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The Vintage Cube is recognized as one of the most beloved cubes on the original digital platform, the premier digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before MTG Arena was launched. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to encounter true power when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. According to the announcement, "This exciting event is unlike anything else on Arena and will feature some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, including the Power Nine."

Understanding the Vintage Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a distinctive form of draft format 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 fun and popular way for Magic fans to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest cards in the game's history without needing to spend the significant money required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena previously offered a comparable option with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the iconic Power Nine — Magic's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the Mox gem series, Time Walk, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Details of the Arena Powered Cube

The Arena Powered Cube will include a hundred fresh MTG Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible at the launch of the event. This enables the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. Based on the official news, this also facilitated the launch of the latest cube quicker. Fans online are already theorizing that this decision was a response to the poor reception of the Omenpaths set — the Arena adaptation of a Spider-Man themed set and the lowest-engagement Arena set to date, as indicated by various sources.

Event Structure and Participation Information

Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to add. The Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and access cost similar to the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than previous Arena cubes. The event structure will be the following:

• Event Start: October 28, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
• Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (15:00 UTC)
• Participation Cost: 10,000 gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
• Format: Powered Cube Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the drafted cards)
• Single Game Mode: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
• Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked

Prizes and Extra Details

The reward packs awarded during the event can contain nearly all cards permitted in the Timeless mode, plus cards from a unique bonus card list. Additional information on the rewards and the cards present in the Powered Cube, interested players can examine the official announcement. Also, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced cube format experts, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.