Povilas Zinkevičius is the 2026 champion of Lithuania!
Reported by Nerijus Mikalajunas, National Coordinator of Lithuania, with comment from the champion:
Lithuanian Nationals 2026 – Vilnius by Night are over. For two intense days, 42 Methuselahs from 10 nations battled for the trophy – which ultimately stayed in Vilnius.
The Prince of Vilnius, Daniel Bogdanovic, and I are truly humbled by such an incredible turnout. For us, this is more than just a tournament – we organise it every year in memory of our dear departed friend, Julius Stonis. Thank you all for coming and making this possible and see you soon – the EC2026 Vilnius is just a few months away.
Also – a big thank you to all the sponsors – Deep Cut studios in particular – that made it possible for us to gather quite a stash that was handed out to the attendees. Last but not least - huge thanks to Finland’s Teemu Pulkkinen for being the head judge in both finals.
Friday – The Warm-Up Eve
The Friday warm-up event gathered 39 players and was won by our one and only Lech Ivanov, piloting his self-crafted Emerald Legionnaires deck.
The final showdown was an epic clash between Lech and Bram Van Stappen playing Waters of Duat Death Star – a dramatic and memorable end to the evening.
Main Event (Saturday)
The main event was won by another member of the Vilnius Circle – Povilas Gildor Zinkevičius (Lithuania) – playing a TOOLBOX (yes, that’s important) led by Guillaume Giovanni.
𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 (seed 𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫)
1. Saulius Lukošius (Lithuania) 2 GW, 7 VP
2. Lech Ivanov (Lithuania) 2 GW, 6 VP
3. Martin Weinmayer (Austria) 1 GW, 6 VP
4. Povilas Zinkevičius (Lithuania) 1 GW, 6 VP
5. Michael Homström (Sweden) 1 GW, 6 VP
TL;DR – Tournament From the Winner’s Perspective (Povilas):
“I returned to VTES after a decade-long torpor and brought my Giovanni toolbox to Lithuanian Nationals 2026 – and this is NOT a combat deck.
Friday was fun but inconsistent. Saturday’s main event threw me into brutal politics, unexpected alliances, and one very angry Irish Super Ghoul.
Game Two was saved by the Baltic Genie. Game Three I lost to my own brain-fart – costing me a Game Win.
I scraped into the final as fourth seed, still kicking myself for what could have been.
Huge thanks to the organizers and all the players – and once again: IT’S A F***ING TOOLBOX.”
The tournament winning deck:
Deck Name: IT’S A F***ING TOOLBOX
Author: Gildor
Crypt (12 cards)
5x Guillaume Giovanni 9 CEL DOM NEC POT obt Giovanni:4
2x Baldesar Rossellini 8 DOM POT aus for nec Giovanni:4
1x Don Michael Antonio Giovanni 7 DOM NEC POT 2 votes Giovanni:4
1x Accorri Giovanni 6 DOM POT ani nec Giovanni:5
1x Donatello Giovanni 5 DOM aus pot pre Giovanni:4
1x Gianmaria Giovanni 5 POT dom nec obt Giovanni:5
1x Almodo Giovanni 3 dom pot Giovanni:4
Library (90 cards)
Master (20; 7 trifle)
3x British Museum, London, The
1x Carver's Meat Packing and Storage
1x Centralized Background Check
1x Direct Intervention
1x Elder Library
1x Filchware's Pawn Shop
1x Information Highway
1x Metro Underground
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Morgue Hunting Ground
1x Powerbase: Cape Verde
1x Secure Haven
2x Vessel
4x Villein
Event (1)
1x NRA PAC
Action (18)
5x Bum's Rush
1x Far Mastery
9x Govern the Unaligned
1x Graverobbing
2x Sudario Refraction
Ally (3)
1x Gianna di Canneto
1x Giulia Giovanni Abruzzina
1x Mylan Horseed
Equipment (10)
5x Flak Jacket
1x Gran Madre di Dio, Italy
2x Kevlar Vest
1x Palatial Estate
1x Ruins of Villers Abbey, Belgium
Combat (30)
2x Earthshock
6x Immortal Grapple
2x Pursuit
6x Roundhouse
1x Slam
4x Spiritual Guidance
4x Taste of Vitae
5x Torn Signpost
Reaction (8)
6x Deflection
1x Delaying Tactics
1x Redirection
For those appreciating a long read – here it is, by Povilas ‘Gildor’ Zinkevičius himself:
I was asked to write about the event from my perspective. Sleep was not something I got enough of during the weekend, so some things might be distorted. And I am not a writer, but here it goes.
I started playing VTES around 2009 or 2010. I played for a bit and then went to torpor for more than a decade. I got brought back by Nerijus and his false promises during the summer before Warsaw EC. I went to EC, did terribly, but it was great fun. I participated in a handful of bigger and smaller tournaments, but didn’t achieve anything significant. But I liked the community.
