Preview art by Samuel Araya from the Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Unleashed Kickstarter campaign.

Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
 

VEKN SETS ON KICKSTARTER IN MAY!

This is a long awaited release from Black Chantry. We wait until the actual launch with details, but the four “VEKN created” VTES sets – Danse Macabre, The Unaligned and Anarchs Unbound – will be made into physical cards, funded with a Kickstarter campaign called “Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Unleashed”. Expected launch is early May.

Note: There will be some high pledge levels for big orders. These are open to everyone, but it is, for example, good if you are a VEKN National Coordinator or Prince and would like to help your local community by organizing a bulk order. There will be a discount on these high levels, and you also save on shipping costs.

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GREAT CONTENT SPOTLIGHT: LA MAZMORRA DE PACHERO

More nice VTES content turns up every day, more than we can mention here. Thanks to everyone that makes the effort to spread the word of our lovely game, be it in text, video or otherwise! 

This time we want do a special mention of the high-reach Spanish Youtube channel La Mazmorra de Pacheco. Recently they aired both a tutorial:

… and a demo game:

Many thanks to those guys, and to anyone who put in similar efforts for VTES. Don’t hesitate to spread these videos to all your Spanish speaking friends!

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DECKS TO BEAT: APRIL

A retrospect by Rudolf Scholz

Again, it is time for the monthly review on decks, this time from April. The tournaments with the most participants from April 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 saw winning decks that at least in 3 out of 4 cases are still regular guests at tournaments and tournament finals.

Year 2000
“I’ll be your dog” by Rob Treasure
Deck type: Tzimisce Wall
Untitled tournament – Portsmouth, England – April 1 – Unknown no. of players

Notes from Rob: Block and slaughter, fixed bleed, lots of nasty surprises. Does not like S:CE, but can block regularly enough to give it huge problems. An interesting and fun deck to play, [you] have to take a few risks, too easy to sit tight and remain reactive.

Crypt (12)
2x Meshenka 8 ANI AUS VIC priscus Tzimisce:2
2x Dragos 7 ANI AUS vic Tzimisce:2
1x Lambach 10 ANI AUS DOM VIC pre cardinal Tzimisce:2
1x Corine Marcón 6 AUS VIC ani Tzimisce:2
1x Devin Bisley 5 ANI AUS vic Tzimisce:2
1x Lolita Houston 4 VIC aus Tzimisce:2
1x Isabel de Leon 3 AUS Toreador:2
1x Wendy Wade 3 ani aus Tzimisce:2
1x Horatio 2 vic Tzimisce:2
1x Franciscus 1 aus Caitiff:2

Library (90)
3x Blood Doll
1x Direct Intervention
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fame
1x Giant's Blood
1x Hungry Coyote, The
1x Legendary Vampire
1x Minion Tap
1x Mob Connections
1x Rack, The
1x Rumor Mill, Tabloid Newspaper, The
1x Sudden Reversal
2x Vicissitude

1x Army of Rats
1x Fire Dance
1x Revelations
1x War Ghoul
1x Femur of Toomler
2x Leather Jacket
1x J. S. Simmons, Esq.
1x Mr. Winthrop
1x Owl Companion
2x Revenant
1x Tasha Morgan

5x Changeling

4x Aid from Bats
5x Blood of Acid
6x Carrion Crows
6x Drawing Out the Beast
4x Horrid Form
5x Taste of Vitae
4x Trap

2x Cats' Guidance
3x Eagle's Sight
2x Enhanced Senses
9x Forced Awakening
2x My Enemy's Enemy
2x Precognition
2x Telepathic Misdirection

2021 comments:
– This still looks like an almost viable close-combat wall deck. Because Blood of Acid was chosen over Chiropteran Marauder and because of Drawing Out the Beast, it looks like one of the deck’s intentions was to burn opposing vampires outright (“block and slaughter”).
– The crypt could be modified and diversified, there were no group 3 vampires back then, and many cards which are considered standard nowadays did not exist, e. g. Abbot, Bowl of Convergence, Channel 10, Deep Song (see Black Chantry’s “Den of Fiends” deck for reference).
– The action card Fire Dance is a unique appearance in the TWDA, kudos. Blood Dolls could be Vessels; Smiling Jack (and maybe Dragonbound) should be in for additional ousting power.
– The combat package is impressive, but it takes away space today’s walls need for more wakes (and bounces; only 4 in 90 cards usually is way too few). Forced Awakenings should generously be turned into copies of Eyes of Argus and On the Qui Vive.

Year 2005
“Tempting” by Andreas Nusser
Deck type: Followers of Set with Dominate Temptation toolbox
German ECQ – Bochum, Germany – April 30 – 51 players

Notes by Andreas: The main goals of this deck are to generate pool, survive bleeds with Deflections and Archon Investigations, and do clever tactical maneuvering with the Temptations. Looking back, including a third Archon Investigation might be a good idea. All in all, the deck did well, and the card-flow was okay.

