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

The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on October 28. As per the official description, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."

What Is the Vintage Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but instead from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has long been a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without having to pay the substantial cost required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it did not include cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Features of the New Cube Event

The Powered Cube will incorporate 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 broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. According to the official news, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Fans online are already speculating that this move was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, according to some reports.

Event Structure and Participation Information

Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely increase engagement in Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:

  • Begins On: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
  • Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
  • Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
  • Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
  • Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
  • Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking

Prizes and Additional Information

The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, along with 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 full details. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their video platforms.

Summer Murray
Summer Murray

A business strategist with over 15 years of experience in digital transformation and corporate innovation, known for data-driven insights.