Karl Schaefer wins Grand Prix Pittsburgh!
This tournament was played on October 17 at Guy On The Couch Cards & Gaming in Monroeville, Pittsburgh area, Pennsylvania. Reported by Karl Schaefer himself, the VEKN Prince of Pittsburgh and tournament winner:
We had 21 players show up to the final event for our Appalachian Assault GP series. The event was on Saturday with the finals on Sunday morning.
I picked a deck that I had tweaked to deal with the meta that I was expecting. I was very right and very wrong about the meta. In every prelim round, both my predator and prey had decks that could one-shot a Nephandus. This meant that I was spending a lot of my early game setup, just trying to survive instead of gaining the necessary mass to overwhelm the table. Millicent ended up being critical at keeping some of the aggressive predator combat at bay and my Nephandi are unaffected. Those turns allowed me to gain some mass and finally gain the upper hand when those decks started drawing dead. I had a lot of fat Nephandi running around as I burned vampires in torpor to reduce the ability for the other players to recover.
This eventually led to me being second seed at a finals table that I wanted nothing to do with.
Standings after round 3:
1. Will Matson 2 GW 8.5 VP
2. Karl Schaefer 2 GW 7.0 VP
3. Scott King 2 GW 6.5 VP
4. Erik Albenze 1 GW 6.0 VP
5. Brad Cashdollar 1 GW 5.0 VP
Will had seating choice after me, so I chose to sit away from Erik, both to avoid Shroud of Decay and Corpses with Walking Sticks. That still meant I had to deal with Hunger of Marduk, giving me yet another prey that could one-shot my Nephandi. The game moved slowly for me as I was reluctant to take many actions. I was trying to build some mass to be able to survive the Tzimisce pressure behind me. I dealt to put a no-forward Nephandus in play, which at least gave me an extra blocker, which is necessary against Form of Mist.
Erik was doing a great job keeping Brad in check with small bleeds and unbounceable Shroud of Decay. Eventually Brad falls. I finally have a decent amount of Nephandi and Erik starts bringing Corpses in play to deal with his new prey, Will. I manage to bounce two bleed to Scott, who blocks the first, but not the second. I attempt to move forward and make some progress. Finally getting a couple of bleeds in.
Scott and Erik get into it a bit and after another bounced bleed, I feel like Scott might be low on Second Tradition. I was wrong, but he was low on blood and Hunger, allowing me to empty one vamp and torp another. After another turn, I managed to get Scott. We had about 20 minutes left. I bounced a bleed that would have ousted me and dealt with Erik to ensure that he didn't bounce it back. That prevent me from going forward on my next turn, but I managed to pop a set of Tablets and play a Villein, giving me a cushion. However, that also meant Erik was unchecked. He torped two of Will's vampires. I rescued one, while putting pressure forward. With less than 5 minutes left, Will fires off a monster bleed that I bounce. I DI'd Erik's wake, but he had another and was able to block. On my turn, I work Erik down, but know I can't oust. I pass the turn and hope that Will can survive. At 4 pool, Will eats a Shroud of Decay. He attempts to block the next Shroud of Decay and as time expires is able to do so. I end up winning the tie-break.
Tournament winning deck: "Frosted Flakes" by Darby Keeney and Karl Schaefer
Description: My version of Darby's "Flakes." Darby's deck is great, but I made a few changes.
- Aranthebes has been critical in providing the addition "intercept" against my predator's actions and occasionally the -bleed effect is good too.
- Millicent stymied a lot of action and allow me to build unmolested at times. Was able to recycle it.
- Changed some ratios to keep the decks in the low 70s. The Harass have been in an out, but left them in today and used them twice over the course of the day to excellent effect.
- The double Secure Haven was key to getting it early and keeping Antonio safe.
- Tupdog is great because it allows Anotonio to act and can be brought into play with Dreams. The extra bleed made a difference in round two.
Really appreciate Sergio chatting with me to help me fiddle with the last 2-3 cards. Getting the second Secure Haven was critical.