Crypt (12)
2x Kephamos, High Priest of Marrakech 8 SER dom obf pre 2 votes Follower of Set:2
2x Hesha Ruhadze 6 SER ani obf pre Follower of Set:2
2x Count Ormonde 5 OBF dom pre ser Follower of Set:2
1x Ezekiel, Lord of Montreal 6 PRE SER obf pot Follower of Set:3
1x Sir Marriot D'Urban 5 PRE aus obf ser Follower of Set:2
1x Hadrian Garrick 4 obf pre Follower of Set:2
1x Nepata 4 obf pre ser Follower of Set:2
1x Celine Chevalier 3 obf ser Follower of Set:2
1x Khalil Anvari 3 pre ser Follower of Set:2

Library (90)
2x Archon Investigation
4x Blood Doll
3x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
1x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
1x Khobar Towers, Al-Khubar
2x Opium Den
1x Path of Typhon, The
2x Serpentis
1x Sudden Reversal

1x Arson
2x Enchant Kindred
4x Enticement
2x Entrancement
3x Form of Corruption
3x Rave
1x Social Charm
13x Temptation
1x Sport Bike
1x Mr. Winthrop

4x Cloak the Gathering
1x Faceless Night
4x Forgotten Labyrinth
5x Form of the Serpent
3x Lost in Crowds
3x Swallowed by the Night

9x Majesty

5x Deflection
1x Delaying Tactics
6x Wake with Evening's Freshness

2021 comments:
– Wow, 13 Temptations, this looks like fun to play and an expert training module in awareness (remember to place a counter on every Temptation in every Master Phase) and diplomacy/sweet-talking (“We Ssetitesss are friendly, ssss”).
– Bear in mind that you can play Temptation on your own minions as well to make them multi-act when low on blood, and that you can burn the counters on a vampire attempting to block in order to make her block fail.
– Many cards that might help to improve the deck were printed or designed after 2005: First to mention Mokolé Blood (to find/recover needed Serpentis cards) and the inherently toolboxy Saatet-ta, then of course Serpent’s Numbing Kiss (could be targeted with Mokolé Blood) and Ophidian Gaze (for additional bleed defence). There is even a new crypt card that fits perfectly: 4-cap Elizabeth Dimitros.
– The Wakes should generously be turned into copies of On The Qui Vive and maybe Fillip (I really don’t like the “Do not replace” clause on Wake with Evening's Freshness). Blood Dolls could be replaced by Villeins. Gregory Winter would help to trigger the Temptations. The Uncoiling should be in, since an Unmasking probably ruins the day for a deck like this.
– Only 3 TWDs feature Rave, and this is the one with the most copies of that card. I like the versatility it adds to the Temptation shenanigans, even though it is not considered being worth a card-slot nowadays.
– I wonder if the announced Anarch set by Black Chantry will allow players to build an Anarch version of this deck.

Year 2010
“Girls!” by Erik Torstensson
Deck type: Bigcap MMPA stealth-bleed
GothCon 2010 – Gothenburg, Sweden – April 3 – 37 players

Crypt (12)
4x Cybele 10 ANI DAI OBF PRE SER THA Baali:4
4x Aksinya Daclau 9 ANI FOR PRE PRO cel tha Gangrel antitribu:4
1x Adana de Sforza 11 CEL OBF POT PRE PRO aus inner circle Brujah:4
1x Lutz von Hohenzollern 11 AUS DEM OBF PRE pot inner circle Malkavian:4
1x Mistress Fanchon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF THA VIC inner circle Tremere:4
1x Rafael de Corazon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF PRE inner circle Toreador:4

Library (82)
1x Anarch Troublemaker
9x Ashur Tablets
1x Blind Spot
1x Coven, The
1x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fortschritt Library
1x Giant's Blood
2x Golconda: Inner Peace
1x House of Sorrow
2x Information Highway
1x Jake Washington
7x Liquidation
1x Metro Underground
1x Misdirection
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Parthenon, The
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
7x Villein
1x Wash
5x Zillah's Valley

2x Anthelios, The Red Star
1x Scourge of the Enochians

1x Entrancement
2x Intimidation

1x Ancient Influence
1x Banishment
1x Political Stranglehold
1x Reins of Power

2x Aire of Elation
1x Approximation of Loyalty
1x Cloak the Gathering
2x Elder Impersonation
1x Enkil Cog
2x Faceless Night
1x Into Thin Air
2x Lost in Crowds
2x Mirror Walk
2x Perfect Paragon

4x Majesty

1x Guard Dogs
2x Lost in Translation
1x Rat's Warning

2021 comments:
– Here we have the coming-out of one of the nightmares of modern VTES: The “Girls (will find xxx)” archetype, with which Erik celebrated overwhelming success at that year’s EC in Paris. Nevertheless, the original idea goes back to the Finnish player Teemu Sainomaa, and the modern concept was a brew by the whole playgroup of Örebro, Sweden.
– Of course, it was hit hard by the ban of Anthelios and the nerf of Villein, but a cure was found which lead to the “Black Jack” and the “Girls will find Liquidity” versions that include even more Ashur Tablets and a bit more combat defence (e. g. by adding Unleash Hell’s Fury) and omit the vote angle.
– What more to say to this overpowered monster? It is a bigcap stealth-bleed deck by concept, it generates pool rigorously, it thins out the library by Liquidation and it gets back only the needed stuff via Ashur Tablets. It is a goose that lays golden eggs and a table-spread-yourself in one.

