"Foureyes" by Joel Biske.

Greetings fellow Methuselahs


YES, ONLINE TOURNAMENTS CAN BE VEKN RANKED!

As it has been declared earlier in a forum posting, you can arrange an online tournament that is VEKN official, sanctioned and ranked. Just report the tournament as usual and add "ONLINE" to the event name. In these days of pandemic, this is a natural way to move forward. Later these tournaments might be moved to their own ranking We´ll see.

 

THE VEKN FACEBOOK GROUP IS GROWING

It´s great to see all the interesting discussions at the VEKN Facebook group! This online community is growing almost every day. Please join the group and make a posting!

However, some questions about the group arise frequently, and the VEKN Board want to answer them here:

Q: What is the purpose of the VEKN Facebook group?
A: The group is for promoting of and discussions about the game Vampire: The Eternal Struggle. This includes rules questions, event announcements, deck building tips, organizational questions, design ideas, etc. Nothing else. The group is not for posting stuff that you think are “funny”, memes, political discussions or anything else. Any such post will be removed immediately. There are 100+ other VTES Facebook groups where you can try to post that stuff.

Q: Is advertising allowed in the VEKN Facebook group?
A: Yes! Limited advertising is allowed for now. This of course includes Black Chantry and Paradox/White Wolf products, but also distributors, retailers and Ebay sellers. The VEKN is not going to block or stop any such postings as long as they are not too frequent. If items are repeated or reported as “spam”, such postings might get removed. Please use common sense!

Q: Are there any rules of conduct for the VEKN Facebook group?
A: Yes! The rules are called “Vampire: Elder Kindred Network Facebook discussion guidelines” and are pinned at the top of the group. Please read them and follow them! But also use commons sense before starting a new topic or commenting on one. Be clear on what you want to ask or discuss. The topic should be relevant for the group. Never “hijack” threads with off-topic comments. Please aim for a constructive discussion that group members will enjoy.

Q: Who are the moderators, and what do I do if I feel that a group user has treated me unfairly?
A: First: Note and accept that moderators' words are final. This means that they are not up for discussion. If you still feel that something is wrong with a moderation, contact a moderator directly. Current moderators are Hugh Angseesing and Henrik Klippström. Do NOT start a new topic about the moderation. The group is for discussing VTES, not for discussing how the group is moderated.

Q: So if we have a Facebook group, why keep the VEKN.net forum?
A: Some people don´t use Facebook, and it might be the better place for some questions, for example if you want to be somewhat anonymous. See you there too!

The most commented topics on the VEKN Facebook group the past month:
1. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, May 9: VTES rule open playtest: Contesting vampire   
2. Abadroza P S, May 26: Alternative contest rule change
3. Milutin M, May 25: Can you self oust, does that rule exists?
4. Bill T, May 10: How many vamps are highly contestable?
5. Igor B, May 23: Accident contest of Ludmijla
 

RECENT GREAT VTES CONTENT

• Death by the Coven - Italian VTES blog at deathbythecoven.wordpress.com

• The Neonate Diaries - New York-based blog at www.facebook.com/MikeTheNeonate

• Codex of the Damned - especially the Best cards, Deck Search and Card Search sections, at codex-of-the-damned.org

• VTES-DB Crypt Search - A new strong contender for best VTES tool, at vtes-db.smeea.casa/crypt

Seen any other new good VTES content? Share at VEKN.net forum or VEKN Facebook!

 MEET THE VEKN: TOMASZ IZYDORCZYK, NATIONAL COORDINATOR OF POLAND

We continue to give attention and show appreciation for VEKN volunteers by a series of interviews. This month we present to you Tomasz 'izi' Izydorczyk, the NC of the great VTES nation Poland.

Tomasz, when did you start playing VTES?
- It was during my first year of studies, 1999. I had made a lot of new friends and one of them introduced me to a playgroup. They played various roleplaying games, Warhammer Fantasy Battle and collectible card games. I was immediately hooked. The first CCG I played was Legend of the Five Rings, and I started playing VTES shortly after that.

What do you like most about the game?
- The social aspect of the game. Nothing compares to VTES in this area. Perhaps connected is that VTES players are a great bunch. I've made a lot of friends over the years. Relations that go way beyond gaming. Also, the game stays consistent over the years. You can play a deck – successfully – that is 20 years old. How great is that?!

