News: Tiki, Marth, Lucina, and Gaius in Second Set of Fire Emblem Cipher Sleeves

The next set of Fire Emblem Cipher sleeves have been announced for a September 10th launch date, just seven days prior to the launch of S02: Godflame of Light and Dark. The sleeves will feature "Hero to His Country, Marth" "Knower of the Future, Lucina" "Princess of the Divine Dragon Tribe, Tiki" and "Sweetest Assassin, Gaius." Tiki and Gaius were both voted for by fans during the game's prerelease livestream as the cards they would most like to see used as a sleeve. Each sleeve measures 67x92 millimeters, and 65 sleeves will come in every sealed package. Packs of sleeves will retail for 760 yen before tax, approximately $6 at the present exchange rate.

News: Inigo Harem Tops Game Plaza and Nerima Tournaments

On June 28th card shop Game Plaza Genki 302 held a 16-person Swiss Draw tournament for Cipher; the tournament fell far short of capacity at only six participants, with first place going to Kisoda playing an Inigo Harem deck similar to the one played by Haro P a week earlier. The Inigo deck has been a popular choice in the formation of the early tournament scene, as it can quickly turn into a defensive wall outside the reach of standard attackers, and rack up a strong offensive with a swarm of different Pegasus Knights cards. Second place went to Matt, and third to Lihou.

One particular offensive combo has been noted in Japan for taking advantage of a Flying-affinity lineup in a way no other deck can. The CCS of "Gentle Flower of the Shepherds, Sumia" gives +10 Attack to every unit that's supported by card with the Flying affinity, and this combos with "Guardian of Rosanne, Cherche," whose Wyvern Screech skill gives all Flying units +10 Attack. With over 70% of the deck being made up of Flying units, this on average doubles the attack power of every attacker other than Inigo.

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Game Plaza followed up on the tournament with another 16-person Swiss Draw competition on July 5th, but again had attendance problems with only 5 persons attending. Kisoda placed second in this tournament and Matt in third, with first place going to Higashi playing a Sword of Light deck. This is one of the most streamlined versions of the Sword of Light build seen since its debut, focusing on promoting five core lines of units and supporting them with a lineup of 25 support cards that each either overlap with the promotion lines or can act as reliable low-cost attackers that don't interfere with the deck's overall strategy. "Angelic Advocate of Affection, Caeda" is the defensive axis of the deck, able to search the deck when her attakc hits for copies of Marth to use for evasion, and "Crimson Reaper, Navarre" is its offensive axis, destroying a second enemy unit every time he destroys one by battle.

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On July 3rd, the Nerima branch of Card Kingdom hosted a 16-person Swiss Draw tournament. This tournament marked the second top by Taketea, who had also won the previous week's tournament. Although he played an Inigo Harem deck like Kisoda above, as at the previous tournament, Taketea thanked his "working 3" the Pegasus Knight sisters Palla, Catria, and Est, who have quickly become his trademark in local play. The multicolor deck shares a number of characteristics with the monocolor Marth build he played in the previous week, using Minerva's Iote's Shield to protect his units with Flying, and setting up his field with the lower-cost Pegasus sisters prior to promoting.

Game Plaza Genki 302 shop tournament (6/28)
First place: Kisoda/キソダ
Cost 4: 4
x2 Angelic Advocate of Affection, Caeda
x2 Affectionate Saint, Lena
Cost 3: 20
x4 Man of Flower's Fragrance, Inigo
x4 Gentle Flower of the Shepherds, Sumia
x4 Guardian of Rosanne, Cherche
x2 Pegasus Knight Paragon, Cordelia
x2 Aura's Heiress, Linde
x4 Wings of Restoration, Caeda
Cost 1: 27
x4 Cultivator of Smiles, Inigo (Main Character)
x4 Wyvern Loving Knight, Cherche
x4 Young Prodigy, Cordelia
x4 Maiden of Flower Fortunes, Sumia
x2 Eldest Pegasus Rider, Palla
x3 Young Princess of Macedon, Maria
x2 Crown-Princess of Macedon, Minerva
x2 Middle Pegasus Rider, Catria
x2 Youngest Pegasus Rider, Est

