This summer, things are heating up for Fire Emblem fans in Japan, as Intelligent Systems are holding a “Fire Emblem Cipher Summer Party” event at four different locations in Japan during late July/early August.
First announced during the Series 13 pre-release livestream, Summer Party celebrates 3 years of the Fire Emblem Cipher card game. The event itself is similar to other Cipher local events in the past, such as the annual Cipher Festivals.
Although the events are focused on the Cipher card game, there’s free entry for everyone and there’s lots to do even if you’re a stranger to Cipher. Below, you can find details of all the venues, as well as the activities on offer.
Special Gift!
Everyone who attends Summer Party can receive a pair of special promotional cards, featuring Fjorm and Laevateinn from Heroes, when leaving the event. Note that the cards will only be given out after the closing stage.
Venue Information
Sendai
Date | Sunday 29th July |
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Time | 10:00 to 16:00 (doors close 15:30) |
Venue | Sun Festa (3rd + 4th Floor) |
Address | 2-15-2 Oroshimachi, Wakabayashi Ward, Sendai City, Miyagi Pref. (7 mins walk from Oroshimachi Station North Exit 1 via the Tozai Line) |
Notes | Merchandise will be sold on the 3rd floor |
Niigata
Date | Sunday 5th August |
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Time | 10:00 to 16:00 (doors close 15:30) |
Venue | Toki Messe (2nd floor main hall) |
Address | 6-1 Nagashima, Chuo Ward, Niigata City (15 mins bus travel from Niigata Station Bandai Exit; get off at “Toki Messe stop”) |
Hiroshima
Date | Sunday 12th August |
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Time | 11:00 to 17:00 (doors close 16:30) |
Venue | JMS Aster Plaza (1st floor citizen gallery) |
Address | 4-17 Kako-machi, Naka Ward, Hiroshima City, Hiroshima Pref. (5 mins walk from Funairi-machi via Hiroshima Railway Line 6 9 mins walk from city hall via Hiroshima Railway Line 1) |
Nagoya
Date | Sunday 19th August |
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Time | 9:30 to 16:00 (doors close 15:00) |
Venue | Fukiage Hall (1st fashion exhibition hall on 2nd floor) |
Address | 2-6-3 Fukiage, Chikusa Ward, Nagoya City (5 mins walk from Fukiage Station Exit 5 via Sakura-dori Subway Line) |
Illustrator Signings
Various illustrators who contributed to Cipher will be attending signing sessions. To keep things fresh, different illustrators will be present at different veneus.
- Sendai: Hidari (artist of Echoes)
- Niigata: Sachiko Wada (artist of The Sacred Stones)
- Hiroshima: Kotaro Yamada (artist of the Hasha no Tsurugi manga)
- Nagoya: Senri Kita (artist of the Tellius saga), Daisuke Izuka (artist of New Mystery of the Emblem)
To meet an illustrator, you need to buy at least piece of merchandise to receive a queue ticket. In order to speed up the process, signing sheets will be provided.
Merchandise Area
Rare and exclusive Fire Emblem merchandise will be available for purchase! A lot of this merchandise was already shown off during the previous pre-release livestream.
Fire Emblem Cipher Artworks 1~12 – 2,000 Yen each
These are slim, glossy art books featuring artwork from Cipher series 1~12. Number 12 (towards the left) is new.
Fire Emblem Cipher Artworks Extra Selection – 3,500 Yen
This looks like a collection of artwork from various promotional cards. Judging by its higher price, it’s probably thicker than the usual artbooks.
Play Mats – 3,500 Yen each
Highly coveted play mats used for playing Cipher, other card games or simply for displaying etc. Comes in “Characters” and “Cordelia & Severa” versions.
Summer Party T-Shirt – 3,000 Yen
A cool-looking T-shirt to commemorate your time at the Summer Party. Comes in S, M and L sizes, and features the Cipher logo on the front and a collage of characters on the back.