I had to take a few months’ break again before this event and had just a couple of games in beforehand. In total, I have about two years of active playing across two decades.
I was confident that I wanted to play my Giovanni toolbox on Friday and Anarch Bleed on Saturday. However, I was made aware that new packs would become legal on Saturday. Having read about them on Information Highway (and what a treasure this blog is), I thought that the meta might be very combat-oriented. New toys and all. So I switched decks. I added Centralized Weapon Search and something else to prepare my toolbox for the combat meta.
Friday came and went. Two rounds and a final. A very pleasant experience thanks to the organization by Daniel and Nerijus.
The anarch bleed deck was my shot at convincing myself that I can play pure bleed. I like the deck and am hopeful.
First Game
Good seating. Decent start. Grand prey influences Matasuntha. Turn passes. I get multi-rushed by Matasuntha for no reason, despite him having a bleed deck as his predator with an unlocked baron. After bashing my guys, Matasuntha takes a couple of shots at the baron and is met with combat ends. My table is in ruins, as well as my faith in logic and humanity. Matasuntha gets ousted right away. I try to rebuild with no success.
I cannot play bleed decks after all.
Second Game
More difficult, having Ola playing Diana as my predator. The table starts folding as expected, and my prey (playing Nefertiti) gets 1 VP. He is not in great shape but has a significant amount of pool. Ola’s predator is a lovely gentleman from Ireland playing proper old-school Samedi rush. Four pool to his name.
As Diana prepares to oust me, I suggest back-ousting Ben and taking a GW instead of one VP. Everyone sees the reason in that, and the offer is accepted. I work on my prey’s pool. Olia does a vote, drops me to maybe 2 pool, apparently doesn’t have more votes, tries some bleeds, but I was saving bleed reduction for some time. I survive, finish my prey, and the Toreadors eventually.
Lucky turn of events. Maybe there is hope with bleed for me.
1GW3 is, of course, not enough for the final, but I am very happy as the event is going great and there is a positive atmosphere in the air. The final was won by Lech, one of the best players in the Lithuanian scene.
Saturday — Main Event
Nine tables of bloodsuckers. Ten nations in attendance. The Lithuanian community is ecstatic and grateful for the number of guests. Lots of big names.
And me, with my humble Giovanni toolbox.
Game One
Game one starts dangerously as my predator Jonas, playing Diana, starts great and has my grand prey – Lasombra’s thumb man – as his natural ally. My prey is Malkavian power bleed, and my grand predator is a Tzimisce allies deck piloted by Ben, my fellow from yesterday, who is constantly scribbling in his awesome-looking Book of Grudges. I know that my name is in there for my role in him being back-ousted the night before.
After some turns, my pool, as well as Ben’s, is melting as fast as the snow outside. I stabilize my situation by showing some potence tricks to Diana or Modius, or both (can’t remember). I might have sneaked into the graveyard to borrow one of them.
I was blatantly insulted by having my deck dubbed a “combat” deck.
IT’S A TOOLBOX!!!!!
At this point, I was stable and could see a couple of ways to turn this game into something. It was very obvious that we would lose Ben sooner rather than later. I decided to borrow Ben’s Super Ghoul.
Oh boy, that was a mistake.
Not only did Ben not die, he came rushing with all his remaining strength to my board. It didn’t go well, as my deck is NOT a combat deck. I was left standing near the broken boat that could have been a great game.
Lesson learned. Never – and I mean NEVER – take things from the cold hands of a not-yet-dead Irishman.
Tzimisce and Toreadors fell swiftly to the might of Lasombra afterward.
At this point, it was clear that my only option was to defend aggressively. The most likely outcome: Lasombra and I would be swept by Malkavians. Alternatively, we work together with Lasombra on the Malkavians, and I get 1 VP for my trouble.
The offer was accepted. I got 1 VP and a lesson for life.
Game Two
Game two gets me to a four-player table. I’m sitting between two brothers from Lithuania (they are actual brothers; not mine; one another’s), both playing efficient politics. Diana on my back. Rafael/Lutz as my prey. Across is the legend – Martin.
The beginning feels terrible. Getting pounded by votes, banishments flying around. My deck is clogging despite having 10+ hand size. The brothers are set on taking 1 VP each and going from there. Someone slaps the “combat deck” label on my deck again. IT‘S A TOOLBOX!! FFS.
If Martin dies or I die (obviously), it’s game – and probably tournament hopes – over for me.
I see no way out.
I make the only logical choice left to me.
Day drinking.
A large, still mildly cool can of Baltic Porter.
CLICK.
And the Baltic Genie appears.
Somehow the vote decks don’t coordinate enough. The deck unclogs. I was able to save Martin with Delaying and Direct in some order. Between my rushes and Martin’s blocks, the Toreadors go down. Martin helps me get Lutz.
One on one, I take the upper hand.
Magic. Unexpected magic.