Crypt (12 cards)
2x Isanwayen 6 DOM MYT OBT Kiasyd:4
5x Antonio d'Erlette 5 THA dom for pot Tremere antitribu:4
1x Mosfair 4 cel dom tha Tremere antitribu:4
1x Keith Moody 3 DOM Tremere antitribu:4
3x Tupdog 1 POT VIS Gargoyle:3
Library (73 cards)
Master (31; 1 trifle)
9x Ashur Tablets
1x Bleeding the Vine
1x Creepshow Casino
1x Direct Intervention
3x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Haven Uncovered
1x Information Highway
1x Jake Washington
4x Liquidation
1x Millicent Smith, Puritan Vampire Hunter
3x Parthenon, The
2x Secure Haven
2x Shard, London, The
1x Villein
Action (3)
1x Aranthebes, The Immortal
2x Harass
Ally (10)
1x Carlton Van Wyk
9x Nephandus
Action Modifier (4)
2x Conditioning
2x Mirror Walk
Combat (9)
9x Target Vitals
Reaction (13)
7x Deflection
3x Delaying Tactics
3x On the Qui Vive
Event (3)
3x Unmasking, The
Congratulations Karl, and thanks for this report. Thanks to all volunteers, sponsors and participants!
Simon Reed is the 2026 Oceanian champion!
This tournament took place at Comics Plus in Annerley, Australia on October 17. Reported by Steve Harris, VEKN National Coordinator of Australia, and the champion himself, Simon Reed:
We had 38 players for the OCC, which broke the record for the Australian/Oceania continentals. The previous record was set in 2002 with 36 players, and again in 2024, also 36 players.
The range of decks was quite varied by what I could see, however some clans were more heavily represented than others:
Banu Haqim 4 decks
Lasombra 4 decks
Gangrel 4 decks
Harbingers 3 decks
Ministry 3 decks
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Simon Reed's words about rounds 1-3:
Round 1
Me (Gangrel) > James (Salubri) > Ben (AAA) > Shan (Camarilla Lasombra) > Steven (Ventrue Bleed)
Good table for me as the vote decks cross table would both need my votes so I could support everything they did in exchange for chip damage on James. The path to victory looked like best option was to support Shan to oust Steven in exchange for damage on James, survive all the bleeds, and try and get it to 3 player and see where we were from there.
That's pretty much how it panned out, I managed to bounce, block or reduce a lot of bleeds, only one nasty surprise when Steven concealed out a Combat Shotgun so a few minions got shot as I saved my combat cards for James.
I chipped away at James and got support from Shan for an oust, he went on to get Steven although Ben did his best to prevent that.
Once we got to three, I was helped by Shan playing a wash on the 3rd Ashurs from Ben, with Club Illusion and Ben being locked and out of wakes I was able to bleed with everyone and just get an oust. Head-to-head Shan got a bit of bloat going and had about 15 pool, so too much for me to get in the time remaining but I already had the win so went into survival mode and just made sure I put enough pressure that Shan couldn't come fully forward.
Game ends me GW 2.5 and Shan 1.5.
Here, five players are each contesting at least one vampire! Two were playing Tzimisce and two of them
were playing Banu Haqim. One of the Tzimisce players also played a Chameleon to steal a
small-cap Ravnos from his prey, who promptly played the same vamp again to contest backwards!
Round 2
Me (Gangrel) > Dan (Nakhthorheb) > Rathpex (Camarilla Lasombra) > Leo (Gangrel) > Martin (Protean Barons)
As expected, a table with some contesting to deal with. Everyone played nice, we all picked a Baron and it worked out OK.
I thought this would be Angel's moment to shine but Martin brought his copy out first so that plan out the window. The path to victory in this game looked... tricky. I was pretty sure Martin would work with Rathpex to oust Leo in exchange for damage on me and some grace so plan was don't get ousted, hope Dan can oust Rathpex and then see where things were at.