Year 2015
“Malkavian Antitribu S&B” by Norbert Bróda
Deck type: Midcap Malkavian antitribu stealth-bleed
Négykapu Liga III. – Budapest, Hungary – April 12 – 26 players

Notes from Norbert: Classic Dementation S&B.

Crypt (12)
2x Rodolfo 8 AUS DEM OBF pro bishop Malkavian antitribu:3
2x Korah 7 AUS DEM OBF ani priscus Malkavian antitribu:2
1x Quentin King III 7 AUS DEM obf pre prince Malkavian:3
1x Quentin King III (ADV) 7 AUS DEM OBF cel pre Malkavian:3
2x Artemis 6 DEM OBF aus cel for Malkavian antitribu:2
2x Dolphin Black 6 AUS DEM OBF Malkavian antitribu:2
1x Kite 7 AUS DEM obf pre bishop Malkavian antitribu:2
1x Tony 6 AUS DEM dom obf Malkavian:3

Library (90)
1x Archon Investigation
3x Blood Doll
1x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
2x Information Highway
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
3x Sudden Reversal
2x Wash

3x Call, The
16x Kindred Spirits

10x Confusion
4x Elder Impersonation
4x Eyes of Chaos
4x Faceless Night
4x Lost in Crowds
4x Spying Mission
4x Swallowed by the Night
1x Walk through Arcadia

1x Coma
4x No Trace

6x On the Qui Vive
6x Telepathic Misdirection
4x Wrong and Crosswise

2021 comments:
– Yes, a 90 cards bleed deck, but with Dementation stealth-bleed this is quite common, probably to make up for the bleeds for 4 instead of the bleeds for 6 delivered by their Dominate counterparts.
– The crypt could be a bit more diversified, e. g. with Persia and notorious Midget.
– 7 out-of-turn master cards might cause card-flow problems, thus a Bleeding the Vine could replace a Wash or Sudden Reversal. Regarding the reaction package, it could be considered to turn some of the cards into copies of Eyes of Argus, My Enemy’s Enemy and Delaying Tactics.
– The library is nicely streamlined. Walk through Arcadia and Coma are the only silver bullets (of course, there are plenty other options, e. g. Sibyl’s Tongue and Restructure), and there is also some combat defence with No Trace and Swallowed by the Night, making this a reliable deck for a beginner to train with and work on their first victory points and game wins.
 

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VTES STRATEGIES: STEALTH-BLEEDING

Some thoughts from Mexico again – this time about a specific deck archetype:

This time I want to do an article primarily aimed at new players about one of the different strategies that exist in our favorite game, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle (VTES). As every old Methuselah knows, there is more than one way to execute our evil plans, and it is a process that takes planning and practice.

I see three main types of VTES deck builds: direct damage, minion control, and reactive. Of these, the stealth-bleed strategy stands out among the direct damage decks as one of the most powerful and recurring. “Stealth-bleed” means that we design our deck with the idea of eliminating our prey through bleeding actions with our minions, which use various disciplines that grant stealth to prevent these actions from being blocked, causing great damage to the blood pool of our prey. The Malkavian clan deck in the Fifth Edition set is a clear example of this strategy, but there are many others.

Remember that in VTES, the object of the game is to accumulate the highest number of victory points by destroying the influence of the other Methuselahs. Stealth-bleed decks tend to be fast and effective in doing this, which is achieved by having a greater number of controlled vampires who will take actions as soon as possible, constantly weakening their prey.

For these decks I prefer a choice of mid-capacity vampires (between 5 and 8 capacity) that allow me to optimize the cards in the library through the disciplines or abilities each of them has. In the Fifth Edition Malkavian deck, half of the crypt has these characteristics.

Stealth-bleed decks have to be played with great restraint and coolness. It is very easy to fall into the charm of bleeding without caution, because of how powerful it is, but that attracts the attention of the table too early in the game, and generates an early wave of reactions against us.

As I have mentioned on other occasions, the help sheets that come in the Fifth Edition set are an excellent tool for first-time players (also available for download). These aids indicate that you should take out the largest number of vampires as quickly as possible and always go forward attacking your prey – that is “playing by the book”.

These decks are highly specialized and don't have much defense, especially not against direct combat decks. Our defense is set to redirect bleeds and end fights. And we should only enter combat if it is strictly necessary. If you follow the help sheet, in a short time you will understand the Malkavian deck, and in general the stealth-bleed deck archetype.