I got 1GW3 and a secret weapon.
Game Three
Game three looks very good at the start. I didn’t forget the magic.
CLICK.
My prey is a super nice presence gentleman Lorenzo playing a Brujah antitribu / combat Path / Spoils of War deck. My predator is a nice guy from Poland Tomasz with Nephandi. I can manage that.
Grand prey is Malkavian madness politics, and grand predator is Nerijus with new Salubri cutting toys. Both are huge threats to my deck.
I feel confident for some reason.
Lots of things are happening. I finish my setup with no problems, block some allies, and preemptively send one Brujah to torpor just to show that I have some red cards (the nature of the deck doesn’t let me discard so freely). The table starts to fold after lots of talking. Malkavians do some things, and Salubri go down. Perfect news. Some more things happen, and Nephandi go down. Not great. Not terrible.
I also got hit a lot.
During my turn, I lose concentration. Despite sending the last Malkavian to torpor, for some reason I promise my prey a VP. There was no real reason. In my mind, I still had a GW.
I didn’t.
Brain fart.
I finished my turn on 1 pool, and there was a Fame in play. My prey thought he was saving me, but I had Vessel on a full vampire and a means to generate more with Cape Verde and probably Villein after that.
Anyway, I foolishly let Sabbat spawns take the VP while keeping them on one or two pool. Finished the game.
And then the horror struck.
The score is 2/2/1.
I just gave away a GW for no reason.
Lack of experience on my part, sure. Maybe my secret weapon is a double-edged sword?
I got 2 VP and a boatload of misery.
Final
In the end, I was on 1GW6, beating myself and my stupid head for not taking 2GW7. Most likely that would have been the top seed.
The wait for the results. Excruciatingly long wait…
And I’m in.
I can play at the big boys’ table.
Fourth seed.
Final seating was chosen. I had no say in that.
I got Lech as my prey, Michael (?) from Sweden as my grand prey. Both playing anarch barons of some sort. First seed and my grand predator was Saulius, playing Arika. That instantly felt fortunate, because Arika as my predator would be game over before the start.
Finally – Martin was my predator, playing his anarch baron deck with a hint of chameleon. I felt good about that (does anyone feel good about having Martin on your back?) because our previous game was still fresh in my mind and, more or less, I was aware of his capabilities.
Gong.
We are starting to play.
I felt serious and wanted to use every tool at my disposal. Despite the colossal blunder in Game Three, I decided to roll the dice and use Baltic Genie.
I was clearly the underdog.
CLICK.
Calmness.
Arika came out swinging and looked good. I was having a good start. Lots of locations at the start. Grand Madre and NRA appeared in early turns. I started equipping ancient flak jackets from the British Museum and got blocked a couple of times by Lech and maybe Martin.
The game was still in early stages.
Lech’s blocks ended poorly for him; someone got sent to torpor. I did some rushes forward. Something else. Lech was bringing more guys out and fixed his torpor situation. Michael blocked some of his actions but was building himself up. Untouched by anyone.
My turn came again.
Lech was on 7 pool. Everything locked up.
I tried a bleed for one. It passed. Govern forward. Passed. Another one. Passed.
This was unexpected.
First hour in, I was holding a lead.
I anticipated being let down hard by Martin in his turn, but that didn’t happen.
Starting my turn, I knew that it was very unlikely that I would waste my healthy pool count during this game. I resisted the temptation to influence a fourth guy nonetheless.
The game felt in a stalemate. I didn’t see a reliable way to put our Swedish friend to rest. At that point, my goal was to keep the table as stable as possible.
For a few turns, it seemed possible. Everyone was hesitant to act.
Martin and Michael urged me attacking Arika. Saulius offered to put down Martin together and help oust Michael with a GW to me.
Yeah.
I intended to lie on the grass and let the hours pass.
I felt I needed to improve my chances.
Genie, help me.
CLICK.
Martin moved. Dropped his pool to dangerous levels. Saulius, unable to gather votes, moved to puppet ra**one of Martin’s barons.
MARTIN MUST SURVIVE.
Martin blocked, but after stealth + intercept + stealth, I was forced to DI stealth. That forced my hand to rush Arika.
I could hear my pulse.
No more lying down.
After downing Arika, I made a mistake and rushed another of Saulius’ guys. The clock was ticking. Michael took a turn or two to oust. Martin dropped to two pool.
I attacked Michael and did some more actions.
Clock ran out.
Relief.
Joy.
Thank you for this event and for reading my story.
Thanks to Daniel and Nerijus for the perfect organization. Thanks to our guests for their tremendous support and kind words after the tournament.
The combat deck label was used again.
IT’S A F***ING TOOLBOX!!!!111!
Cheers,
Povilas ‘Gildor’ Zinkevičius
Final result: Povilas 1.5 VP, Michael 1.5 VP and Martin 0.5 VP. Congratulations Povilas!
