Greetings fellow Methuselahs
2019-2020 EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX REVEALED!
The image above: New card art by Ginés Quiñonero for Charisma, the 2019-2020 season Grand Prix promo card!
Dates and comments from VEKN Organized Play Coordinator Orian Gissler:
• Italy, Bologna – November 23th 2019
It has become our winter GP each year. Join the wonders of Bologna in the winter, our usual meeting place for VTES and snowmen!
• Spain, Cordoba – March 7th 2020
The game has just been translated in Spanish, what a great opportunity to celebrate in this great historic place!
• Germany, Darmstadt – March 15th 2020, exact date TBC
I have wanted to get Germany aboard for a long time but the opportunity has never came across before. Come enjoy the beer and the sausages!
• Sweden, Stockholm – April 25th 2020
Set on Stockholm Tabletop Game Expo. We're switching gears along the Baltic Sea as Ropecon will host the EC this year. No doubt a lot of players will want to test them against the Northern metagame during this GP.
• Czech Republic, Prague – May 2020, exact date TBC
As a grand traveller, Martin Weinmayer got the president's choice for the location of one GP and he picked Prague. Having hosted the EC previously, Prague is a central place for Europe and will be the battefield between the East and the West.
• France, Marseille – June 2020, exact date TBC
Since Paris hosted the EC last year, the French have decided to welcome you for a summer GP in the warm city of Marseille, known for its soccer team and its beaches.
VTES NORTH AMERICAN CUP SERIES REVEALED!
At last, the USA will have its own Grand Prix-like circuit of tournaments, managed by Darby Keeney (Denver), Mark Loughman (Columbus) and Matt Hirsch (Boston).
Dates and locations are so far:
• Denver – November 9, 2019
• Columbus – December 14, 2019 (exact date TBC)
• Boston – Spring 2020 (date TBA)
+ two more tournaments will be played – applications for the 4th and 5th locations being accepted through November 30, 2019.
• Columbus – Cup series final – June 2020
Read more at this VEKN forum post, which will be updated continuously: http://www.vekn.net/forum/north-and-central-america/78012-vtes-north-american-cup-series#97330
VTES SOUTH AMERICAN CUP SERIES REVEALED!
You didn´t think we would forget South America, right? Head of the organization will be Kleber Sousa.
Dates and locations:
• Fortaleza, Brazil - January 25, 2020
• Santiago, Chile - February 22
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - sometime June 11-14 (Last tournament and finals)
More detailed information will follow!
STEVEN BALDWIN IS THE 2019 AUSTRALIAN/NEW ZEALAND CONTINENTAL CHAMPION!
Organizer and National Coordinator Steve Harris reports:
We had 20 players on the day of the Australia/New Zealand Continental Championships 2019.
Matt and Simon had some potential contesting issues but as the fine gentlemen they are, decided that Matt would have Lord Tremere and Simon would have Malgorzata. Steven bled each of these guys out in turn. Ke was well setup with over 20 pool and rushed backwards, annihilating Steven's minions. Tony then bled Steven out, but didn't last long with Ke. However Steven had gone in top seed and there won with 2 vp while being ousted.
Congratulations Steven Baldwin, new champion of Australia & New Zealand!
TWD: Malkavian Port Authority
Crypt: 12
1 Apache Jones
1 Jackie
1 Midget
2 Morel
1 Persephone Tar Anis
1 Persia, The Beautiful Statue
1 Quentin King III
1 Rodolfo
1 Ruth McGinley
1 Tony
1 Uncle George
Library: 90
1 Dreams of the Sphinx
1 Giant’s Blood
3 Obfuscate
2 Secure Haven
9 Villein
1 Port Authority
1 Enchanted Marionette
24 Kindred Spirits
4 Cloak the Gathering
18 Confusion
3 Deny
3 Elder Impersonation
3 Eyes of Chaos
4 Faceless Night
1 Gift of Sleep
4 Lost in Crowds
4 Spying Mission
4 Swallowed by the Night
Thanks to the organizer and all participants!