Here are some tips that won't hurt:
- Bleed consistently, but sparingly. Presenting yourself at the table with an early brutal bleed for 6 or more will turn all eyes on the table towards you, and it will make you susceptible to many of the horrors that are done in the game. Cards like Archon Investigation will target your minions, or they can be rushed by any Methuselah thinking that you look too strong.
- Play your cards. There is no worse card than an unplayed card. Do not keep cards waiting for “the best opportunity” – you may not have a chance to play it.
- Never forget to discard. One of the details of playing a stealth-bleed deck is that the cards are accumulated in your hand due to the conditions of the game. Sometimes your prey doesn't even try to block, but instead redirects your bleed actions, which means you will clog on stealth. Always discard at the end of your turn, and also try to find other ways to get rid of cards that you don't need.

Hopefully these recommendations help you in these first steps in The Eternal Struggle.

Eduardo García Ayala, @LaloVtes

Do you also want to contribute to this newsletter? Please contact . Hope to hear from you!

 

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BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: APRIL 2021

• Direct Intervention on Drivethrucards.com was a big hit. No numbers can be revealed, but one dares say that you should start asking “DI, anyone?” the next time you oust with a minion card!

• A decent amount of effort has gone into preparing the Unleashed Kickstarter campaign mentioned at the top of this newsletter. It will be ready sometime early May.

• Work is progressing with the four preconstructed decks for Banu Haqim, Brujah, Gangrel and The Ministry. Distributors will be able to preorder these in May, so its soon time to start nagging on your favorite game store to stock them. These will be available in English, French and Spanish, cost around £18/€20/$22 and be in stores in September.

• This year's annual 56 card promo pack has been decided and will be previewed soon. With the pandemic FINALLY leaving us, it will be distributed to encourage store and event play this fall, available in English, French and Spanish in September.

• Otherwise, work progress on various other projects, mainly brand new sets and readying old cards for print-on-demand. More on that when more can be said!

• Currently these 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 (Also Spanish, French)
- Libertine Ball Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
- Pact with Nephandi Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
- Parliament of Shadows Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
- Anthology I bundle
- VTES Card Creator (Drivethrucards only)
- 25th Anniversary
- First Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French)
- VTES Legacy Card Singles (Drivethrucards only)
- Promo Pack 1 (Drivethrucards only)
- Promo Pack 2 (Event promos only)
- VTES "Parity Shift" playmat
- VTES card sleeves
- Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition (Currently stores only)
- Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition Latin (Drivethrucards only)

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

Ever since Paradox Interactive acquired the World of Darkness in 2015, they made clear that a part from the obvious (digital games, other games) they wanted to make movies and/or TV based on the various titles. Finally, this seems to be happening! We are excited to see that such great talent is in charge: writers will be Oscar nominee Eric Heisserer (“Arrival”, “Bird Box”, “Shadow and Bone”) and Christine Boylan (“The Punisher”, “Cloak and Dagger”, “Constantine”), and the production company will be Hivemind (“The Witcher,” “The Expanse”). Heisserer and Boylan are long time tabletop RPG fans! We wish them good luck with this project – if successful, it will broaden the audience for the World of Darkness in general and Vampire: The Eternal Struggle in particular!

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CALENDAR

Upcoming events:
Follow local regulations on what physical events are possible. Notice that online tournaments are possible - just note "ONLINE" in the event name when you add the event to the calendar!

For more information on upcoming events see the VEKN Event Calendar.

"We are our choices."

 

Preview art by Ginés Quiñonero.

Greetings fellow Methuselahs,

Above you see the new, very nice preview art of a classic Vampire: The Eternal Struggle card that hasn´t been reprinted in a while. Do you have a guess what card it is?
 

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SAC 2020 ON LACKEY: CONNECTING WITH THE COMMUNITY

Some thoughts from Mexico - this time also with a tournament winning deck:

During 2020, the whole world was submerged in the apocalyptic pandemic. It has affected all areas of life, including the gaming communities around the world, and VTES was no exception. All kinds of face-to-face meetings were suspended, and we saw a new phenomenon grow, that is not exclusive to VTES: the interaction with communities from different parts of the world through the internet.

In Mexico we do not have a very large community. Although we have records of almost 100 players, only a couple of dozens are currently active and meet regularly to play, and most of those have been playing for many years. And, although we knew there were player communities in other countries, we never had contact with them beyond occasional comments and sporadic greetings. When the pandemic began, we had recently begun to see the result of a work to disseminate the game in Mexico City, integrating new VTES players in our community by having constant meetings for new players. When we closed these meetings due to the health contingency, we thought that all our work had gone down the drain. But nothing was further from reality.

Thanks to the magic of the internet and social networks, and the need to stay at home, we gave ourselves the task of looking for alternatives to our game and our community. And thus, we discovered all the communities that were in a situation similar to ours. We got to know online gaming platforms, such as Lackey and Tabletop Simulator, which we began to use with our community, which was conducive to carrying out our first league and our first virtual tournament, in which we had the participation of fellow players from Brazil and Chile.

Subsequently, the opportunity to play the VTES World Championship online came, something that, at some point, we believed to be a very distant possibility for us to participate in person, even without the current sanitary conditions. And we met players from different parts of the world there, which, as a player, opens your eyes to different ways of conceiving the game, contrasting strategies and knowing what your level of play is.