Thanks to Nerijus and Povilas for this report, and thanks to all organisers, sponsors and players!
Vampire: Elder Kindred Network Newsletter January 2026
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
We are delighted to introduce a new preview art piece and a brand new Vampire: The Eternal Struggle artist: Ilan Sheady. This handsome man will adorn a crypt card in the upcoming New York-themed card pack, available sometime late spring this year. Check out more of Ilan Sheady on Instagram @unclefrankpro!
Nikica Novakovic is the 2026 champion of Croatia!
The national championship of Croatia was played in Osijek on January 24 with 40 Methuselahs.
Read the full report: National Championship Croatia 2026
Praxis Seizures
It´s once again time to list the most recent VEKN volunteer additions. Below is a list of both new Princes and National Coordinators. And yes, a domain can have more than one Prince - just think of the cozy times Gustav Breidenstein and Wilhelm Waldburg had in Berlin ...
If you need to talk to your local prince, check out the VEKN Prince list. If you want to become a Prince and start organising tournaments, contact your VEKN National Coordinator.
• Australia - Prince of Sydney: Nick Miller
• Brazil - Prince of Barra Velha: Gabriel Ivory
• Brazil - Prince of Guarabira: Elson Lucas
• Brazil - Prince of Guarulhos: Dayane Rodrigues
• Brazil - Prince of Guarulhos: Ricardo Molina Sobreira
• Brazil - Prince of Londrina: Nivaldo Lorin
• Brazil - Prince of Londrina: Willian dos Santos
• Brazil - Prince of Matias Barbosa: Kleber Bertazzo
• Brazil - Prince of Peruíbe: Daniel Lopes Padilha
• Brazil - Prince of Rio de Janeiro: Marcelo Cordoville Farias
• Brazil - Prince of Santos: Gabriel Rodrigues de Marqui
• Brazil - Prince of Sorocaba: Kleber Martins
• Brazil - Prince of Visconde do Rio Branco: Lázaro Rodrigues
• Canada - National Coordinator: Alexandre Bustros
• Canada - Prince of Calgary: Travis Flaman
• Chile - Prince of Santiago: Andrea Canto
• Croatia - Prince of Rijeka: Drazen Meznaric
• Finland - Prince of Joensuu: Timo Tahvanainen
• Finland - Prince of Kivistö: Akseli Jalava
• Finland - Prince of Kuopio: Santeri Piipponen
• Finland - Prince of Liperi: Petrus Makkonen
• France - Prince of Aix-en-Provence: Anthony Di Salvo
• France - Prince of Vitrolles: Laurent Ribeyre
• Germany - Prince of Kirchheim unter Teck: Jan Etzel
• Germany - Prince of Osnabrück: Erica Ferreira de Souza
• Greece - Prince of Athens: Xenophon Moutzoglou
• Ireland - Prince of Dublin: Conor O'Brien
• Italy - Prince of Bologna: Federico Ferrarini
• Italy - Prince of Parma: Leonardo Magri
• Italy - Prince of Treviso: Danilo Fruttaldo
• Mexico - National Coordinator: Carlos A. Escobar
• Mexico - Prince of Aguascalientes: Víctor Hugo Rincón Casillas
• Mexico - Prince of Nezahualcóyotl: Eduardo García Ayala
• Mexico - Prince of Tlalnepantla: Luis Angel Jiménez Barrios
• Netherlands - Prince of Vleuten: Maarten Rijnbeek
• Poland - Prince of Katowice: Paweł Domański
• Poland - Prince of Poznań: Patryk Pyrgiel
• Poland - Prince of Wroclaw: Marcin Borowski
• Poland - Prince of Zielona Góra: Marcin Pastuszko
• Portugal - Prince of Amadora: Ricardo Fernandes
• Portugal - Prince of Nazaré: Sandro Rodrigues
• Portugal - Prince of Porto: Adriano Miranda
• Russia - Prince of St Petersburg: Anatoly Chuhvicheff
• Serbia - Prince of Novi Sad: Petar Kalmar
• Slovakia - National Coordinator: Martin Dudik
• Slovakia - Prince of Bratislava: Peter Zittnan
• Slovakia - Prince of Kosice: Zsolt Varga
• South Africa - Prince of Johannesburg: Jaco van der Walt
• Spain - Prince of Altea: Francisco José Gil Alcañiz
• Spain - Prince of Barcelona: Francesc Ros
• Spain - Prince of Barcelona: Rémi Cavaillé
• Spain - Prince of Cordova: David López Pozuelo Rivas
• Spain - Prince of Erandio: Iñaki Jiménez
• Spain - Prince of Granada: José María Rodríguez Martínez
• Sweden - Prince of Stockholm: Magnus Söder
• Sweden - Prince of Tyresö: Marcus Berg
• UK - Prince of Gainsborough: Darren Douglas
• UK - Prince of Liverpool: Mikey Ferguson
• USA - Prince of Little Rock, Arkansas: Ryan Tucker
• USA - Prince of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin: David Fisher
To those who have resigned from your domain during this period: Thank you for your service!
