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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 was launched. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to experience true power when the Powered Cube limited event launches on Oct. 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is distinct from all others on Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring 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 pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has consistently served as a fun and popular way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the history of the game 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 Power Nine — MTG's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Features of the Arena Powered Cube

The Arena Powered Cube will include 100 new Arena card printings, but some of these will be obtainable at the release of the event. This enables the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed gameplay. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already speculating that this decision was a reaction to the negative feedback of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of Marvel's Spider-Man and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.

How It Works and Participation Details

Introducing a version of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to add. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a prize structure and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than previous Arena cubes. The format details will be the following:

• Begins On: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Signup Close: November 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (15:00 UTC)
• Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
• Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
• Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
• Best-of-Three: 3 matches; without ranking

Prizes and Additional Information

The reward packs issued as rewards can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players can review the full details. Also, on Oct. 22, professional Magic players LSV and Paul Cheon, long-time cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.