Now in March 2021, the 2020 South American VTES Championship was organized by the Brazilian community, led by our friend Desso Alastor and his entire team. It was an event in which 68 players from all over the continent and also other places gathered, including six Mexicans. It was among the most gratifying experiences that I have had as a player, and my Mexican teammates share this opinion. From Mexico we are very excited to join the world community of VTES in all possible events and tournaments, and we hope to have the opportunity to organize an event for the entire community at the level of our Brazilian brothers.

Congratulations and a recognition to the 2020 South American Champion Richard Cortés and to all the players who participated. We look forward to the next confrontation with the Methuselahs of the world. In spite of all the nefariousness of this pandemic, we are happy that VTES lovers have approached and connected each other through distances and schedules to continue keeping this vibrant game alive.

Eduardo García Ayala, @LaloVtes

The VEKN also thank the organizers of this large tournament, and congratulate the champion Richard Cortés. Here is his tournament winning deck, “No secrets in sabotage”:

Crypt (12)
1x Foureyes   3 obf pot   Nosferatu:4
1x Krid   2 obf   Nosferatu:3
1x Mouse   2 ani   Nosferatu:3
3x Nkule Galadima   8 ani aus pre ABO FOR   Akunanse:4
4x Uchenna   7 ABO ANI FOR   Akunanse:4
1x Clarissa Steinburgen   3 ani obf   Nosferatu:3
1x Darva Felispa   3 ani pot   Nosferatu:3

Library (65)
Master (15)
1x Ancestor Spirit
1x Guardian Angel
1x Powerbase: Montreal
2x Powerbase: Tshwane
1x Rack, The
2x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
2x Vessel
2x Wider View
3x Dreams of the Sphinx

Event (2 cards)
1x NRA PAC
1x Scourge of the Enochians

Action (13)
2x Army of Rats
6x No Secrets From the Magaji
5x Creeping Sabotage

Political Action (1)
1x Ancilla Empowerment

Ally (1)
1x Carlton Van Wyk

Retainer (4)
1x Mr. Winthrop
3x Raven Spy

Equipment (11)
3x .44 Magnum
2x Kevlar Vest
3x Sniper Rifle
2x Sport Bike
1x Camera Phone

Action Modifier (6)
6x Freak Drive

Action Modifier/Combat (6)
6x Predator's Transformation

Combat (6)
6x Rolling with the Punches

Do you also want to contribute to this newsletter? Please contact . Hope to hear from you!

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RULES Q & A

Black Chantry Rules Director Vincent Ripoll answers some rules questions:

Q: During combat between vampire A (2 blood) and vampire B (2 blood), A plays a Carrion Crows at superior before range is determined, then maneuvers to long range and plays a Theft of Vitae at superior. Vampire B has no effective strike. What happens? Can B play prevent cards that cost blood before being stolen 2 blood in order to escape torpor?
A: Both stealing blood with a strike and inflicting damage with a Carrion Crows happen during the strike resolution. However, inflicting damage and preventing/handling damage are two different steps and stealing blood moves the blood counters before preventing/handling damage. So, B immediately loses 2 blood to the Theft of Vitae and takes 2 damage at the same time (to be handled in the next step); then, since B has no blood left, B cannot play cards that cost blood in order to prevent damage and therefore goes to torpor. (Read more about combat sequences in the Combat section of the rulebook, page 28, and about stealing blood in the subsection Strike Effects, page 33.)

Q: Player A bleeds Player B. Player B is considering whether to block or not. Can Player C play a card before Player B has chosen whether to block or decline? (For instance, Netwar at [aus] to see Player A's hand.)
A: No, the sequencing section in the rulebook indicates that the opportunity to play cards goes from A to B once A is finished. B can only give the impulse to C by declining to block. If B attempts to block, the impulse goes back to A. (See Sequencing in the rulebook, page 8.)

Update - Clarification: However, if B attempts to block, a new sequencing takes place during that block attempt: A can play cards (typically stealth), then B (following the sequencing rule), then the other players once B declines to play effects. The block attempt is not over until every player declines to play further effects. C is given the opportunity to play cards such as Netwar during the block attempt, or to give B some intercept with a KRCG News Radio for instance. Once everybody declines to play further effects, if the intercept is greater or equal to the stealth, the action is blocked; otherwise, B can declare another block attempt, or decline (giving the opportunity to block to the next player).

Q: The card text of Baron Dieudonne says “During your minion phase, Dieudonne can burn 1 blood to unlock after performing a successful action.” Can he keep spending blood and untap after each successful action performed successfully?
A: No. Baron Dieudonne's ability is restricted by the "during X do Y" pattern which limits doing X only once per Y (here: unlocking once per minion phase). (See Important terms in the game in the rulebook,
page 16.)