New season of Gulf Coast Roast!
Will the fun ever stop?! Never if Kelly Lyons and the others behind the Gulf Coast Roast Grand Prix circuit can decide. Another season starts soon - check out the dates above!
Reminder: The Black Chantry promo policy
Black Chantry has a policy for promotional card production. It is available in full on Blackchantry.com, but here are some key bits summarized:
How to get promo cards?
1. Some cards are available to order from stores/distribution for events, e.g. Promo Pack 4.
2. Some cards are available from the webstore as a bundle pack for event organisers. Please contact the webstore directly for information on this.
3. A number of cards are available to National Coordinators/other major organisers on a discount list so those cards can be ordered directly from Drivethrucards.com.
4. If these channels do not work and you would like cards for an event, please email us at
5. Older promotional cards and packs will go up on Drivethrucards.com and will be available for everybody e.g. Promo Pack 1 and Promo Pack 2.
6. Back the relevant crowdfund for some specific partner promotional cards.
Recruitment Exercise: Hungary
Gabor Endler and other wonderful Budapest people are doing a GREAT job arranging demo games to create new progeny! Here´s a sample of image proof from various events lately.
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Do you also want to host demonstration games of VTES and become a hero of the community? Pop a mail to to get help with materials!
Reminder: Please join the World of Darkness Community Map!
Please advertise your VTES playgroup and/or VTES events on the World of Darkness Community Map! This is important to help the game grow. But only things that happen in public places where anyone is welcome (nothing played at someone´s home) and no online events.
Check out the map here: World of Darkness Community Map
Submit here: Map submission form
Black Chantry Summary: January 2026
• Reminder: Malkavian antitribu and Dementation Legacy Singles are now up on Gamepod.es. Still awaiting proofing of these cards to be done for Drivethrucards, but probably up during February.
• Black Chantry will be at FIJ, the International Game Festival in Cannes on February 27 to March 1. Meet up at stand 6.15, with game demos and products the whole event.
• The preview season for New Blood Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce is now over, and the set will be in stores on February 28. This is also, as per the new standard, the official date for tournament legality for the new cards in these packs. These were the last previews:
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• Round 2 of the playtest of the Brazil and New York sets is done, the design team is preparing round 3. Much artwork is done and will be previewed in the coming months – you find one example at the top of this newsletter. Current plan is April or May release for these.
• A two-player set is still targeted for release in the third quarter 2026. A new VTES rulebook for this is in the works – new layout and minor tweaks only, as the aim is to keep the same rules for two players as for normal VTES. Please join the open playtest at VEKN.net!
• Want to know more about future releases? Check out the product roadmap article at Blackchantry.com!
• The following Black Chantry products are currently available through Gamepod, Drivethrucard
Lost Kindred bundle (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 1 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 2 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 1 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 2 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Den of Fiends Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Libertine Ball Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Pact with Nephandi Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Parliament of Shadows Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Anthology I bundle
VTES Card Creator (Drivethrucards only)
25th Anniversary
First Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
VTES Legacy Card Singles (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Promo Pack 1 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Promo Pack 2 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Promo Pack 3 (For promotion only)
Promo Pack 4 (For promotion only)
VTES "Parity Shift" playmat
VTES card sleeves
Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition (Stores only)
Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition Latin (Drivethrucards only)
Fifth Edition: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Toreador (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Tremere (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Promo Pack 3 (Event promos only)
Fifth Edition: Banu Haqim (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Brujah (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Gangrel (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: The Ministry (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
The Fall of London (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Echoes of Gehenna
Shadows of Berlin (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Banu Haqim (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Brujah (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Gangrel (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: The Ministry (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Ravnos (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Salubri (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Tzimisce (Also Spanish, French)
30th Anniversary (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Lasombra (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Hecata (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Hecata (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Lasombra (Also Spanish, French)
Path of Caine (Also Spanish, French)
Path of Cathari (Also Spanish, French)
Path of Death and the Soul (Also Spanish, French)
Path of Power and the Inner Voice (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Ravnos (Also Spanish, French) Upcoming!
New Blood: Salubri (Also Spanish, French) Upcoming!
New Blood: Tzimisce (Also Spanish, French) Upcoming!
Do you have opinions about or questions for Black Chantry? Start a topic on the VEKN forum, or contact the company by e-mail, Facebook, Instagram
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Recent news in the World of Darkness
Two things from White Wolf that made us particularly excited this month:
• A 2026 roadmap for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 was announced, with new cosmetics, enemy loot, bug fixes and DLCs.
• “Live from the Succubus Club” is now available and seems very cool. It features:
- Create your own band, musician, nomad, or entertainer character as you balance stardom with the rules of the Masquerade.