JOHANN LOUIE ONG IS THE 2019 ASIAN CHAMPION!13 players showed up in Taipei, Taiwan for this year´s showdown. Standing after round 3 was:
Kohei Nomura 2 gw 6.5 vp
Johann Louie Ong 1 gw 8 vp
Keith Lee 1 gw 5 vp
Keng Hung Lum 1 gw 5 vp
Hessed Ramos 1 gw 4 vp
Congratulations Johann Louie Ong, new Asian champion!
TWD: Mono DEM weenies
“Based on a previous winning deck by Everton Biell (Brazil), but tweaked the numbers to make it a 75 card deck. Crypt design is genius. Works with any starting transfer. Bring out a 3 cap, transfer one pool on a 5 cap and bring it out next turn. Will definitely be bringing out at least one vamp per turn (if no duplicates). Prey usually never survives past turn 4-5. Future edit: Replace Ossian with Carlton (to contest and defend) and replace 1 Effective Management with Wilder View.“
Crypt: 12
2x Jackie 3 DEM Malkavian antitribu:4
1x Apache Jones 5 aus for obf DEM Malkavian antitribu:4
1x Marta 3 aus dem Malkavian antitribu:4
2x Midget 3 obf pre DEM Malkavian antitribu:3
1x Persia, The Beautiful Statue 5 aus obf DEM Malkavian:3
1x Uncle George 5 aus dom obf DEM Malkavian antitribu:3
2x Cassandra Langely, The Waif 2 dem Malkavian:4
2x Eddie Gaines 1 dem pot Caitiff:3
Library: 75 cards
Master (13)
1x Archon Investigation
4x Dementation
2x Effective Management
4x Misdirection
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Sudden Reversal
Action (22)
21x Kindred Spirits
1x Ossian
Action Modifier (39)
12x Confusion
10x Deny
11x Eyes of Chaos
6x Mind Tricks
Combat (1)
1x Coma
Thanks to the organizers and all who attended!
RULES SPOTLIGHT: ACTION MODIFIERS
Some rules Q & A from Black Chantry Rules Director Vincent “Ankha” Ripoll:
Q: If you play Foreshadowing Destruction at superior on your prey with 9 or fewer pool and it is bounced to another player that has more than 9 pool, foreshadowing does not add to the bleed at all. Is that right? Was it always that way or just with the latest wording?
A: Yes, and it was always that way. Foreshadowing Destruction provides +3 bleed only if the target has less than 10 pool.
Q: Can I play another bleed modifier such as Conditioning after playing a Foreshadowing Destruction at superior?
A: You can if the target of the bleed has 10 pool or more since Foreshadowing Destruction does not increase the bleed amount in that case. Please note that it was not the case before, since Foreshadowing Destruction used to prevent other action modifiers that increase the bleed to be played per card text. Now the limiting card text has been moved to the rulebook and does not care about the order.
Q: What about the other way round? Can I play Foreshadowing Destruction at superior after playing a Conditioning?
A: Same answer, you can play Foreshadowing Destruction if the target of the bleed has 10 pool or more since it does not increase the bleed amount in that case.
Q: Foreshadowing Destruction says that it is "(limited)". Doesn't it prevent other bleed modifiers from being played?
A: "(limited)" is just a hint to remind players that there is a rule about limits for bleed modifiers in the rulebook. The text has no effect by itself – that is why it is between parenthesis.
Q: A Conditioning is played and cancelled by a Direct Intervention. Can another bleed modifier be played? The rule says "No more than one action modifier card can be played to increase a bleed during a bleed action." and the Conditioning was played, right?
A: The Conditioning was played, but did not increase the bleed. Therefore it does not count against the limit, and another bleed modifier can be played.
The above was first posted at the VEKN.net forum – check out the thread for more discussion: http://www.vekn.net/forum/rules-questions/78044-about-bleed-modifiers
MEET THE VEKN: RUDOLF SCHOLZ, NATIONAL COORDINATOR OF GERMANYHello Rudolf! When did you start playing VTES?