What is your all-time favorite deck?
- It´s a Toreador gun wall deck... [Version below is from Warsaw Station League Finals, December 2013, 4 vp in final, but Tomasz has won several tournaments with similar decks]

Deck Name: Torki dla Olki
Crypt (12)
3x Anneke 10 AUS CEL PRE dom justicar Toreador:1
3x Marcellus 8 AUS CEL pro prince Toreador:2
2x François Villon 10 AUS CEL PRE chi obf pot prince Toreador:2
1x Felicia Mostrom 5 AUS CEL pre Toreador:1
1x Dorian Strack 4 AUS cel Toreador:1
1x Isabel de Leon 3 AUS Toreador:2
1x Zöe 3 AUS cel obf Malkavian:2

Library (89)
Master (18)
1x Art Museum
2x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
2x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Rack, The
2x Vessel
5x Villein
1x Wider View

Political Action (3)
3x Parity Shift

Equipment (7)
7x .44 Magnum

Combat (29)
4x Blur
6x Concealed Weapon
5x Psyche!
5x Pursuit
5x Side Strike
4x Taste of Vitae

Reaction (32)
2x Enhanced Senses
8x Eyes of Argus
2x My Enemy's Enemy
2x On the Qui Vive
1x Quicken Sight
11x Second Tradition: Domain
6x Telepathic Misdirection

That I first created as a training deck, to teach a basic aspect of the game: blocking. That is definitely the simplest deck I've ever made. Otherwise, I tend to overcomplicate things – my first deck was a Dawn Operation + Skin of Night + Weather Control combo deck. I got drawn to it though, started playing it in tournaments and played it for many years.

What other decks do you currently like playing? Is it just old favorites or do you like to create new stuff?
- I love checking out other players' decks I have seen. Check what I could do with them. See how they play from different perspectives. Check how they can be modified. It's endless fun. People are so creative!

Do you think you have a special “style” of playing?
- I try to play my turns as fast as possible. I have a plan for my next turn as soon as the present one is finished. Then I focus on what others are doing and modify the plan accordingly. Because of that I dislike decks that cannot be adjusted to the situation – the ”solitaire” type of decks.

You are the National Coordinator for your country. How is the situation for VTES in your country?
- There are a lot of new players, but we also lost many old players when VTES was in a limbo. On average we've had around 20 players per event year. So not bad, but it could be better.
I took over the position from Radosław "Szewski" Staszewski and those are big shoes to fill. He is arguably the single person that has done the most for VTES in Poland over the years. I hope to continue his great work and build on that in the future.
    The Polish scene is organized over a long time existent forum you can find at vtes.pl/forum. We have a Polish league, not like the European Grand Prix, but focused on national events. It's on hold this year, but I hope we can carry on next year. We've had prizes for most successful players obviously, but, what is unique, we also distinguish players in other areas like number of attended events, deck building, and superb organizers.
    We have a southern Polish league called Silesia by Night, organized by Grzegorz "Mały" Winter. Check it out at silesiabynight.com. There are galleries with pictures for every league tournament.
    My idea, apart from organizing big events in Poland, is to support those activities in the best way I can. I am hoping to get prize support for one of the polish leagues from a sponsor, much like the Grand Prix is sponsored by Ultra Pro.

Thanks to Tomasz for these words. Good luck to him and future Polish events. The Polish community is always very welcoming for travelling VTES players – try to attend a tournament there when you can!

BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: MAY 2020

• The first official VTES card sleeves from Ultra Pro are now in stores! Current variants are crypt amber marble and library green marble, but other motifs will most likely appear later. Artwork suggestions are welcome!

• VTES Fifth Edition will appear in stores in French and Spanish versions at the same time as the English version! Cards have been translated, translation of the new rulebook is in progress.

• Speaking of the new rulebook: the writing is almost nailed, and graphic layout is in progress. It will be illustrated and in full colour - super secret previews look beautiful!

• The FAQ on www.blackchantry.com has been updated to reflect current reality. Check it out!

• Promo Pack 2 now available if you are an organizer or store who want to promote VTES. It contains the five 2019 Barons of Columbus, Versailles, Canberra, Fortaleza and Manila, as well as some other goodies.

• An open playtest of a suggested new contest rule for crypt cards was announced (see above in this newsletter).

• Since May 2 the previews of actual VTES Fifth Edition cards are ongoing. So far 12 cards have been spoiled, so there´s still about fifty cards to reveal!

• Later this year, more cards will be made available as VTES Legacy card print-on-demand. This is being prepared for now - cards need to be reworded and set in new layout.

• 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

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.

RECENT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

• There´s a new Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 trailer out, and the game will have a Playstation 5 version!

• As you might expect of a weekly TV show, the official World of Darkness News show has aired four episodes since our last newsletter. Among the topics has been the VTM comic (episode 2), VTM novels (episode 3), VTM interactive novels (episode 4) and Latin America (episode 5). Check it out streaming every Friday at twitch.tv/worldofdarkness or later on the WoD Youtube channel.

CALENDAR

Upcoming events:
Follow local regulations on what physical events are possible. Notice that online tournaments on LackeyCCG or Tabletop Simulator are an option - just note "ONLINE" in the event name when you report the results! (see the top of this newsletter)

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

"Be careful to choose your enemies well. Friends don't much matter. But the choice of enemies is very important."