- A music-focused chronicle (6 scenarios). Tour in Berlin, Vienna, and Paris, and navigate through the challenges of the locals, rival domains, and more.
- New celebrity vampires, Pale Sunrise, are the opposing band that’s your built-in rival. Will you come out on top?
- 11 new merits, 9 new flaws, and 7 new Discipline Powers.
- Advice for using the Succubus Club, or an imitation, in any chronicle.
- Details on Kindred power players in the Entertainment Industry, including the Voerman Sisters and Victor Temple.
Calendar
Major events coming up:
February 7-8: National Championship Hungary, Kecskemét
February 28: National Championship Italy, Caldonazzo
February 28: National Championship Lithuania, Vilnius
March 7: National Championship Portugal, Coimbra
April 18: Grand Prix Zagreb, Croatia
April 25: National Championship Finland, Vantaa
April 25: National Championship Ireland, Dublin
May 23: National Championship Brazil, Campina Grande
July 25: Grand Prix Helsinki, Finland
September 19: European Championship 2026, Vilnius, Lithuania
December 13: Grand Prix Cearense, Brazil
Tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Australia
Brazil x13
Chile
Czech Republic
Finland x2
France x2
Greece
Hungary x4
Italy x3
Lithuania x2
Mexico
Online x3
Poland
Portugal
Slovakia
South Africa
Spain x11
Sweden
UK
USA x6
For details about these events, see the VEKN Event Calendar. Also, check out the World of Darkness Community Map.
Remember: Online tournaments are possible - just check the box "Online tournament" when you add the event to the calendar!
Contact VEKN
You can contact the VEKN Inner Circle members using the contact forms at VEKN.net. Also follow the official VTES Facebook page Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, the official VEKN X account @VEKN_VTES and the official VTES Discord server.
When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends.
Nikica Novakovic is the 2026 champion of Croatia!
The champion in the middle.
This event was played in Osiijek on January 24 with 40 Methuselahs. Reported by Denes Kocis, VEKN National Coordinator of Croatia:
First, a few words from the champion himself, Nikica Novakovic:
Playgroup from Osijek is the first one we, from Belgrade, made contact with back in 2003 when we started playing VTES and realized that we’re not alone in this world. Although they have diminished in size over the years, as life happens, there are always 2 or 3 players from Osijek at our Belgrade tournaments. Visiting them is always a joyous occasion, and it’s even more festive when the tournament attracts a large crowd alongside impeccable organization. So many people sharing a meal and reconnecting on things VTES and otherwise is something I look forward to every year for Croatian Nationals. This time I met the brand-new crew of players from Rijeka, Croatia, who came back to the scene after almost 20 years' hiatus, old friends from Austria, and old enemies from Hungary. :) What I was not looking forward to was a car ride with 4 other, not-so-small people in a small SUV and waiting at the border with the new Schengen entry system. 35 people were waiting for us, and the tournament started later than planned, but the grilled meat was still hot when the lunch time came!
Round 1
g2 Lasombra vote (me) -> g2 Tzimisce wall -> Camarilla Lasombra combat -> The Unnamed -> Black hand S&B
I’m playing first but have Dreams and 3 (out of 6) Deflections in my starting hand. Upon my first Cold War, for 3 dmg, my prey negotiates with the inferior Lasombras vote support in return for no aggression till the end of the game :/ Knowing that I have 2 stealth bleed decks behind me and a wall in front, I hunker down for a few turns, drawing into my 4th Deflection while discarding an odd thing here and there. My predator finally stabilizes after contesting The Unnamed’s Enkil Cog, which kept him bled for 4 and 5 each round, and finally goes forward. Prey with 5 pool and 2 cardinals (9 votes vs my 8 on the table, and I can’t get the Edge) can’t keep up with deflected bleeds at stealth from Karif al Numair and Izhim abd Azrael. Velya, the Flayer torporizes Izhim on a whim, and I manage to get off Cold War under Private Audience, and Gratiano finishes Tzimisce off as they have exhausted wakes and bounces. Vote lock is secured, but now Yewon Ong, Rinaldo Albizzi, and Azucena look back after terrorizing Unnamed’s cohort for a while. Moncada is torporized, and Azucena has no stealth to Graverob him or to punch down blocking Antonio Delgado, who already made Rinaldo Obedient once. Next turn, I banish Yewon and leave the prey at 1 pool with bleeds (no one left to play 2nd tradition), where his own Fame on unfortunate Horde, which was ticking for a round, kills him. I draw into my 6th and last deflection in less than 40% of the cards played. Unleash can’t block bounced bleed from Karim with Dominion, but reduces it with Visions of Zapathasura. Ancilla Empowerment removes 4 from prey, 5 from predator, and 3 from me. KRC kills the prey. I finally take some bleeds, but way too late, and Anarchist Uprising explodes my last prey for a table sweep. 1GW 5VP
As is established, a barbeque for lunch break, sitting all together.
