It's not new. It's a rewardfor fighting the big summonable event raid bosses since the Oxydendrum event. You can also get 3* if you're really lucky. Or better, Life Crystals.
I thought 3* were common? Because I've been getting these quite often during raid boss events. Sasanqua is the 6th one during this event.
I once got 5 or 10 Life Crystals (forgot the exact number) from a boss (was during Gaillardia's event, I think).