The game panned out as expected: Dan got going and kind of had a shot at Rathpex but ran out of stealth at a key moment. Rathpex and Martin took out Leo, I copped a bunch of damage and then 2 Camarilla Iron Fists cross table I couldn't block and a third I had a DI for, but that's too much pressure and I was ousted. Martin needed a few minutes more at most to get Dan to take out a win but just ran out of time, the game ended with no GW, 1.5 each to Martin and Rathpex, Dan survived for 0.5.
Round 3
Me (Gangrel) > Dave (Salubri) > Justin (Inner Voice) > Sam (Nephandus)
This was the best game of the weekend! The path to victory looked like either working with Justin to oust Dave if he couldn't handle the rushes and then try and just roll over everyone, or alternatively to support Justin oust Sam in exchange for chip damage on Dave and then hope Dave ousts Justin and I can win the head to head. Game ebbed and flowed, everyone going forward a bit, defending OK, building a board.
Sam was doing a little damage to me but was also handling Justin's inner voice deck, I had to rescue a couple of times after a haven appeared.
A timely Entrancement and Giant's Blood got Justin back in the game and he was able to eventually limp over the top of Sam but then Dave got him soon after. There were probably about 30 minutes left on the clock at this point. I was quite confident, but from here Dave and I battled to almost a literal standstill, neither of us able to gain the advantage for 20 minutes!
Finally, Dave fully decked himself with every single card being played usefully at the end, notably a very annoying second-to-last card being a Delaying Tactics on a Con Boon when I was on only 5 pool.
10 minutes without any cards to play was a very long time for Dave and although I myself ended with 5 cards in hand at the end, the power of Garibaldi and recursion with a Revolutionary Council won the day with just under 1 minute to go, but a truly epic head to head and a great game.
GW 2 VP to me, 1 to Dave, 1 to Justin.
Standings before the final:
1. Rathpex 2 GW 8.5 VP
2. Simon Reed 2 GW 4.5 VP
3. Ke Carlton 1 GW 6 VP
4. Florian Koller 1 GW 5 VP
5. Andrew Stott 1 GW 5 VP
There’s an unedited video on SuakuOz’s Youtube channel of the finals. He also made this funny little short.
Simon's comments on final:
Final seating I was second seed with 2 GW 4.5 vp as only two players got 2 GW. Easy choice to sit opposite Ke, as his combat deck most likely to be able to damage the Imbued. I got lucky: Rathpex, as top seed, chose to sit next to me, that always makes things easier when you're next to the top seed. The path to victory seemed obvious: I just need to oust Rathpex relatively early via consistent small bleeds, try to block or Delaying Tactics his votes, and then see where the game is at from there.
I figured unless the Khazar's Diary went off fast, the person most likely to get two VP was Ke and that would involve ousting me so 1 VP and surviving would do the job.
As expected, the combat decks beat each other up a bit, so I didn't have too much pressure and was able to build my board and start chipping away. Rathpex used a Shroud of Decay to clean out all the allies in Andy's ash heap early in the game which really put Andy in a bad spot, and he went defensive, which suited me.
Rathpex had one Parity Shift Vox Dominied and another got DIed (Andy played his before I could play the one I had in hand for that) which left Rathpex nicely low on pool as parity is his bloat.
I was just bleeding into him every turn with 3 or 4 minions, one at a time grinding him down. The key turn was when Florian did bleed me for 2 and I Bait and Switched it on, Rathpex Deflected it back so I played a DI to cancel the Deflection to make him to take 2.
That left Rathpex on 4 I think with one unlocked minion, I had 5 minions so just bled for 1 with everyone knowing I had Form of Mist in hand and 1 stealth card for Hanna, who doesn't have superior Protean. One got bounced, Rathpex correctly let all the superior Protean bleeds through, and then I stealthed through with Hanna for the oust.
That gave me the oust and from there it was just bloat in my last turn and survive knowing Ke couldn't get both Florian and me in 1 turn, I did cop about 8 bleed from Florian before he died but Ke could only just roll over Florian right at the end and so had no chance to get me. The game ends with all Kiwis alive, 1.5 vp to myself and Ke, Andy on 0.5, I take it on seeding.