Some Hardestadt’s shenanigans.
Round 2
Lutz & Co-> g2 Lasombra vote (me) -> Salubri grinder -> Path of Power and Inner Voice -> !Malk S&B
Unimpressive start, but my predator has it worse with S&B on his neck and no Zillahs’. I know I can’t bleed the grinder (well, I can, but it’s gonna fly everywhere), but votes are easy… except when Lutz finally gets out, and my grand prey’s Aaradhya and Üresség are also damaging me when calling Black Forest base :/ When I call Black Forest Base, it’s to break even, and the occasional post-vote modifier makes up for the difference, and Antonio Delgado stays unlocked, so yay! I annoy my prey, and I wait for Lutz to die, and then I’ll bounce some bleeds, I guess :shrug: Worked the last time. Lutz dies an undignified death after Wash on Minion Tap and Delaying Tactic on KRC under Awe. Now Rodolfo, Kite, and Dolphin Black are bleeding me. I guess votes were easy for my grand prey is now afraid of me, as 3 Salubris with DOM are behind her while she’s on ~10 pool. They agree twice to actively vote against me in exchange for Salubri's no-aggression pledge. Malachi gets Saulot's Guiding Wisdom, and there are 12 hostile votes (and a cancellation threat) vs my 8 from Antonio, Gratiano, and God Emperor of Dune, (11 with Power Structure), on the table. Again, I can’t hope to get the Edge over Ilonka with Sight Beyond Sight and all of the Argus’ Eyes. I’m proposing to my cross-table buddy that we kill our prey and have a head-on fight, but she is reluctant and likes the no-aggression pact a bit more. I take some bleeds when my minions are locked by Anarch Troublemaker and subsequently bounce a few. Still no votes for me. The agreement between Salubris and the Path of Power gang does not get renewed, and now she’s in trouble, although her own prey played Spying Mission on 2 bleeds that made it to her. Head-on with me comes with a disadvantage for her, but still better to end with one VP than none, so she accepts the previous deal proposal. Anarch Troublemaker comes back to Salubris, where it started, and Salubris are ousted. 1st VP this game and 15 min to go. !Malks die in the same turn, and the remaining matchup is not difficult due to vote lock. 1GW 3VP
Round 3
Matasuntha -> g2 Tzim, Path of Caine -> Ministry S&B -> Garou Gangrel Anarchs -> g2 Lasombra vote (me)
My predator’s 2 little Gangrels bring out 2 little Renegade Garous and a few turns later, Moncada is Famous in torpor, and my game ends in (purple) smoke. 0 VP
I use this opportunity to act as a waiter and bring drinks to people still playing and catch breath before the finals that I enter with 2GW 8VP total.
Standings before final:
1. Hrvoje Silic 2 GW 9 VP
2. Nikica Novakovic 2 GW 8 VP 132 TP
3. Milos Krstic 2 GW 8 VP 132 TP
4. Paul Direktor 2 GW 7,5 VP
5. Nenad Nikolic 2 GW 6 VP
As the 2nd seed, I chose seating so that I prey on Ministry with 2 Gangrels (2 players from Belgrade playgroup playing 90% same deck) behind me and contesting, hopefully. The top seed, Gangrel 1, sits in front of me. Not great; not terrible.
Yeah… :)
No accelerators in my first 8 cards (57% chance to get one, eh?). The three Gangrel players agree on one of the barons each, which is amazing, as it makes the amount of intercept on my undirected actions quite predictable.
Prey has Casey and André the Manipulator; the predator has contested Massimiliano, contested Nathan Turner, and contested Kuyen, all contested by my grand predator. I have the vote lock, no predator, and 4 of my Cold Wars in the first 15 cards.
The game is smooth, and I’m careful to balance so that my 2 predators do not die too fast, although, ideally, my predator should die before the grand predator so that Ministry gets only 6 pool instead of 12 for our inevitable clash.
Timely Villein on Massimiliano (before he got contested too) and blocked Banishment gets my predator out of my backoust range so I focus on the prey knowing Ministry with Anazir, Nonu Dis and Veneficti will get 12 fresh pool soon. Our agreement is that he lets one more round of contest pass instead of killing his prey outright, and in the turn I kill my prey I’m not touching him. Might seem paranoid, but if my pred (Miloš, who won the Slovakian nationals) gets 2 barons back, my stealth might not be enough, and his deck has 3xDelaying and 2xDI to boot. It’s better if he has no vampires at all by contest or death. Cold War on predator’s Garibaldi and 3 dmg to prey + 1 from Privileged Position and KRC latter my prey is gone.