- I first encountered VTES around 1998 as non-tournament game played in Highlander format. I was presented a Tzimisce deck. Memories from that time are shady. It was an okay-ish game that way, but not too appealing to me. Next level introduction happened around 2006 in Wiesbaden and Frankfurt, and I liked the classic Malkavian antitribu stealth-bleed deck with Korah and Dolphin Black, and had to realise that cards like Protect Thine Own existed. I remember others played Arika and Beast among other things.
What do you like most about VTES?
- One part was the CCG aspect. I did not breath the World of Darkness part in those days – I played the RPG only once or twice – though I liked the atmosphere and the artwork. I probably liked the strategy part of the game, maybe since I was a chess player at regional tournament level then; ELO around 2050 in my best days.
The most intriguing part was, that here I got something in which I could try to improve constantly: my understanding of the game, my decks, my collection. It helped that at some point I started to gain an independent perspective on the game and to actually win games :) After my first tournament victory in 2008, somehow lucky, somehow well-earned, I got to know the TWDA and the existence of the Hall of Fame. I had a new clear goal: I wanted to be a member of it! I succeeded 4 years later.
What is your all-time favorite deck?
- Well, this changed over the years, and probably constantly will. I really like my “own builts”, here we find today a Montano Baltimore Purge deck and many years before that an Anson tap-and-bleed with Ashur Tablets deck. I fancied the Celerity gun version too, after I had witnessed Adam Esbjörnsson playing it. I tend to choose decks with cards which provide you with a huge advantage, like Ashur plus Liquidation or Zillah´s plus Villein, or an abusive tech, like Liquidation plus Emerald Legionnaires or Baltimore Purge plus Graverobbing or Ravnos Carnival plus The Eldest are Kholo). It is hard to say which deck or deck type won me most games. My local playgroup started to moan immediately when I played some kind of MMPA deck at some point, or commented a TWD in a way like “Oh, finally not an Anson deck …”, thus I tried to diversify more. The Secret Library helped me A LOT, so I want it back if possible, please! If I had to pick my deck currently “most feared”, it is my version of the Montano Baltimore Purge archetype, which I helped crafting.
What other decks do you currently like playing? Are you “cooking” some new tech?
- With the 25 Anniversary rules changes, especially of Pentex Subversion, the meta shifted to action-heavy decks. This is why I explore and dwell in “drive abuse”; with Freak Drive, Forced March and Instantaneous Transfomation, and “anti-drive tech” like additional blood costs as with Vampiric Disease or The Slow Withering. I guess Arika will get a comeback, and combat will get more interesting for those who seek to “control” a table. I took a look at Shackles of Enkidu recently :)
I want to point out that Lackey gave my game-play and my motivation a huge boost. When gathering enough local players for a VTES evening is hard, you are quite lucky to have Lackey. And, as I said before, it always helps when you win games – especially if famous players like Bram van Stappen, Martin Schumacher, Marius Iscru or Martin Weinmayer are involved. Sorry for mentioning only European players, my world-wide connections are just about to evolve! :)
Do you think you have a special “style” of playing?
- Tough question, and I guess it would be easier for the players around me to answer this, but I will try. I have to admit that I am not the fastest player, and when things get complicated I tend to get lost in thought. That was true for chess, too. Thus, I prefer decks with a reasonable number of “moving parts”, which means for example that Blood Brother decks are out; I tried and failed, more than once. I liked tap-and-bleed for a long time, but due to a constant rise of wakes used in the decks around me, I dropped that. I liked Goratrix wall since I witnessed Otso Saariluoma playing it at a Gothcon, but since Pentex Subversion now favours acting decks, my interest declined. Right now ally decks are hot!
I prefer to watch the table and to interact only as much as needed. If somebody starts to try to talk himself into being the representative of the “common sense”, I react immediately. In tournament I dislike distractive off-topic talk or specific attitudes only intending to annoy others, which is why I tend to react on that as soon as possible, too. Otherwise, I try to be as objective and helpful as possible when questions about the game-state arise, especially when less experienced players are involved. In my self-perception I am not a good dealmaker, but I must be better than I think I am. Usually, you cannot win tournaments or even games without at least some decent dealmaking.
