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The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, Arena enthusiasts will have the chance to experience true power when the Arena Powered Cube debuts on October 28. As per the announcement, "This exciting event is distinct from all others on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."

What Is the Classic Cube?

For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format that doesn't draw cards from particular expansions, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for Magic fans to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without having to pay the significant money required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, such as the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Features of the New Cube Event

The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new MTG Arena card printings, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This allows for the inclusion of a broader selection of cards, as some of these extremely strong cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the least-played Arena set ever, according to some reports.

Event Structure and Participation Information

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 reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:

• Event Start: October 28, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
• Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
• Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
• Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking

Prizes and Additional Information

The reward packs issued as rewards can contain nearly all cards legal in the Timeless format, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the prizes and the cards present in the Arena Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the official announcement. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.