Ben Szymkow is the 2025 Oceania champion!

Champion in the middle.

Reported by RichE, VEKN Prince of Melbourne and Head Judge:

The Oceania Continental Championship (OCC) was held in Melbourne on Saturday, 25 October. We would like to thank Plenty of Games for hosting, Black Chantry for the beautiful price support, Mots Imports, Australia’s Online VTES card store, Steve Harris, Keith Lim, Bert Perry, all the organizers for their help, and all attendees.

Such a great turnout of 31 people for the championship and a greatly run event. Of the archetypes I saw today, the most prevalent was Malkavian (4), followed by Banu Hakim, three Ventrue, three Hecata and three Tzimisce.

About 55% of the decks were V5 decks, the rest legacy decks. Stealth Bleed was probably the most prevalent of the five main archetypes, and nominally combat was pretty close. Vote was a little bit behind that. There were four Ally decks and two wall decks that I saw. Overall, it was a wide range of archetypes and the way they were played. As head judge, I saw a lot of smiles and fun had by all.

The OCC annual coaster for all participants.

Pre-finals standings:
1. Benjamin Szymkow 2 GW 7.5 vp
2. Ke Carlton 2 GW 6 vp
3. Bert Perry 1 GW 6.5 vp
4. Stephen Harris 1 GW 6 vp
5. Andrew Stott 1 GW 6 vp

The champions report AKA “What’s a girl to do all alone in the PoG?”:

I’ve top seeded and identify no good seats. The choice to sit as Hecata prey was based on the idea that if I spend the first chunk of the game concentrating on survival then hopefully the table can collapse around me and then I can use my tech to control the votes and close out the game.

I see Catalina, Diana, Diana, and Mkhokheli in my uncontrolled region. I decide to influence out a copy of Catalina so I can quickly Groom and Enchant to get an almost free Mkhokheli and be off to the races. Unfortunately for me I blunder and place counters on Diana. Much laughter on the table all round as I do my best cry of doooom!

Diana will be the only vampire I influence for the entire game.

Steve is doing his best to put me down quickly as the rest of the table sets up and goes about doing their business. I Parity Shift backwards with a Voter Cap as my first action which is supported by Ke. My first turn ends with a Forced March into Enchant Kindred and quickly transfer off.

I spend the next forty minutes or so desperately nursing the little pool I have left with the help of Enchant Kindreds. My predator brings out more minions and gets closer and closer to killing me. I manage to call an Anarchist Uprising with Diana cancelling Steve’s delaying tactics. My game looks pretty hopeless, but I hold on for dear life.

Bert Camarilla Iron First forward, I secure a precious pool by voting for it. Ke does not like this, but does Banish forward to help me survive. His intention was to Banish backwards but I threatened him with a Scalpel tongue and I think he needed that Amici Noctis for his maths to work. Steve can’t quite oust me on his next turn but gets very close.

Andy is firing on all cylinders as he has no predator. Bert defends admirably with Carlton but eventually succumbs. Ke has only managed to get two vamps out.

Andy uses Inside Dirt plus Marajava Thugee to bin one of Ke’s minions (great combo!).

Worth noting at this point that one of Andy’s minions with Guarded Rubrics is taking a dirt nap. Ke makes some tough decisions and decides to throw a vote backwards onto Andy to assist me getting the oust.

I get the oust with another Anarchist Uprising which allows Ke to make quick work of Steve’s remaining pool. On the turn I got the oust I play a risky Art Museum with the hope that will help me win heads up.

Heads up does not take too long as instead of eating Ke’s torpored minion I just focus onbleeding, unlocking and holding Scalpel. Very hard position for Ke at this point and I manage to take the game win.

Somehow I manage to win with a single vampire. It was a great day all round and thanks to all the finalists and spectators for a great experience!

Final result: Ben won with 1.5 vp (and highest seed tie breaker). Andrew had 1 vp and Ke had 1.5.

Tournament winning deck: “Girl walks into PoG” by Ben Szymkow
Comment: Diana with tap/bleed module using Scalpel and Under the Skin. Predicted a wide-board meta so ran extra Anarchist Uprising and a Neonate Breach instead of KRC. Expulsion was to have an answer for baron flick and reduce.

