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

The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital platform for playing MTG before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event debuts on October 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring 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 particular expansions, but instead 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 game's history without needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG 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 Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.

Details of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card versions, but not all of them will be collectible at the release of the event. This enables the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also facilitated the launch of the new cube faster. Online community members are already theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.

How It Works and Participation Details

Launching a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:

• Begins On: Oct. 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
• Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
• Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
• Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking

Prizes and Extra Information

The reward packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Additionally, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their video platforms.