You are the National Coordinator for Germany – congratulations on this honourable assignment! What do you do to spread VTES in your country?
- When I took over as the NC for Germany from Johannes Walch at the end of 2015, it seemed to a kind of “waste management project”: VTES was out-of-print and without official support, players were selling their collections and/or drop playing. But at that time, VTES was already “my game”, it was my number 1 hobby, and I did what I could do to keep is alive. Basically, it was, and somehow still is, motivating every player I got in touch with as much as possible to play. To try out new decks. To go to tournaments. To travel, especially to the ECs. To meet people and make new friends. My first EC, 2011 in Warsaw, was a blast in every way! And I tried to organise tournaments whenever possible.
I am maybe not the best one in doing the “first contact”, but when someone starts to put some faith in me as his VTES mentor, guide, whatever, I have good chances to “embrace” them or to rescue them from torpor. My most important success in the last two years has been winning the woman who later became my wife for VTES :)
Sadly, I have no contact anymore to the student’s scene. The biggest issue, maybe not only in Germany, is the lack of stores that provide VTES products or even offer a playing area for VTES. Take only the Dragon’s Lair store in Stockholm for example! Plus, in Germany a lot of players are scattered around and do not know, either of the other players, nor of the revival of VTES.
I guess many German stores refuse to give VTES a chance since they do not see the market, that is the players asking for it, and potential players feel backed-off by the stores since there is no support for the game. I appreciate EVERY effort that Black Chantry put into the relaunch of VTES, but it looks like the German market needs some special VTES advertising.
As for the game, I see some kind of “streamlining” of VTES, which is necessary and good – I have never have seen better starter decks, beginner’s products and support as now. But part of the diversity is lost because of the fixed products instead of random boosters, which define what is available for players right now. Plus, if I am not mistaken, we did not have new Library cards for a long time. New library cards, please! We have some new crypt cards, but new vampires tend to give new options especially to someone with an “old” card pool.
As for the concerns, a few long-time VTES players disfavour the change of existing cards. I understand them, but in my opinion, most of the recent changes were reasonable and necessary. I would be concerned if the game got transformed in its core, for example changing any disciplines because White Wolf changing the RPG system.
Last but not least, regarding the artwork of VTES I am pretty optimistic that the high level will be kept. The VEKN Inner Circle and Black Chantry has done an awesome job in acquiring very good artists!
Rudolf wants to thank you for reading this, and hopes to meet you soon, either at a tournament or on Lackey. He will host the mid-March 2020 German Grand Prix in Darmstadt and invites you all to attend the event!
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: OCTOBER 2019
• Two more Baron promo cards was revealed. Benedito, a Lanterna is the Baron of Fortaleza, Brazil, and Bituin is the Baron of Manila, Philippines. As for the previous 6-capacity Barons, these will also be made available in a upcoming Anarch-themed VTES set.
• The Sabbat starters first published in February 2019 will also be printed in Spanish.
• CEO Hugh Angseesing and brilliant volounteers attended PDXCon in Berlin on October 18-20 to demonstrate VTES. Many Paradox fans were interested in this analogue game!
• VTES was also demoed a whole weekend at SPIEL’19 in Essen on October 25-27, this time by CMG (Chief Marketing Ghoul) Henrik Klippström and fabulous volunteers.
• During this month, five “How to play”-articles about the First Blood decks were published on Blackchantry.com:
- How to play the First Blood: Malkavian deck
- How to play the First Blood: Nosferatu deck
- How to play the First Blood: Toreador deck
- How to play the First Blood: Tremere deck
- How to play the First Blood: Ventrue deck
Please note the 3-page PDF version linked to at the bottom of each article!
