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The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on the original digital platform, the primary digital service for playing Magic: The Gathering before Arena came into existence. Now, MTGA players will have the chance to experience immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on October 28. According to the announcement, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the most powerful cards from throughout Magic's history, featuring the Power Nine."

What Is the Classic Cube?

As experienced Limited players know, a cube is a unique form of draft format that does not pull cards from particular expansions, but instead from a pre-selected collection. The Vintage Cube has long been a fun and popular way for MTG players to experience the thrills of using some of the most powerful cards in the game's history without needing to spend the substantial cost required for tabletop Vintage. MTG Arena introduced something similar with its Timeless play style, but it excluded cards such as the Power Nine — MTG's legendary high-power cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister spell, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Features of the New Cube Event

The Powered Cube will incorporate 100 new Arena card versions, but some of these will be collectible at the launch of the event. This allows for the addition of a larger card pool, as some of these massively overpowered cards could cause balance problems in Constructed formats. According to the announcement, this also made the release of the latest cube faster. Fans online are already theorizing that this move was a response to the poor reception of Through the Omenpaths — the Arena version of a Spider-Man themed set and the least-played Arena set ever, according to some reports.

How It Works and Participation Information

Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will certainly increase engagement in MTG Arena, but there is an important caveat to note. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft events, thus being costlier to play than earlier cube events. The event structure will be the following:

• Begins On: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Registration Ends: Nov. 18, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Entry: 10k gold, or 1500 gems, or 1 Player Draft token
• Format: Phantom Player Draft (Participants won't retain the event cards)
• Single Game Mode: 7 victories or 3 defeats; with ranking
• Match Play Mode: 3 matches; unranked

Rewards and Extra Details

The Cube Prize Packs awarded during the event can contain almost every card permitted in the Timeless format, plus cards from a new, special bonus sheet. Additional information on the rewards and the included cards in the Powered Cube, interested players 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.