
• Format: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
• Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
• Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking

Rewards and Extra Details

The reward packs issued as rewards can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will share further insights on their video platforms.