• Currently 17 Black Chantry products are available through Drivethrucards.com and other stores:
- Lost Kindred bundle
- Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 1
- Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 2
- Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 1
- Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 2
- Den of Fiends Preconstructed Deck
- Libertine Ball Preconstructed Deck
- Pact with Nephandi Preconstructed Deck
- Parliament of Shadows Preconstructed Deck
- Anthology I bundle
- VTES Card Creator
- 25th Anniversary (Not on Drivethrucards.com yet!)
- First Blood: Malkavian (Not on Drivethrucards.com yet!)
- First Blood: Nosferatu (Not on Drivethrucards.com yet!)
- First Blood: Toreador (Not on Drivethrucards.com yet!)
- First Blood: Tremere (Not on Drivethrucards.com yet!)
- First Blood: Ventrue (Not on Drivethrucards.com yet!)
Do you have opinions or questions for Black Chantry? Start a topic on the VEKN forum, or contact the company by e-mail, Facebook or Twitter.
RECENT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS
This was the month of the big White Wolf and Paradox Interactive event PDXCon, so of course a lot happened. We want to highlight this:
• Super-anticipated “Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2” is delayed. It will not be released as announced in Q1 2020, but sometime a bit later. Read all about this decision in the developers blog.
• A new edition of the Werewolf: The Apocalypse RPG is on its way. Many publishers were interested in producing it, but now one has been chosen, and will soon be revealed. Also, a new trailer for “Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood” is out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qDwyhSpIRI
• VTES design team member Mike Nudd is one of the authors of the upcoming Vampire: The Masquerade chronicle “The Fall of London” from Modiphius, so of course the VEKN is especially proud and interested. Mike storytelled a preview session at Twitch recently, check it out at https://www.twitch.tv/videos/502151111
CALENDAR
Upcoming events:
November 1: Daring the Dawn – Barcelona, Spain
November 1: Halloween en Jupiter – Barcelona, Spain
November 1: Defender of the Haven – Lisboa, Portugal
November 2: Nacional Portugal 2019 – Lisboa, Portugal
November 2: Autumn Ball 2019 – Magdeburg, Germany
November 2: Redeem the Lost Soul – Monroeville, United States
November 3: Campeonato VTES – Brasília, Brazil
November 8: Unlicensed Taxicab – Denver, United States
November 9: Well-Aimed Car – Denver, United States
November 9: New blood – Santiago, Chile
November 9: Silesia by Night: Chorzów – Chorzów, Poland
November 9: Boxed In Stockholm 2019 – Stockholm, Sweden
November 9: Masochism – Denver, United States
November 10: Closed Session: Moss – Moss, Norway
November 10: Under Siege 2019 Cubao! – Manila, Philippines
November 10: Repo Man – Denver, United States
November 10: First Blood 2 – New Holland, United States
November 15: Classificatório SAC 2019 – Campina Grande, Brazil
November 16: South American Championship 2019 – Campina Grande, Brazil
November 16: Finnish Nationals 2019 – Espoo, Finland
November 16: American Cup 2019 – Campina Grande, Brazil
November 16: The edge – Sant Celoni, Spain
November 16: Open 25 Aniversario Andalucia – Córdoba, Spain
November 16: Round 6 – Vác, Hungary
November 23: Danish Nationals 2019 – Copenhagen, Denmark
November 23: Novembrino – Juiz de Fora, Brazil
November 23: Italian Gran Prix 2019/20 – Bologna, Italy
November 24: Sixth tradition: Destruction – Bologna, Italy
November 30: Belarusian Nationals 2019 – Minsk, Belarus
November 30: Winter Cup – Prague, Czech Republic
November 30: Granada by Night Nov 2019 – Granada, Spain
November 30: Winter is Coming to Edinburgh – Edinburgh, United Kingdom
For more information on upcoming events see the V:EKN Event Calendar.
CONTACT V:EKN
You can contact the V:EKN Inner Circle members using contact forms at V:EKN.net. Also follow the V:EKN Facebook group, the official V:TES Facebook page Vampire: The Eternal Struggle and the official V:EKN Twitter account @VEKN_VTES
"Doubt is not a pleasant condition, but certainty is an absurd one."