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The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital platform for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience immense strength when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from across Magic's legacy, including the legendary Power Nine."

Understanding the Vintage Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive 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 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 needing to spend the significant money required for physical Vintage play. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless format, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.

Details of the New Cube Event

The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card versions, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube quicker. Online community members are already speculating that this decision was a response to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.

Event Structure and Participation Details

Introducing a iteration of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will use a reward system and access cost comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:

• Begins On: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
• Participation Cost: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or one draft token
• Game Style: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
• Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
• Match Play Mode: 3 matches; without ranking

Prizes and Additional Details

The reward packs issued as rewards can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can examine the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will share further insights on their YouTube channels.