Game Plaza Genki 302 shop tournament (7/5)
First place: Higashi/ヒガシ
Cost 5: 1
x1 Hero to His Country, Marth
Cost 4: 14
x4 Lodestar, Marth
x4 Angelic Advocate of Affection, Caeda
x4 Sage of Gales, Merric
x2 Crimson Reaper, Navarre
Cost 3: 5
x3 Steel Swordsman, Ogma
x2 Wielder of a Bloody Blade, Navarre
Cost 2: 4
x4 Princess of Altea, Elicei
Cost 1: 26
x2 Crown-prince of Altea, Marth (Main character)
x4 Mage of Winds, Merric
x4 Crimson Fencer, Navarre
x4 Talysian Mercenary, Ogma
x4 Liberation Army Archer, Gordin
x4 Crown-princess of Talys, Caeda
x4 Princess of the Divine Dragon Tribe, Tiki

Card Kingdom (Nerima) shop tournament
First place: Taketea/竹てぃー
Deck name: Triangle △ Formation/トライアングル△フォーメーション
Cost 3: 22
x3 Pegasus Knight Paragon, Cordelia
x2 Eldest Pegasus Sister, Palla
x2 Middle Pegasus Sister, Catria
x2 Youngest Pegasus Sister, Est
x3 Princess, Minerva
x2 Wellspring of Youth, Nowi
x4 Gentle Flower of the Shepherds, Sumia
x4 Man of Flower's Fragrance, Inigo
Cost 2: 2
x2 Princess of Altea, Elice
Cost 1: 26
x2 Cultivator of Smiles, Inigo (Main Character)
x3 Princess of Talys, Caeda
x1 Practitioner of Dark Arts, Tharja
x2 Intellectual Inquirer, Miriel
x3 Young Prodigy, Cordelia
x2 Eldest Pegasus Rider, Palla
x2 Middle Pegasus Rider, Catria
x2 Youngest Pegasus Rider, Est
x3 Crown-princess of Macedon, Minerva
x4 Maiden of Flower Fortunes, Sumia
x2 Young Princess of Macedon, Maria

News: Marth Tops Cardbox, Masters Square, Card Brunch Motomiya Tournaments

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July 2nd, 2015. Cardbox Japan in Osaka held a 16-person Cipher tournament, with first place going to a multicolor Marth deck. Calling their deck "Top System," the tournament winner used one of the earliest tricks developed in Cipher theory; running "Swordsman Known as Marth, Lucina" as their main character card to take advantage of her special skill, which treats her as a Marth unit at all times. This allows Lucina to promote into the cost 4 and 5 Marths, while also making room in the deck for a greater number of targets for evasion and critical hits. A full transcription of the decklist is provided at the bottom of this article.

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On the same day, card shop Masters Square (sic) in Hachioji held a 16-person Swiss Draw tournament, with first place going to Nagare playing a Sword of Light deck deck, running the Ogma and Linde lines. Linde is presently seen as an important support engine in Japanese play because her cost 3 print "Aura's Heiress" can reinforce the hand by drawing a card once each turn that a cost 2 or less ally is deployed.

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It's also recently come to light that the first ever reported Cipher tournament was not held at Card Kingdom as was previously thought, but in fact Cardbox's June 25th shop tournament beat Card Kingdom by a day.

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Card Brunch Motomiya in Nagoya held an 8-person Swiss Draw tournament on the same day as Cardbox's and Masters Square's tournaments, with tournament winner Tomifumo making use of the rarely-played Sable Knight Camus. According to the tournament host, the finals had a dramatic conclusion: Tomifumo's opponent was able to field all of the Pegasus Knights necessary for a Triangle Formation combo, but Tomifumo countered this by playing Camus and wiping out all of them with his Gradivus ability. Tomifumo's was a complete beginner at trading card games, and their victory came as a surprise to all attending.