Tournament-winning deck: "Gangrel Barons" by Simon Reed
Creator comment: Classic V5 Gangrel, nothing too tricky, splash of votes for extra oust but just build a board and grind over the top with small bleeds. For the OCC, I removed an extra Massimiliano and replaced with Angel Guerrero to mitigate likely contesting and switched out the Anarch Free Press for the Anarch Railroad for the extra fixed stealth, happy with both those changes. Would probably add a second Garibaldi and a third Rewilding for a Monkey Wrench and Double Deuce, who is often stolen or beaten up.
Crypt (12 cards)
2x Casey Snyder 6 ani cel for PRO Gangrel:6
1x Ruslan Fedorenko 2 pro Gangrel:6
1x Indira 3 PRO Gangrel:6
1x Hanna Nokelainen 4 ani for pro Gangrel:6
1x Nathan Turner 4 ani PRO Gangrel:6
1x Kamile Paukstys 5 ani for PRO Gangrel:6
2x Kuyen 6 ANI PRO Gangrel:6
1x Massimiliano 7 pro ANI FOR Gangrel:6
1x Martina Srnankova 6 ani FOR PRO Gangrel:6
1x Angel Guerrero 7 ANI DOM PRO Tzimisce:6
Library: 86 cards
Master (22 cards)
1x Ennoia's Theater
1x Anarch Railroad
1x Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
1x Giant's Blood
1x Papillon
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Rack, The
1x Backways
2x Vessel
4x Villein
1x Wider View
1x Carfax Abbey
2x Club Illusion
1x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Ecoterrorists
Action (11 cards)
2x Rewilding
9x Thing
Action Modifier (6 cards)
2x Monkey Wrench
4x Earth Control
Action Modifier/Reaction (2 cards)
2x Form of the Bat
Political Action (4 cards)
1x Reckless Agitation
1x Revolutionary Council
2x Consanguineous Boon
Ally (1 card)
1x Double Deuce
Retainer (2 cards)
2x Raven Spy
Combat (16 cards)
7x Form of Mist
2x Donnybrook
7x Earth Meld
Reaction (22 cards)
6x Deep Ecology
2x Eyes of the Wild
6x Bait and Switch
6x Organized Resistance
2x Delaying Tactics
So, Simon Reed won with 1.5 VP, Ke got 1.5 VP and Andrew 0.5 VP - three kiwis, an Australian and an Austrian made the finals but only three kiwis survived :)
The event was sponsored by Black Chantry Productions, MotS Imports Pty Ltd and Australia’s Online VTES store on eBay. Many thanks to the host venue Comics Plus, Annerley.
Thanks for this report, Steve and Simon, and thanks to all organisers, sponsors and players!
Desso Alastor is the 2026 South American champion!
The champion Desso Alastor with Ben Peal of Black Chantry.
Reported by Felipe Gianni:
On Sunday, October 11, the South American Championship (S.A.C.) took place, with 30 players in attendance.
First of all, I would like to thank every player who left home and traveled long distances to be with us in Brasília. The vast majority of the players were Brazilian, but we also had international visitors, including Ben Peal, Black Chantry's Product Director, and the distinguished presence of Rick from RickStock.
The weekend got off to a great start with a pre-South American Championship constructed tournament, which was won by Ben Peal himself, playing a Ravnos deck (a borrowed deck he picked up right there on the spot!). This was followed by a 1v1 tournament, won by Osny Moreira, a local player representing Brasília, piloting a Gangrel deck. Congratulations, Ben! Congratulations, Osny!
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The entire concept and planning of the S.A.C. were carefully developed with one goal in mind: to deliver an organized, enjoyable, and memorable event, while also making it a great celebration, worthy of the Brazilian spirit of festivity.
