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The Vintage Cube stands as one of the highly popular cubes on Magic Online, the premier digital service for playing MTG before Arena was launched. Now, Arena enthusiasts will get the opportunity to encounter immense strength when the Arena Powered Cube launches on Oct. 28. According to the official description, "This thrilling occasion is unlike anything else on MTG Arena and will showcase some of the strongest cards from throughout Magic's history, including the legendary Power Nine."

Understanding the Classic Cube?

For seasoned Limited enthusiasts, a cube is a distinctive form of Booster Draft that does not pull cards from one or more specific sets, but rather from a predetermined pool. The Classic Cube has consistently served as a enjoyable and widely-used way for MTG players to enjoy the excitement of using some of the strongest 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 iconic Power Nine — Magic's classic powerhouse cards, including Black Lotus, the five Moxen, Time Walk card, Timetwister, and Ancestral Recall ability.

Features of the Arena Powered Cube

The Powered Cube will include 100 new MTG Arena card versions, but not all of them will be obtainable at the release of the event. This allows for the addition of a broader selection of cards, as some of these massively overpowered cards could create imbalance issues in Constructed formats. Based on the announcement, this also made the release of the new cube faster. Online community members are already speculating 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 least-played Arena set ever, as indicated by various sources.

Event Structure and Participation Details

Launching a version of one of the most popular cubes ever will surely boost numbers in MTG Arena, but there is an key point to note. The Arena Powered Cube will adopt a reward system and entry fee comparable with the Premier Draft tournaments, thus being more expensive to play than earlier cube events. The format details will be the following:

• Event Start: Oct. 28, 8 a.m. PT (3 p.m. UTC)
• Signup Close: Nov. 18, 8:00 AM Pacific Time (3 p.m. UTC)
• Entry: 10,000 gold, or 1,500 gems, or one draft token
• Game Style: Phantom Player Draft (Players do not keep the drafted cards)
• Best-of-One: Seven wins or three losses; ranked
• Match Play Mode: Three matches; without ranking

Rewards and Extra Details

The Cube Prize Packs issued as rewards can include almost every card permitted in the Timeless mode, along with cards from a new, special bonus sheet. For more details on the prizes and the included cards in the Arena Powered Cube, interested players can examine the full details. Additionally, on October 22, MTG pro players Luis Scott-Vargas and Paul Cheon, experienced Vintage Cube aficionados, will provide more updates on their YouTube channels.