Crypt (12 cards)
4x Diana Iadanza 9 AUS CEL FOR PRE justicar Toreador:7
3x Catalina Vega 8 AUS CEL PRE for prince Toreador:6
2x Flávio Gonçalves 7 CEL PRE aus for prince Toreador:6
2x Mkhokheli 6 PRE aus cel for prince Toreador:6
1x Maila 6 AUS PRE cel primogen Toreador:6

Library (90 cards)
Master (16)
1x Anarch Troublemaker
2x Art Museum
1x Camarilla Conclave
1x Creepshow Casino
1x Direct Intervention
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fortitude
5x Grooming the Protégé
1x Monastery of Shadows
2x Visit from the Capuchin

Action (9)
7x Enchant Kindred
2x Entrancement

Political Action (17)
2x Anarchist Uprising
1x Ancilla Empowerment
2x Banishment
3x Camarilla's Iron Fist
1x Expulsion
1x First Tradition: The Masquerade
1x Neonate Breach
6x Parity Shift

Action Modifier (30)
2x Aire of Elation
6x Forced March
3x Freak Drive
5x Loup
4x Perfect Paragon
3x Under the Skin
7x Voter Captivation

Action Modifier/Combat (4)
4x Resist Earth's Grasp

Action Modifier/Reaction (4)
4x Scalpel Tongue

Combat (6)
2x Charismatic Aura
4x Majesty

Reaction (4)
2x Second Tradition: Domain
2x Telepathic Misdirection

https://vdb.im/decks/07732accb

Photo opportunity with two fresh champions: Micon Garcia, who won the Asian Continentals last month in the Philippines popped in to say hi over the weekend.

Thanks for the report, and thanks to all organisers, sponsors and players!

Vampire: Elder Kindred Network Newsletter September 2025

 
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,

The Sabbat is soon upon us! The bogeymen of the cainites have been lying in torpor for a while when it comes to Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, but now it´s time for their splendid return. No less than four preconstructed decks will hit store shelves all over the world on October 26. One of them is the Path of Death and the Soul deck, which will contain 12 new crypt cards and 10 new library cards. Here are some previews:

As you notice, this deck is a lot about recruiting spooky allies - very appropriate for this time of the year. 

Frau Schädel features art by veteran VTES artist Lawrence Snelly, illustrating for the game since the very beginning in 1994. If you missed it earlier this year, read a nice interview with him at Blackchantry.com.

Freakish Conglomeration is yet another zombie friend - and this one has bleed! The terrifying art is by Peter Scholtz, a returning artist since 2021.

Huldu, the Desecrator has art by newcomer Pau López Vila, and can burn blood to make your zombies much harder to wear down.

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EC 2025 is coming up

Registration has closed for the European Championship in Aarhus. All of you who are joining - very welcome! The schedule:

Monday October 13: "Monday Madness" Standard constructed tournament
Tuesday October 14: "Tuesday Turmoil" Standard constructed tournament
Wednesday October 15: "Midweek Mayhem" Standard constructed tournament
Thursday October 16: "Throwdown Thursday" Standard constructed tournament
Thursday October 16: "Tactical Thursday Draft" (BCP draft cube)
Friday October 17: “Last Chance Qualifier" Standard constructed tournament
Friday October 17: "Welcome to EC" V5 format tournament
Saturday October 18: European Championship Day 1
Sunday October 19: European Championship Day 2
Sunday October 19: "Rebound" Multi-deck tournament

Get all the details at www.vtes-ec2025.org.
 

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Updated tournament rules – what has changed?

This month the official Vampire: Elder Kindred Network Tournament Rules for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle were updated, but the announcement didn´t list exactly what was new. Here is a more detailed description:

Change of governing organisation from White Wolf inc. to Black Chantry Productions limited
This means exactly what it says: White Wolf is no longer the governing organisation behind the VEKN nor its tournament rules – now Black Chantry Production handles that. Black Chantry produces Vampire: The Eternal Struggle on license from White Wolf, the publishing entity of all World of Darkness games (of which Vampire: The Eternal Struggle is one). White Wolf is a part of Paradox Interactive.