Ministry kills the remaining 2 Gangrels, and we enter the final lap with 23 and 20-something pool in the war chests. I’m getting clogged with my Obediences, and soon the masters start coming in. I play Monastery to cycle cards. He bleeds without me blocking, and I vote without him interfering. His bleeds are for 2-5 at stealth, and mine are smaller as I’m slow to cycle cards, but politics chip away at his pool with Privileged Position. Banishment on a full Nonu Dis, who got the Villein + Giant’s Blood treatment, saves me from one bleed for a turn. Gratiano crashes into Unleash and gets rescued. The Ancient Influence gives us both 5 pool, but Privileged Position subtracts one from him, and I have some 13 pool once I returned the 3 from the uncontrolled region that Unholy Sacrament “gave” me, via Info Highway. He has a sporting chance to kill me with Sergio Bueno as his 4th minion. I survive the onslaught with 2 pool remaining and play Dreams to draw into 2nd Govern. GG with 3VPs. I was so focused on cycling cards that I completely ignored that I have KRC, besides the Govern in hand, which was enough anyway, and I can’t play it once I’m down to 1 pool.
The deck served me well, and I would not make any changes. In 4 games, I always had the same 3 vampires out (Moncada, Antonio, Gratiano). Regent showed up once, but with Tzimisce around the corner, it was discarded. Power Structure served for one crucial vote, and so did one Private Audience. I played 1 Obedience in 4 games, but blocking with confidence is important with no wakes to be found. Freak Drive is the latest edition (shoutout to Dušan Kosanović), as it’s easy to cycle, and Moncada can make up for the cost with a Voter Cap, with the benefits of multi-action.
Result: Nikica 3 VP, Paul 2 VP. Congratulations Nikica!
Tournament winning deck: “Purple haze” by Nikica Novaković
Description: "It is a pity, that most of the pieces had to be swept from the board." - Ambrosio Luis Monçada
Expect to have 3 vampires to work with. Depending on the draw, getting 9 cap and having 2 vamps to Govern down on Gratiano might be the way to go.
Path of Power gives me a better Seduction in Dominant Personality and a better Tenebrous Form in Unthinkable Humiliation.
All 3 of the post-vote cards can be played at the same time, so there is a much lower chance of getting clogged than with the Voter Cap alone. If you play all three on the single action, you get style points (and 6 pool)!
Unholy Sacrament is much easier to cycle than Zillah's.
Cold war is good, even for "just" 3 dmg, since there is no haggling over where the remaining one goes, unlike with KRC.
Obedience gives you confidence that your one unlocked vampire will not be locked when blocking.
Crypt (12 cards)
4x Ambrosio Luis Monçada, Plenipotentiary 10 DOM OBT POT PRE aus for cardinal Lasombra:2
2x Antonio Delgado 9 DOM OBT POT tha archbishop Lasombra:2
2x Francisco Domingo de Polonia 9 DOM OBT POT PRE pro archbishop Lasombra:2
1x Alvaro, The Scion of Angelica 9 OBT POT dom pre archbishop Lasombra:2
3x Gratiano 8 DOM OBT obf pot priscusLasombra:2
Library (73 cards)
Master (17; 5 trifle)
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Elysian Fields
1x Information Highway
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Power Structure
1x Privileged Position
1x Regent
5x Unholy Sacrament
5x Villein
Action (6)
6x Govern the Unaligned
Political Action (15)
1x Anarchist Uprising
1x Ancient Influence
1x Ancilla Empowerment
3x Banishment
5x Cold War
4x Kine Resources Contested
Action Modifier (23)
2x Amici Noctis
4x Dominant Personality
2x Freak Drive
2x Magnetic Authority
2x Private Audience
5x Shadow Play
4x Unthinkable Humiliation
2x Voter Captivation
Action Modifier/Reaction (1)
1x Ominous Chorus
Reaction (11)
6x Deflection
5x Obedience
Friday night, warm-up party.
A few closing words from Denes:
We, a small community of VTES players from Osijek, welcomed the not so small gathering of 40 players for the Croatian Nationals 2026. Grateful to see the guests from Vienna (Austria), Budapest, Hatvan and Kecskemet (Hungary), Brežice (Slovenia), Belgrade and Novi Sad (Serbia), Pazin, Rijeka, Zagreb and Osijek (Croatia).
Knowing that some people would have to travel the day before, we organized a get together party at the nearby restaurant where we enjoyed some local meals and drinks to get to know each better.
Grateful enough, all the players preregistered with me, so I was somewhat less worried about the organization of the Saturday tournament knowing that our venue hosts are preparing a fine barbeque.
Albeit the tournament started half an hour late, due to border crossing of our friends from Belgrade we managed to smoothly finish the tournament in allocated time.
After the tournament, we who had some strength left, went for a nice evening sightseeing of local bars with our newfound friends.
I would like to thank the players for being all together nice and polite, and to having allocated their time to bring this event to an even bigger scale than I hoped for. Also, big thanks for my friends who helped a lot with the organization - Goran, Sinisa and Hrvoje. And thank the sponsors!
Thanks for this Denes, excellent report of what seems to have been an excellent event!
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