On the second day of the event, we started early. After two very exciting rounds, we took a break for a brief presentation by Ben Peal about Black Chantry's projects for 2027, followed by a few minutes dedicated to questions and answers. The S.A.C. recap video can be watched, as does the full BCP presentation.
After the third round, we reached the grand final. We had the opportunity to watch high-level players compete fiercely for the win while, above all, showing great respect for one another.
The standings before the final were:
1. Desso Alastor (Brazil) — 2 GW / 8,5 VP
2. Cláudio Cruz (Brazil) — 2 GW / 6 VP
3. Kleber Martins (Brazil) — 2 GW / 5,5 VP
4. Osny Moreira (Brazil) — 2 GW / 5 VP
5. Breno Toledo (Brazil) — 1 GW / 6 VP
Throughout the entire game, all five players demonstrated tremendous resistance and resilience. Whenever it seemed that the game was tipping in one direction, the situation would change completely, favoring another player. And so the game went on, with twists and turns and fierce competition right up to the final moments.
When time ran out, no player had been ousted from the table. Desso claimed the title through the tiebreaker, in a difficult, intense game worthy of all five finalists.
And in the words of the S.A.C. champion himself:
"Since I qualified in first place, I was the last one to choose my seat at the final table. I was unsure because of the Gangrel, Nephandus, and Hecata decks, as I hadn't faced any of them in the previous rounds. I chose to sit behind the Hecata player because I really didn't know how his system worked; the others became clearer after the crypts were revealed.
What I hadn't expected was that none of the decks at that table would be as aggressive as the ones I had faced before. It was an entirely new battle: three hours of play, with practically every deck playing pure control. With very little time left, I saw an opportunity to win and attacked my prey with everything I had. They survived with only 1 pool remaining. As the turns went by, nobody could oust their opponent, and the game came to a standstill. In the end, the Shieldmaidens of Kattegat survived and heroically secured this unprecedented title in my journey.
Nobody gave the game away. Everyone played to win and fairly allowed the best player at that moment to emerge as champion. But let me make this clear: everyone at that table deserves the glory. We played the purest and truest JYHAD, down to the last drop of blood."
The tournament-winning deck: "As Escudeiras de Kattegat" by Desso Alastor
Crypt (12 cards)
3x Brunhilde (ADV) 8 ANI FOR PRO pre baron Gangrel:3
9x Valkyrie 4 for pre pro Gangrel:3
Library (75 cards)
Master (28; 9 trifle)
1x Archon Investigation
9x Ashur Tablets
1x Backways
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Frontal Assault
1x Gangrel Revel
2x Information Highway
2x Parthenon, The
8x Villein
1x Wider View
Action (12)
1x Aranthebes, The Immortal
2x Rewilding
9x Thing
Ally (1)
1x Double Deuce
Action Modifier (15)
7x Enchanting Gaze
3x Freak Drive
5x Revelation of the Serpent
Action Modifier/Reaction (3)
3x Form of the Bat
Combat (4)
4x Earth Meld
Reaction (11)
4x Bait and Switch
2x Delaying Tactics
5x Eyes of the Wild
Event (1)
1x Bitter and Sweet Story, The
It was an honor to welcome so many high-level players to our city.
And what was the best part of it all? Without a doubt, sharing this victory with Desso; meeting in person friends I had only known online; seeing so many other friends again; and, above all, having the opportunity to bring Black Chantry even closer to South American players through Ben Peal's visit. It was a memorable experience that will stay with me forever! (at least in my memory).
Thank you to all the players who came to Brasília. Thank you to Black Chantry and Ben for being there. Thank you to Luiz Paulo and Gabriel Góes for the artwork featured on our playmats.
Thank you also to Jean from VTESStore, Gabriel from JoeStock, Toca do Yeti, and Utopia for helping turn ideas into reality.
And I would like to give a very special thank you to everyone who stood by my side and helped make this event happen. Without you, the organizers from the Brasília Playgroup, this dream would never have become a reality.
Thanks for this report Felipe, and thanks to you for organising, thanks to all other helper, sponsors and players!
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