Summer Towel – 3,000 Yen
A luxury towel with artwork of Summer Tiki. Measures 30 x 120 cm.
Cipher Fortune Paper – 300 Yen per go
Have your fortune told by Cipher! Could be useful for choosing whether to buy a booster pack or not…
Speaking of which, there will also be starter decks and booster packs for sale.
Stamp Area
Stamps will be given for participating in 5 designated areas: Dynamite Cipher Area, Free Battle Area OR Female-only Battle Area, Cipher Demonstration Area, Quiz Area and Questionnaire.
Once fans have collected 3 or more stamps for their stamp sheet, they can receive 3 special marker cards and a ticket to participate in the Symbol Ballot.
Special Marker Cards
Here are the special marker cards that can be chosen for collecting 3 or more stamps. You may notice there are 14, but you can only choose 3. However, it’s also possible to earn these cards in the Summer Festival area, by visiting multiple Summer Party events or other Cipher events. Or by trading/buying them.
Symbol Ballot
Those who have gotten a Symbol Ballot ticket from collecting stamps can place their ticket into their favourite Cipher symbol’s ballot box. For those unaware, Symbols denote a card’s allegiance/colour.
The eligible symbols are: Sword of Light (Red; Marth and Alm’s games), Exalt’s Brand (Blue; Awakening), Hoshido (White; Fates), Nohr (Black; Fates), Medallion (Green; Tellius saga), Divine Weapon (Purple; Elibe saga) and Holy Flag (Yellow; Jugdral saga).
One person will be randomly selected from each of the 7 ballot boxes and they’ll be presented with an oversized (A3) card of their chosen Symbol. In addition, one very lucky person chosen from all of the ballot boxes will receive a special oversized card. So a total of 8 oversized cards will be given out!
The oversized cards are: Marth (special; pictured above), Chrom (Exalt’s Brand), male Corrin (Hoshido), female Corrin (Nohr), Ike (Medallion), Sigurd (Holy Flag), Alm (Sword of Light) and Lyn (Divine Weapon).
Dynamite Cipher Area
Unique to Summer Party, players can play Cipher using special rules. At the start of each match, both players place down 5 different types of Out/Safe cards in their Orb area. 4 are “Safe” cards that bestow effects like drawing 6 cards or KOing one of the opponent’s non-Lord units.
Meanwhile, the 5th card is an “Out” card (the red card with a bomb picture) that causes instant Game Over. The idea is to make the match more thrilling because the game could end at any time. Players can also keep their Out/Safe cards so they can play outside of the event.
Free Battle Area/Female-only Battle Area
Here, fans can freely play Cipher using their own decks. Starter decks can also be borrowed for those who don’t have their own. The female-only area is available for females who prefer to battle other females.
Cipher Demonstration Area
New to Cipher but interested in giving it a try? This area includes staff members who can teach you how to play Cipher. Decks will be provided, so all you need to prepare is yourself. Tickets will be provided in this area for each demonstration round.
Quiz Area
Tackle Fire Emblem-related brainteasers as part of a team. The staff members will create the teams, so fans can participate even if they’re alone.
Cipher Summer Festival Area
Those who purchase merchandise worth 1,000 Yen or more will receive a Summer Festival Entry Ticket. Each ticket allows access to one mini-game.
Succeed in a mini-game and you can earn one of 11 character posters (Marth, Chrom, male Corrin, female Corrin, Ike, Roy, Sigurd, Alm, Celica, Lyn or Eliwood) and one of the 14 special marker cards.
Colouring Area
Relax by colouring in characters from Cipher. Colouring pencils and sheets will be provided so the only thing to worry about is your artistic talent!
Photography Area
Last but not least, fans can pose with weapons and relics from across the Fire Emblem series. Pictured from left to right: Armads, Archanean and Awakening Fire Emblem, Azura’s lance, Awakening Falchion, Ragnell, Durandal, Binding Blade, Tyrfing, Valentian and Archanean Falchion.