Cardbox shop tournament (7/2/2015)
Deck name: Top System/ウエシステム Ueshisutemu
Cost 5: 5
x1 Hero to His Country, Marth
x4 Manakete Princess, Tiki
Cost 4: 10
x4 Lodestar, Marth
x1 Protector of Ylisse, Chrom
x1 Sweetest Assassin Gaius
x4 Angelic Advocate of Affection, Caeda
Cost 3: 6
x4 Innocent Priestess, Maria
x2 Princess of Ylisse, Lissa
Cost 2: 10
x4 Fearless Mercenary, Gregor
x4 Wellspring of Youth, Nowi
x2 Bewitching Plegian Shaman, Tharja
Cost 1: 19
x1 Swordsman Known as Marth, Lucina (Main Character)
x2 Crown-prince of Altea, Marth
x2 Sharp-tongued Nobelwoman, Maribelle
x2 Sprightly Cleric, Lissa
x2 Young Prodigy, Cordelia
x2 Wyvern Loving Knight, Cherche
x2 Flower Fortune Maiden, Sumia
x2 Young Princess of Macedon, Maria
x4 Aristocratic Archer, Virion

Masters Square shop tournament
First place: Nagare/ナガレ
Cost 4: 15
x4 Lodestar, Marth
x3 Steel Swordsman, Ogma
x3 Aura's Heiress, Linde
x2 Archanean League Bowman, Gordin
x2 Sage of Gales, Merric
x1 Loyal Retainer, Jagen
Cost 3: 6
x2 Archanean League Bowman, Gordin
x2 Affectionate Saint, Lena
x1 Wings of Restoration, Caeda
x1 Innocent Priestess, Maria
Cost 2: 2
x2 Princess of Altea, Elice
Cost 1: 29
x2 Crown Prince of Altea, Marth (Main Character)
x3 Talysian Mercenary, Ogma
x2 Talysian Fighter, Cord
x3 Talysian Fighter, Bord
x1 Scarlet Knight, Cain
x1 Verdant Knight, Abel
x3 Crown Princess of Talys, Caeda
x3 Daughter of Pontifex Miloah, Linde
x3 Liberator Army Archer, Gordin
x3 Mage of Winds, Merric
x3 Ascetic Saint, Lena
x2 Young Princess of Macedon, Maria

Cardbox shop tournament (6/25)
First place: Kurita/クリタ
Cost 5: 3
x3 Hero to His Country, Marth
Cost 4: 8
x4 Crismon Reaper, Navarre
x4 Lodestar, Marth
Cost 3: 10
x4 Loyal Retainer, Jagen
x4 Affectionate Saint, Lena
x2 Aerial Battle Princess, Caeda
Cost 2: 4
x2 Myrmidon from Parts Unknown, Atehna
x2 Princess of Altea, Elice
Cost 1: 25
x1 Swordsman Known as Marth, Lucina (Main character)
x4 Crimson Fencer, Navarre
x4 Liberation Army Archer, Gordin
x4 Affectionate Saint, Lena
x4 Healing Priest, Wrys
x4 Crown-Princess of Talys, Caeda
x4 Crown-prince of Altea, Marth

Card Brunch Motomiya shop tournament
First place: Tomifumo/とみふも
Deck name: ST Custom/ST改
Cost 5: 2
x2 Sable Knight, Camus
Cost 4: 9
x2 War-god of Talys, Ogma
x1 Sage of Gales, Merric
x2 Princess, Minerva
x4 Lodestar, Marth
Cost 3: 10
x2 Loyal Retainer, Jagen
x3 Steel Swordsman, Ogma
x1 Infamous Knight "Prowling Panther," Abel
x1 Infamous Knight "Raging Bull" Cain
x1 Archanean League Bowman, Gordin
x2 Aerial Battle Princess, Caeda
Cost 1: 34
x2 Prince of Altea, Marth (Main character)
x2 Daughter of Pontifex Miloah, Linde
x2 Crimson Fencer, Navarre
x2 Talysian Fighter, Bord
x2 Talysian Fighter, Cord
x2 Talysian Mercenary, Ogma
x3 Verdant Knight, Abel
x3 Crimson Knight, Cain
x3 Mage of Winds, Merric
x3 Young Princess of Macedon, Maria
x2 Liberation Army Archer, Gordin
x2 Protective Knight, Draug
x4 Princess of Macedon, Minerva
x2 Crown-Princess of Talys, Caeda