Q: Vampire A is in combat with a vampire, Nosferatu B. At close range, A plays a Coma to send the opposing Nosferatu B to torpor. Nosferatu B uses a hand strike to strike for 1. Does A lose 1 blood? Can B use Warsaw Station to go back into combat with A?
A: Both strikes resolve, the first one by sending B to torpor, and the second one by inflicting 1 damage to A. A has to handle that damage by either preventing it or mending it by burning 1 blood (see Combat in the rulebook, page 31). B is going to torpor, which ends the combat. The combat is not over immediately though, since cards usable at the end of the round can still be played (Taste of Vitae, etc.) If the Nosferatu B is not burned by a Decapitate or an Amaranth played by A, B ends in torpor when both Methuselahs decline to play other effects. Until then, the Warsaw Station cannot be used. B cannot go back in combat with A.

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DECKS TO BEAT: MARCH

A retrospect by Henrik Klippström.

Time for another peek in the rear view mirror, this time on decks from March. These are the winning decks from the tournaments with most participants of March 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015. Hopefully they will give you some inspiration for new builds!

Year 2000
Untitled deck by Jeff Dai
Deck type: Bigcap Dom/Obf vote/bleed
Praxis Seizure: Raleigh – Raleigh, North Carolina, USA – March 25 – Unknown no. of players

Notes from Jeff: “Bring out an 11 or 10 capacity vampire. GtU the other vampires out. Once you have enough, bleed and vote your prey out of existence.”

Crypt (12)
1x Arika   11 DOM FOR OBF PRE aus cel  inner circle  Ventrue:2
1x Etrius   11 AUS DOM OBF THA pro   inner circle  Tremere:2
1x Angelica, The Canonicus   10 DOM OBT POT cel obf   cardinal   Lasombra:2
1x Lucian   10 AUS DOM OBF cel tha   justicar   Malkavian:1
1x Queen Anne   10 DOM FOR PRE aus obf   prince   Ventrue:2
1x Roxanne, Rectrix of the 13th Floor   9 AUS DOM FOR OBF pot   primogen   Malkavian:1
1x Gratiano   8 DOM OBT obf pot   priscus   Lasombra:2
1x Justine, Elder of Dallas   8 AUS DOM THA obf   primogen   Tremere:1
1x Carlotta Giovanni   7 NEC POT dom obf   Giovanni:2
1x Gilbert Duane   7 AUS DOM OBF   prince   Malkavian:1
1x Mariel, Lady Thunder   7 DOM OBF aus tha   Malkavian:1
1x Didi Meyers   5 DOM aus cel obf   Malkavian:1

Library (91 cards) [Say what? In the TWDA?!]
1x Asylum Hunting Ground
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
3x Effective Management
1x Information Highway
7x Minion Tap
2x Sudden Reversal

15x Govern the Unaligned

1x Ancient Influence
2x Conservative Agitation
8x Kine Resources Contested
1x Political Stranglehold

6x Cloak the Gathering
2x Conditioning
3x Faceless Night
3x Foreshadowing Destruction
2x Forgotten Labyrinth
4x Lost in Crowds

10x Deflection
10x Obedience
8x Wake with Evening's Freshness

2021 comments:
- Apart from the 91 cards problem, the deck is too thick. But it can be rather card intensive, so don´t go below 82-ish. Not hard though, just cut 10 percent in each card category.
- Switch Minion Taps for Villein, it will help the card flow a lot.
- Roxanne, Justine and Carlotta, sorry ladies, you have to leave. Sure 12 unique vamps and a smooth “Govern stair” in the crypt is nice, but not at any price. Consider Greger Anderssen and/or double up on the best ones.
- Depending on your enviroment, consider switching a couple of Kine Resources Contested for Ancillae Empowerment/Anarchist Uprising. Damage votes are important, but maybe switch 1-2 for Banishment, it is often very powerful.
- Switch about half of those Wakes for On the Qui Vive.

Year 2005
"Loyalists" by Reyda Seddiki
Deck type: Ventrue antitribu with Obtenebration vote
Coupe de Paris - Paris, France - March 12 - 39 players

Crypt (12)
3x Quentin   9 AUS DOM FOR cel obt  bishop   Ventrue antitribu:2
3x Gustav Mallenhous   8 AUS DOM for obt   priscus  Ventrue antitribu:2
3x Edward Neally   7 DOM FOR aus pre   Ventrue antitribu:3
2x Gerard   5 aus dom for obt   Ventrue antitribu:2
1x Samson   2 dom   Ventrue antitribu:2

Library (90 cards)
3x Blood Doll
2x Creepshow Casino
2x Demonstration
2x Information Highway
1x KRCG News Radio
2x Minion Tap
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
2x Secure Haven
2x Sudden Reversal

2x Dominate Kine
4x Govern the Unaligned

1x Mylan Horseed

1x Anarchist Uprising
1x Ancilla Empowerment
4x Banishment
1x Blood Siege
3x Cardinal Benediction
4x Consanguineous Boon
2x Domain Challenge
8x Kine Resources Contested

2x Bonding
2x Bribes
2x Conditioning
2x Crocodile's Tongue
1x Cryptic Rider
1x Daring the Dawn
4x Freak Drive
1x Kiss of Ra, The
5x Seduction
2x Shadow Play
2x Shroud of Night
2x Stealth Ritus
2x Tenebrous Form

