Welcome to our recap of the Winter 2020 episode of the regularly scheduled show about Fire Emblem Cipher, where Intelligent Systems broadcasts news about the Japanese trading card game.

We’ll be touching on the highlights of the livestream for all your Cipher needs, so continue reading to learn more.

The program opens with introductions by Cipher producer Ryota Kawade and Kubocchan from Intelligent Systems, joined by Minami Takahashi (voice of Alice from Cipher and Peri from Fates).

Here, they take the opportunity with Ms. Takahashi to voice two cards of her character, Peri. Incidentally, these two cards of Peri happen to be brand new, slated for release next month.

They begin their segment to introduce the upcoming booster, The Guiding Hand of Dawn. As previously covered, it launches in Japan on March 19th and features characters from Fates, Path of Radiance, and Radiant Dawn.

They showcase the launch bonuses which can be found in the set’s booster box: a box topper promo card of either Claude or Dimitri, a hologram marker card of either Tiki or Lucina — and while supplies last, a 5-pack set of original card sleeves of either male Corrin or Micaiah. These details can be found on the official site here.

They’re also planning a launch campaign where buying any booster box at participating retailers will gift shoppers with an original can badge of either male Corrin, female Corrin, or Micaiah. These details can be found on the official site here.

Lastly, they’ll be commemorating the launch of the new set with two types of events held across three dates at specific sites, open exclusively to those who register in advance.

The first event is where entrants can come learn to play Cipher with certified veterans, or get competitive and go head-to-head with anyone else who shows up. Later at the scheduled time, the second event begins and everyone is welcome to play Dynamite Cipher, a special version of the card game where orb cards — traditionally from your deck — are replaced by cards with unique effects, such as needing to act out a card’s quote or even instantly losing the game.

Play Dynamite Cipher at the site to leave with two sets of your own dynamite cards, and play both events to also take away three promo cards of the house leaders from Three Houses, and a special marker card of your choice from a wide selection of characters. Full details, including where to register (open until March 10th), can be found on the official site here.

Let’s take a look at some of the cards found in the Series 20 booster!

After the cards were shown, Mr. Kawade took the time to demonstrate how exactly the Medallion card functioned and its interactions with other cards. It’s an unprecedented concept in Cipher to release a card belonging to a specific item, rather than a character!

Today’s guest of honor, Ai Kakuma (voice of Edelgard from Three Houses and Flora from Fates), arrives on the scene.

After they asked Ms. Kakuma to voice one of Edelgard’s cards (from Series 19), they also revealed a new card of Flora, confirmed to be a future promo.

The Guiding Hand of Dawn is also about Fates, so to introduce it, they shared a simple story overview of Revelation with drawings by Mr. Kawade.

Let’s take a look at some other cards found in the Series 20 booster!

Previously revealed on Twitter, the new Corrin of Valla card functions in a very unique way, and so Mr. Kawade wanted to show that off in action.

In our next segment, the hosts take in fan mail responding to prompts like what your favorite Fire Emblem game is, and one lucky submission won a special, one-of-a-kind playmat themed after the show and Edelgard.

Next, an update about the Fire Emblem Expo II event! A man who goes by the name of Fresh suddenly appears to give us a closer look at the merchandise which can be purchased there. For more info on that merchandise in further detail, you can read our post here.

But wait, there’s more! They also announced, just like for last year, that spending ¥1,000 will gift shoppers with an exclusive promo card based on the event. This time, it’s Edelgard.

Alice from Cipher makes her makeshift debut as a virtual YouTuber (or VTuber) to guide our way through our final segment: checking out the future of the card game!

Series 21 of Fire Emblem Cipher releases as a booster in Japan on June 25th, and the booster features characters from Three Houses, The Binding Blade, The Blazing Blade, and Heroes. Take a look at who will appear in this set.

Here’s a reminder about the 3rd Hero-King Grand Prix event coming soon on February 23rd. It’s a one-day tournament event where registered players battle for the title of Hero-King (and a cool trophy!), where anything goes and all released cards are legal to use.

Even if you aren’t registered, there are spots where anyone is welcome to learn how to play the card game using starter decks or play against certified staff members with their own cards and win promo cards and a special marker card. Full details can be found on the official site here, though bear in mind registrations for the tourney have closed since February 4th.

We also have the second half of the national qualifiers coming up, and here are the dates and where they’ll be held.

These are tournaments reserved for players who previously earned the rights to participate via past competitive events and registered online. Come out on top here and you can advance to the national cup later this year!

They revealed that those who come to play at the qualifiers at the given dates are eligible to receive these two exclusive promo cards of Peony and Triandra, new characters for Cipher. Each venue will also host a special event open to all afterwards called the Quest Battle Party, and will hand out a commemorative Peony can badge to those who participate. Full details can be found on the official site here.

Hope you liked the show! The next episode is scheduled for broadcast on March 14th, just before the release of Series 20, but don’t forget that the official Twitter will continue to share new cards between now and then too. Expect to find our next recap here next week!

Feel free to visit our forums to talk about Cipher if you have any questions or are looking to share your love for the card game!

Fire Emblem Cipher’s next booster expansion set, The Guiding Hand of Dawn, will be available from Japan starting March 19th!