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The Vintage Cube stands as one of the most beloved cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will feature some of the strongest cards from across Magic's legacy, featuring the legendary Power Nine."

Understanding the Vintage Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a pre-selected collection. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without needing to spend the substantial cost 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 classic powerhouse cards, including the famed Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall.

Details of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will incorporate a hundred fresh Arena card versions, but not all of them will be obtainable at the launch of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these extremely strong 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 theorizing that this decision was a reaction to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.

How It Works and Entry Details

Introducing a iteration of one of the top draft formats ever will certainly increase engagement in Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will use a reward system and entry fee similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:

• Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Registration Ends: November 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
• Format: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the event cards)
• Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; with ranking
• Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked

Prizes and Additional Details

The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a unique bonus card list. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Powered Cube, enthusiasts can review the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players LSV and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their video platforms.