News: Booster Set 01: Warblade of Heroes, Starter Decks Launch

June 25th, 2015. Today is the Japanese launch date for B01: Warblade of Heroes (英雄たちの戦刃 Eiyuutachi no Senjin) the first booster set in Fire Emblem Cipher. The set is accompanied by starter decks S01: War of Darkness (暗黒戦争篇 Ankoku Sensou Hen) and S02: Awakening (覚醒篇 Kakusei Hen.) The War of Darkness deck contains only units from its eponymous group, comprising characters from Marth's continent of Archanea, while Awakening likewise contains only characters from Chrom's Ylisse. Warblade of Heroes is split evenly between support for both groups, which are color-coded as red for War and blue for Awakening. The set comprises 100 cards with 14 alternate prints; 48 Normal, 24 High Normal, 16 Rare, and 12 Super Rare cards. The fourteen alternate prints are six SR+ and eight R+ rarity cards with gold foiling, and the six Super Rare+ cards are signed by their respective character's voice actors. These will be signed by Midorikawa Hikaru (Marth), Tange Sakura (Caeda), Koyasu Takehito (Navarre), Kobayashi Yu (Lucina), Sawashiro Miyuki (Avatar/Morgan), and Asumi Kana (Lissa.) Each sealed box also contains a download code to unlock Minerva in Fire Emblem Fates.

Each box contains sixteen booster packs, with ten cards in each. One card in each pack is guaranteed to be a High Normal or higher. Exact distributions are unknown, but current information suggests that one is guaranteed four Super Rares in every box. Japanese auction prices currently put the base price for each SR at 1000 yen per card. The manufacturers' recommended price for one box is 5600 yen, or $45 at the current exchange rate. Certain retailers like AmiAmi will sell boxes for the currency equivalent of $40 or less.

The official Cipher Twitter account tweeted in commemoration of the launch.

“Finally release day for Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher) is upon us. Now the tides of victory within the World of Cipher are in your hands.” (Translation credit)

The Serenes Forest translation community is hard at work creating a functional wiki for the set, but in the meantime readers can turn to a text-only compendium of card translations created by Aubergine of the same community.

6/25 Update: Box openings have shown that every box contains 4 Super Rares and 12 Rares.

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Each sealed distributor carton contains sixteen boxes.

The set also launched alongside the first wave of Cipher's sleeve collection, which comprises four different character sleeves; Lodestar, Marth, Protector of the Halidom, Chrom, Bewitching Shaman from Plegia, Tharja, and the 25th anniversary dot character sleeves. Each sleeve measures 67x92 millimeters, and each pack of sleeves contains 65 sleeves. The 25th anniversary sleeves are decorated with the map sprites of the lords from the current thirteen Fire Emblem games, with Fire Emblem 7: Blazing Blade represented three times over by Hector, Eliwood and Lyn.

Warblade of Heroes will be followed up on by the second booster set on September 17th, B02: Soulful Flames of Light and Dark (光と闇の神焔 Hikari to Yami no Shinen.) B02 will include characters from Fire Emblem Fates, and will be accompanied by starter decks S03: White Night (白夜篇 Byakuya Hen) and S04: Dark Night (暗夜篇 Anya Hen.) S03 corresponds to Birthright and S04 to Conquest. MSRP for both starter decks is 1300 yen, approximately $10.50 at the current exchange rate, and 350 yen per pack or $2.99. Each sealed box of B01: Warblade of Heroes is packaged with one of two promotional prints of male or female Corrin, whose standard prints will be in B02. The white and black theme of B02 corresponds to the split versions of Fates, white the Hoshido path being represented by white and the Nohr path by black.

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