Cipher Expedition 01: A Christmas Miracle! A New Series!!

Hellooo, everyone!
Wow, it's been so long since we did one of these!
It has, hasn't it?
It looks like it's just you and me today, too, Miss Shade... which makes it really super extra nostalgic, ehehe!
...speaking of which, why are we here, anyway?
What?! Emma, you can't be serious!
No, really, really! Cipher ended, didn't it?! Uh oh... wait, are these reruns? Oh, no, wait, could we be in a time loop?? Are you about to start introducing Series 1 to me again?!
Calm down, Emma! Official production on Cipher may have ended... but where there's a will, there's a way, as they say. As it turns out, there are still plenty of fans out there doing their own thing.
Some of whom are a little more obsessed than others. Who makes an entire set by themself?! To have that kind of energy again... well, I don't suppose we can complain.
Oh! Phew, that makes a lot more sense. I thought we were gonna have to kill each other for sport or something.
(Did she just drop a rock?!)
...then, Miss Shade, does that mean there's a new set out?! You've gotta introduce it!!
O-Of course. It seems like what we have today is the first series of the "Cipher+" fan expansion—entitled "Steel & Shining Crystal"! It looks like the contents are a little humbler than what we're used to... but there's still a fair bit to go over. In fact, I have a booster box right here.
Whoa! A whole booster box! That's pretty impressive—are there 160 cards in it and everything? The usual, um... 16 packs?
That's right! Series +1 Booster Boxes come with some additional goodies as well, as usual. Namely, two promo cards...
...and a set of two keychains.
That said, I heard they printed some prototypes that happen to be floating around out there. I don't think I've ever heard of anything like that happening before—well, it is unprofessional affair this time.
Ohhh, these are so cute! Look at them, they look just like Cipher cards! If you shake them, all the little guys rattle around in there!
Interesting. Could they be fighting...?
Eek—!! Miss Niamh, when did you get there?!
Oh, she only arrived just a moment ago.
And Miss Poe too!! You two are so sneaky!!
I do apologize for the lateness. Well, I happened to notice her sneaking off, and I just couldn't help myself giving chase. Who knows what someone like her would get up to, after all?
...
If you are going to be late, the least you can do is make a quiet entrance! Are you just about finished interrupting my introduction?
"...yes." "Of course."
Right, then! So, I just finished going over the bonuses... let's talk about the series itself next, shall we?
Series +1 centers around characters from Oraculum, a post-post-apocalyptic world in which war has broken out between the nations of Cantare and Verity. This war is complicated by the mysterious creatures known by the general populace as "demons", who have begun to act in more coordinated and menacing ways.
"Demon" was misleading... they were made of steel... in my own record, I found that "construct" was a more fitting term...
How would you know something like that? And what did I just say about interrupting?
Series +1 focuses on the conflict between humanity and demonkind, so we have quite a lot of characters related to that. Take a look.
Wooow, look at all of these illustrations!! The colors are so pretty!
You can tell that they were crafted with love, can't you? How darling!
...connected cards...
Hm? What was that?
...
Wh-where on earth did you get thooose?!
This is what happens when she is left to her own devices. Well, I managed to confiscate this one from her, at least.
Wait wait, these are familiar faces!! That's you twooo!!
My, I suppose they are, aren't they? Heehee, I had forgotten to mention that we debuted in this set.
...the weaponry in that world was... interesting.
Do you think so? Well, I found it rather effective in dealing with the ill-intentioned. I wish I could have brought it back with me, but it wasn't in the cards.
(I... think that is probably for the best...)
Ahem. Card illustrations aside, the mechanics of this series in particular deal with essence—the energy that keeps demons and magic alike going.
Indeed. I think I recall that many of the cards had certain skills that could only be activated when certain other characters were present?
That's right—the ESS UP and ESS DOWN skills! Each of these can only be activated when a card with "Essence Overflow" or "Essence Underflow" is also present! They often offer new strategies to use, boost a particular unit's power, or even have debilitating effects on their foes!
...if the card with the enabling skill disappears, though... all of your characters will lose access to those skills as well...
They make themselves a rather obvious target, don't they? Well, it seems like a fair tradeoff for such potent effects.
Wooow... so this is the sort of thing that essence does! That's amazing! Maybe I can get someone to mess with mine someday!
...don't.
To directly interfere with the body you were blessed with by the Gods... you ought to think something like that through veeery carefully, don't you think...? Heehee...
Ack! Alright, alright, I won't!
Well, this is a rather smaller series than usual, what with it only being 40 cards total... but I think a lot of the offerings are quite interesting. I think I have an inkling as to the sort of deck I might want to build, but I'll need to get some cards first—
...I already have one.
H-huh?! Already?!
Worry not, dearest Shade. I'll hold her off—I have one of my own as well.
How?! How are you people getting these?!
...everything is available online... if you know how to get to it...
That sounds like awfully hard work! As for myself, I just found the person who made them and politely requested them. They were happy to comply.
No way, really?! Do you think I could ask for some too?!
Heehee, they just might. They did ask me if I could bring the rest of my friends by...
sniff... why do I even keep doing this job?
Well, no matter. Emma, we'll get some cards for ourselves on the way out of here. After all, I think we can just about conclude our little introduction here.
Ehehe, to think we'd get to do something like this again! I'm so happy! I'm gonna make a deck right away!
...if you do, let's have a match...
I wouldn't mind a match myself.
For now...
See you next time!