Clarification on when releases are legal (Section 2.1 Event Knowledge Responsibilities)
Now all new cards and game rules take immediate effect for V:EKN tournaments on the release date, or earlier for pre-release events. Before that there was a 30-day delay.

Changes to the multi-deck system (Section 3.1.5 Multi-Deck System)
Previously, there was a 12-attendee limit for using the multi-deck system – now the limitation is instead that it may be used on any event that is not of Grand Prix, National Championship or Continental Championship level. For the final, the organiser may choose either the “Best-Performing Deck Method” or the “Free Choice Method” to determine what deck a finalist should play. Thus, a player cannot play a deck they haven´t yet played in the same tournament.

Reminder of when proxy cards are allowed and that custom cards are not allowed unless representing token cards (Section 4.5 Proxy Cards)
Any event that is not of Grand Prix, National Championship or Continental Championship level may be played with proxy cards. How this works is described in detail in this section – one new thing is that custom-artwork or custom-text cards are not allowed except when they are representing a game token, e.g. The Embrace or another card that creates a minion in game. Also, it is added that the term "proxy" includes counterfeit cards or any non-genuine game card, and that counterfeiters will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Introduction of the V5 constructed format (Section 6.4)
This is a new section describing this new tournament format.

Apart from this, some extra proofreading was done and small cosmetic things changed here and there.

All changes take effect on September 21, 2025. 

The illustration is Michele Bertilorenzi´s art for Soulgrinder, a new card in the Path of Caine Sabbat preconstructed deck.

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The official Grand Prix promo card 2025-2026: Psyche!

This beauty will be awarded to all participants of the Grand Prix circuit 2025-2026. The fantastic art is by Krzysztof Bieniawski.

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Micon Garcia is the 2025 Asia champion!

This continental championship was played with 39 Methuselahs in Mandaluyong, Philippines, on September 6.

Read the full report: Asian Championship 2025

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 Matej Lenarth is the 2025 Czech Republic champion!

This event was played in Sázava on September 6 with 57 players.

Read the full report: Czech National Championship 2025

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Lasse Aagaard is the 2025 champion of Denmark!

17 power-mad participants turned up to show who was the best in Lellinge on September 13.

Read the full report: Denmark National Championship 2025

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Great VTES content

This time we want to highlight three awesome blogs:

• Respawn at Midnight is labeled as “a neonate’s journey through cards, skirmishes, and screens”, and that is what it is, a new player´s notes about his game experience.

• Damian's Quest VTES is a newish blog by Antonio from Spain, who used to live in France, but now lives and plays in the UK. He is also the model for the Damian card art in the upcoming Path of Power and the Inner Voice deck!
https://vtesdamiansquest.wordpress.com/

• Garou Rim Gazette has been going on for the longest of the three, by Finnish player Rune, or Kraus. All kinds of articles here, including a full Sabbat 2025 spoiler page.

Do you have any tips on VERY GOOD VTES content, please contact the editor at . Please only VERY GOOD VTES content!

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Reminder: Please join the World of Darkness Community Map!

Please, advertise your VTES playgroup and/or VTES events on the World of Darkness Community Map! This is important to help the game grow. But only things that happen in public places where anyone is welcome (nothing played at someone´s home) and no online events.

Check out the map here: World of Darkness Community Map

Submit here: Map submission form

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Black Chantry Summary: September 2025

• The four Sabbat preconstructed decks will be in stores on October 26, and available for presale at the European Championship in Aarhus just prior to that.

• The Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce New Blood packs will most likely be released in January 2026 - watch out for previews soon!

• The first round of playtest of the New York- and Brazil-themed sets has concluded, and the design team is evaluating the results to prepare the next round. 

• Dementation and Malkavian Antitribu cards are ready for VTES Legacy Card Singles and will appear on Drivethrucards and Gamepod soon. Next up are more legacy Sabbat and Antitribu cards, of course handy for use with the new Sabbat cards in the four soon-to-be-released preconstructed decks.