4x Shadow Body

5x Deflection
2x Telepathic Misdirection
3x Wake with Evening's Freshness

2021 comments:
- A rather original deck – there´s much to like here!
- Ventrue antitribu vote always seem a bit underplayed, and now we also have Framing of an Ancient Grudge and alternative crypts with Bruce de Guy and De Sade.
- Should go down to 82-ish cards to find those Demonstrations easier. Sadly the odd, fun stuff has to go. Blood Siege, Bribes and Stealth Ritus are too bad. Crocodile's Tongue is strong, but situational.
- I always want to build something with Cardinal Benediction! But those decks always fail. If you leave them out, but still want to stay in group 2-3, consider some titled Lasombra vampires instead of Edward Neally (love him, but he´s one of those “not quite good enough” vampires).
- You seldom see Consanguineous Boon in a non-weenie deck, and its worth pondering if you need them here. Sure they create pool, sure they can give you leverage in dealmaking, but might be better to focus on offense.
- I´d play 2 or 3 Daring the Dawn.

Year 2010
“Marchas de tranquis” by Gabriel Ron
Deck type: PRO royalty vote
Daring the Dawn – Barcelona, Spain – March 20 – 30 players

Note: Alessandro Donati won a 35 player tournament in Rome this month in 2010 (congratulations Alessandro!), but we leave that one out because he used a Una multi-act deck and Una suffered a errata in 2019 that makes it unplayable.

Crypt (12)
2x Angus the Unruled   10 ANI PRO cel for pot   justicar  Gangrel:1
2x Don Cruez, The Idealist  10 CEL POT PRE ani dom pro  justicar  Brujah:1
2x Ingrid Rossler   9 ANI FOR PRO dom   prince   Gangrel:2
2x Greger Anderssen   7 AUS OBF dom pro   prince   Malkavian:2
1x Marcellus   8 AUS CEL pro   prince   Toreador:2
1x Iliana   7 DOM FOR PRO tha   Gangrel:2
1x Elisabetta Romano   6 dom pro qui tha   primogen  Tremere:2
1x Chandler Hungerford   3 PRO   Gangrel:2

Library (78)
3x Blood Doll
1x Cavalier
1x Coven, The
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
1x Monastery of Shadows
3x Protean
1x Temptation of Greater Power
2x Vessel
2x Villein

1x Scourge of the Enochians

1x Dual Form
6x Fourth Tradition: The Accounting
2x Judgment: Camarilla Segregation

1x Ancient Influence
1x Ancilla Empowerment
2x Banishment
1x Domain Challenge
1x First Tradition: The Masquerade
4x Kine Resources Contested
4x Parity Shift
1x Political Stranglehold
1x Reins of Power

3x Conditioning
4x Earth Control
1x Enkil Cog

2x Rapid Change

3x Claws of the Dead
6x Earth Meld
5x Form of Mist

4x Deflection
2x On the Qui Vive
6x Second Tradition: Domain

2021 comments:
- “All good decks start with a bunch of Discipline skill cards” is an old, highly ironic, saying. But there are exceptions! This is something as strange as a Gangrel vote deck with dominate, but without Stanislava. Well, there are some Malkavians here too, and the seldom seen Brujah justicar Don Cruez and other odd friends. Highly original, and not common to see on a final table.
- Large vampires without consistent multi-act is always hard, because every single action gets so important and you can´t really do any “launch turns”. I suggest at least one additional copy of Cavalier, replacing the now banned Temptation of Greater Power.
- The deck also lacks any serious crypt acceleration, not counting Fourth Tradition. I would add at least one more Dreams of the Sphinx though.
- The amount of bleed-bounce is low, but the other Methuselahs don’t know that! :)

Year 2015
Untitled deck by François Greiner
Deck type: Bigcap OBF-DOM vote
Hungarian ECQ – Budapest, Hungary – March 21 – 54 players

Crypt (12)
3x Mistress Fanchon   11 AUS CEL DOM OBF THA VIC  inner circle  Tremere:4
2x Rafael de Corazon   11 AUS CEL DOM OBF PRE   inner circle  Toreador:4
2x Alonso Petrodon   10 ANI DOM OBF POT for tha  justicar   Nosferatu:5
2x Gabrielle di Righetti  10 ANI AUS DOM THA obf pot  justicar   Tremere:5
1x Tryphosa   10 AUS DEM DOM OBF POT   prince   Malkavian:4
1x Neferu   9 OBF PRE SER THA dom nec  2 votes   Follower of Set:4
1x Orlando Oriundus   9 AUS DOM THA obf   bishop   Tremere antitribu:4

Library (75)
1x Giant's Blood
1x Golconda: Inner Peace
5x Information Highway
1x Metro Underground
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
8x Villein

9x Govern the Unaligned

2x Helicopter

2x Alastor
1x Ancient Influence
2x Parity Shift
1x Reins of Power

3x Conditioning
4x Elder Impersonation
1x Enkil Cog
4x Faceless Night
1x Foreshadowing Destruction
5x Lost in Crowds
1x Perfect Clarity
2x Spying Mission

