Well - you can use the USB licencer for the plugins offered by Steinberg. There are several relatively inexpensive synth plugins that you can use in other DAW’s if you like. Personally I like Dark planet, Retrologue and Padshop pro. You can also demo those using this licencer too.
The licencer is not very expensive (€ 18,50 at my supplier), and -as I said- you can use it for more software. You can also use it for the LE version (or any other version) of Cubase, so you are not tied to a single computer (what happens if you use the soft licencer). So - even if you do not decide to buy the full version of Cubase the licencer can be still be usefull.
It’s obvious the USB licencer seems to work very well. There is no cracked version to be found since Cubase 5, and to be honest - I like that.
I know there are people that do not like the licencer, but personally I do not have any problem with it. I prefer it to on-line check, or computer (or other hardware - except the licencer) tied activation. That works very cumbersome. I do like -however- the way Waves use its licence. You can use a ordinary cheap USB stick, local computer, or “park” the licence in the “cloud”.
For your information - I have taken some safety precautions to avoid any damage to my licencer. In my case I have used a short USB cable and put the USB licencer in a very small sturdy box, so only the cable is coming out of it. I only have to plug in the cable, so damage to the licencer is almost impossible.
Anyway - indeed the download page gives a very clear indication you need the licencer.