• Join the open playtest of VTES 1v1! No registration needed, and all rules are on the dedicated playtest site. Many thanks for any feedback!

• The following Black Chantry products are currently available through Gamepod, Drivethrucards.com and other stores:
Lost Kindred bundle (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 1 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 2 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 1 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 2 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Den of Fiends Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Libertine Ball Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Pact with Nephandi Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Parliament of Shadows Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Anthology I bundle
VTES Card Creator (Drivethrucards only)
25th Anniversary
First Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
VTES Legacy Card Singles (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Promo Pack 1 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Promo Pack 2 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Promo Pack 3 (For promotion only)
Promo Pack 4 (For promotion only)
VTES "Parity Shift" playmat
VTES card sleeves
Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition (Stores only)
Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition Latin (Drivethrucards only)
Fifth Edition: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Toreador (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Tremere (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Promo Pack 3 (Event promos only)
Fifth Edition: Banu Haqim (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Brujah (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Gangrel (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: The Ministry (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
The Fall of London (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Echoes of Gehenna
Shadows of Berlin (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Banu Haqim (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Brujah (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Gangrel (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: The Ministry (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Ravnos (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Salubri (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Tzimisce (Also Spanish, French)
30th Anniversary (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Lasombra (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Hecata (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Hecata (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Lasombra (Also Spanish, French)
Path of Caine (Also Spanish, French) Release October 26
Path of Cathari (Also Spanish, French) Release October 26
Path of Death and the Soul (Also Spanish, French) Release October 26
Path of Power and the Inner Voice (Also Spanish, French) Release October 26

Do you have opinions or questions for Black Chantry? Start a topic on the VEKN forum, or contact the company by e-mail, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

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Recent news in the World of Darkness

Finally! Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 launches on October 21, and it will be even better than first announced, as the Lasombra and Toreador clans are now confirmed to be included at release. Six playable clans!

Pre-orders have started for Live from the Succubus Club, an upcoming addition for Vampire: The Masquerade Fifth Edition RPG. This is the most odd and appealing we have seen yet for the game in many years – a sourcebook focused on you being vampires playing in a band! Check out the details at Renegade Game Studios. Release will be in March 2026.

If this wasn´t enough: The annual “Month of Darkness” has just started as this is written, but it´s already full of all kinds of goodness, check it out at the official site. One thing is an INCREDIBLY generous charity offer of World of Darkness stuff available at Humble Bundle. For less than $40 you get 57 items, including just about everything ever created for Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse and Hunter: The Reckoning for the last seven years. If you were ever even a bit interested in anything of this but hesitated, this is the time to act. And for charity!

Check out the episode on the World of Darkness Youtube channel

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Calendar

Major events coming up:
October 4: Grand Prix New Orleans, Louisiana
October 13-16: Week of Nightmares Aarhus
October 17: European Championship Aarhus
October 25: Oceania Championship, Melbourne, Australia
October 25: South American Championship, Chile
November 8: French National Championship, Vitrolles
November 8: German National Championship, Darmstadt-Eberstadt
November 15: UK National Championship, Leeds
November 22: National Championship Sweden, Stockholm
November 22: National Championship Canada, Montreal
November 29: National Championship Chile, Santiago
December 6: Grand Prix Vidor, Texas
December 14: Grand Prix Cearense

Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Australia x2
Brasil x21
Chile
Denmark x9
Germany
Greece
Hungary x3
Italy
Online x2
Portugal
Russia
Serbia
Spain x7
UK
USA x4

For details about these events, see the VEKN Event Calendar. Also, check out the World of Darkness Community Map.

Remember: Online tournaments are possible - just check the box "Online tournament" when you add the event to the calendar!

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Contact VEKN

You can contact the VEKN Inner Circle members using the contact forms at VEKN.net. Also follow the official VTES Facebook page Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, the official VEKN X (Twitter) account @VEKN_VTES and the official VTES Discord server.

Unlimited power in the hands of limited people always leads to cruelty.