1x Hide the Mind
2x Swallowed by the Night

4x Deflection
3x Eluding the Arms of Morpheus
2x Mental Maze
7x Obedience

2021 comments:
- I haven´t done the research to know exactly how original this is, but this kind of deck has appeared a lot in the TWDA. Anyway, the Alastor-Helicopter combo is strong with this VERY strong crypt.
- I have played a variant that relied more heavily on voting, particularily Parity Shift, but that is less fun now when that card is changed.
- A variant is to use more Rafaels and Mistresses and throw in some Flurry of Actions, to be able to do more damage in a single turn.
- If you play in a vote heavy environment, consider using more copies of Orlando Oriundus. He is the king of voting. I recall one game at EC Mannheim 2014 when I had 16 votes on the table with Orlando, and still hadn´t the vote lock. That table had something like 39 votes on it!

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BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: MARCH 2021

• No, it was not a April Fool´s joke! VTES Fifth Edition in Latin is a real product - you can order the five decks in a bundle from Drivetrucards.com, and download both the rulebook and the help sheets in Latin from Blackchantry.com. Thank Ginés Quiñonero for this odd effort - we know you love it! Ginés also made five unboxing videos on the Black Chantry YouTube channel - of course in latin :)


• Playtest coodinator Darby Keeney has delivered a meaty report about Round 2 of the current playtesting batch (four precons - Brujah, Gangrel, Banu Haqim and Ministry, plus the Fall of London set). Some additional thoughts are needed, but most likely not a full third round of playtesting. Most of the art is done and printing is scheduled!

• One of the most common questions Black Chantry get is "What are the upcoming products?". In January, product director and lead designer Ben Peal answered this in an article at Blackchantry.com, but you have to understand that the company needs to be flexible because of various factors, for example the pandemic, printing scheduling, art issues and heavy workload for those involved. Ben gave a more elaborated answer on Facebook recently, here quoted in full:

We don't have a set-in-stone release strategy, but here's the general framework (which is totally subject to change):

NEW STUFF
- We'll eventually do a pre-constructed deck for every clan represented in 5th Edition V:tM. 5 already published, 4 coming a few months from now, maaaaaybe a few more at the end of this year, and then a couple more by spring 2022.
- Each of these clans needs follow-up material to fill out the crypt groupings, plus more library cards. Ideally, this follow-up material (fixed-content bundles) should come out immediately after the associated pre-con decks, but we've been bad about that. But expect follow-up material for the first 9 clans late this year.
- An annual mini-set with a storyline angle. We're wrapping up production on one for this year as we speak [Fall of London], but a release date for it is going to depend on when we're all vaccinated and able to host events again.

PROMO CARDS
- An annual promo pack.
- Stuff for Continental Championship events.
- Marketing tie-ins with other licensed partners.

OLD STUFF
- We're gradually getting all of the White Wolf/CCP era cards onto Drivethrucards.com. When this stuff is published is kinda random. Generally speaking, we're updating the text templating for the cards and getting replacement artwork for the cards that need it. As a given batch of cards (typically clan + clan-specific discipline) is ready, we put it up on Drivethrucards. The ultimate goal with this project is to give V:TES a permanent home so there isn't a reason for it to ever be out of print again.
- We're working on getting the VEKN sets published. Details on that coming very soon.

• Black Chantry want to acknowledge two other bits of news related to friends of the company: Firstly, VTES artist Mark Kelly has Solemn Vale folk horror RPG on Kickstarter right now, with contributions from Justin Achilli, Matthew Dawkins and others. Secondly, Onyx Path Publishing (with the original VTES graphic designer Richard Thomas as CEO) will have their Scion RPG developed into a tv show. Congratulations!

• Currently these 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 (Also Spanish, French)
- Libertine Ball Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
- Pact with Nephandi Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
- Parliament of Shadows Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
- Anthology I bundle
- VTES Card Creator (Drivethrucards only)
- 25th Anniversary
- First Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French)
- VTES Legacy Card Singles (Drivethrucards only)
- Promo Pack 1 (Drivethrucards only)
- Promo Pack 2 (Event promos only)
- VTES "Parity Shift" playmat
- VTES card sleeves
- Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition (Currently stores only)
- Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition Latin (Drivethrucards only)

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

Some highlights of the past month:

• Justin Achilli wrote about defining clans in the Development blog, revealing the old VTES Obtenebration symbol will also be the symbol for the Oblivion discipline in VTM.

• "World of Darkness Stories" was launched, an expanding collection of short stories, on Facebook and Instagram.

• "Secrets and Shadows" is a new expansion for Vampire: The Masquerade - Night Road which unlocks five new clans, a new Discipline, and two sets of variant powers to explore.

• "The Barclay Mansion Challenge" is a interactive sneak peek at Wraith: The Oblivion - Afterlife.

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CALENDAR

Upcoming events:
Follow local regulations on what physical events are possible. Notice that online tournaments are possible - just note "ONLINE" in the event name when you add the event to the calendar!

For more information on upcoming events see the V:EKN Event Calendar.

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CONTACT VEKN

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

"Always embrace 'I don't know'."