Greetings fellow Methuselahs

Newsletter time, and once again with beautiful preview artwork first. This time it is by Mirko Falloni for the crypt card Cedrick Calhoun that will appear in one of the New Blood packs that are soon ready for printing. Maybe you can guess the clan?


 Helsinki Central Station

SAVE THE DATE: EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2022 IN HELSINKI, FINLAND JULY 29-31

Yes, we are trying this again! The EC in played in Helsinki this summer, unless the pandemic returns. More information is coming, stay tuned to VEKN channels!


GIANLUCA BIANCO IS THE 2021 ITALIAN CHAMPION!

The Campionato Nazionale Italiano 2021 was played in Bologna on January 8. 23 Methuselahs turned up and the finalists were Gianluca Bianco, Filippo Mengoli, Patrizio Zippone, Enrico Bertusi and Dario Coccioni.

Congratulations Gianluca Bianco, who won with this nice Gangrel wall deck, highly dependant on brand new cards from the Fifth Edition preconstructed decks:

Crypt (12)
3x Massimiliano 7 pro ANI FOR baron Gangrel:6
3x Casey Snyder 6 ani for cel PRO baron Gangrel:6
1x Martina Srnankova 6 ani FOR PRO Gangrel:6
1x Crow 5 for pro tha ANI Gangrel:5
1x Dario Ziggler 5 ani pro tha FOR Gangrel:6
1x Kamile Paukstys 5 ani for PRO Gangrel:6
1x Hanna Nokelainen 4 ani for pro Gangrel:6
1x Nathan Turner 4 ani PRO Gangrel:6

Library (75)
Master (15)
1x Anarch Free Press, The
1x Carfax Abbey
1x Direct Intervention
1x Ecoterrorists
2x Grooming the Protégé
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Rack, The
2x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
3x Vessel
2x Wider View

Action (3)
1x Army of Rats
2x Constant Revolution

Equipment (4)
3x .44 Magnum
1x Sniper Rifle

Retainer (4)
4x Raven Spy

Action Modifier/Reaction (2)
2x Form of the Bat

Combat (10)
4x Concealed Weapon
2x Form of Mist
4x Pack Alpha

Reaction (37)
6x Bait and Switch
10x Deep Ecology
2x Delaying Tactics
2x Eyes of the Beast
5x Eyes of the Wild
6x Organized Resistance
2x Party Out Of Bounds
4x Protection Racket

Thanks to the organizers and players!



RUDOLF SCHOLZ WINS NEW YEAR´S RUMBLE!

20 players logged in to participate in the online tournament New Year´s Rumble on January 2, played using LackeyCCG.

Standings before the final:
1. Rudolf S. 2 5,5
2. Jay K. 1 5,5
3. Kevin H. 1 5,5
4. Nikica N. 1 4 2
5. Sebastian M. 1 4 2

VTES New Years Rumble 2022
A thorough tournament report can be found on the VEKN forum, including video coverage!

Congrats Rudolf, who won with 1,5 victory points versus Kevin 1,5  and Jay 0,5. As you can see below, his tournament winning deck also makes good use of Fifth Edition anarchness, this time a very compact Brujah deck based on bleeding with Undue Influence.

Crypt (12)
2x Aline Gädeke 7 cel POT PRE baron Brujah:6
1x Ariane 3 cel pot pre Brujah:5
1x Atiena 6 pot pre obf CEL baron Brujah:6
1x Brandon Grime 5 pot pre tha CEL Brujah:6
1x Laura Goldman 3 cel pre Brujah:5
2x Leumeah 6 cel for pot PRE baron Brujah:6
1x Octane 6 CEL POT PRE Brujah:6
2x Siarhei Levchenko 5 pot CEL PRE Brujah:6
1x Valeriya Zinovieva 7 cel pre pro POT baron Brujah:6

Library (60)
Master (12)
1x Anarch Railroad
1x Club Illusion
1x Coven, The
2x Information Highway
1x Jake Washington
2x New Carthage
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
2x Villein
1x Wider View

Action (18)
1x Fee Stake: Corte
1x Fee Stake: Perth
2x Mind Numb
14x Undue Influence

Political Action (8)
2x Consanguineous Boon
4x Kine Resources Contested
2x Reckless Agitation

Action Modifier (6)
4x Power of One
2x Voter Captivation

Combat (6)
6x Majesty

Reaction (10)
4x Bait and Switch
1x Delaying Tactics
2x On the Qui Vive
3x Organized Resistance

Thanks to organizers and players!



INTERVIEW WITH A VAMPIRE LEGEND

CCG History is a Youtube channel dedicated to the history of all kinds of collectible card games. It started about a year ago, and so far we have seen fifty videos, of which about half are the excellent interview podcast “The Booster Pack”. A while ago VTES 1995-1996 designer Shawn Carnes was interviewed, and this month we could enjoy a long talk with non other than L. Scott Johnson, known as “LSJ”, who was the main VTES designer and rulemonger circa 2000-2010. A must-watch for any true VTES fan!


Mari VTES 2022

CRAFTING VAMPIRE: THE ETERNAL STRUGGLE

As some of you might remember, Mari Tiippana of Finland wrote an article in the December 2020 newsletter about her first experiences as a VTES player. Here´s a follow up – now also with crafting!

Dear fellow Methuselahs,

I am a huge fan of VTES, but I am also into all sorts of handicrafts. I have found a way to bring these two together. I have made Edges and VTES-themed accessories for me and my brother, who also plays VTES. At least no one else has the same legwarmers as me!

In this article I present to you some of my crafts and also tell you about some of my games since my last published newsletter article. I have now played 258 games and won 33 of them. Yes, I still love statistics!

Already when I was attending the first games after my demo game, I had with me a crochet Edge, a pink elephant with the word ‘Edge’ on its back. (The elephant pattern is by Dedri Uys.) The vampire teeth that I made for myself to have variety, and the gargoyle that was a gift for my brother, I made of polymer clay. Then there is of course my crochet garlic that has been very popular and seen a lot of use. As the local store didn’t have any anarch markers in stock, I decided to make my own. The comments I got from the other players were that: “Hey, these are quite cool!” and “Are you going to have felted sleeves next?”

VTES Edge markers VTES bracelets

I saw some letter beads for sale at the bookstore and thought that they would make fun text jewelry. But what should I write? Something vampire-related, of course.

VTES legwarmers VTES legwarmers

I wanted to make some legwarmers and was wondering what would be a good design. It would have been easier to make the disciplines at basic level, but of course I needed them at superior! So, I have thirteen disciplines at superior. I wonder what my capacity is?

VTES beanie VTES beanie

One of my latest knitted pieces is the Eternal Struggle beanie hat. I was making text beanies for Christmas and was pondering what mine should say. As you already know, it had to be something vampire-related, and this was a well-fitting text.

My brother asked for some mittens and so we designed a pattern based on Potence and Quietus. The DW mittens are mine, I made them to celebrate my favourite self-made deck. The letters refer to Dream World.

 VTES mittens  VTES mittens VTES mittens 

The star vampire in my Dream World deck is Victor Gerard accompanied by Sheila Mezarin and small cap Presence and Obfuscate vampires. My experience is that Presence + Obfuscate tends to look less scary than for example Dominate + Obtenebration and therefore possibly makes me look less like a table threat. Of course, Sheila doesn’t have Obfuscate so she needs a Master discipline card. This deck is mostly a stealth-bleed deck (as my decks often tend to be) with some multi-acting with Forced March and Auspex for bleed bounce. I have been told that this might be an even better deck without the Dream Worlds, but I have wanted to spare at least one since it is the card it all began with. I still want to make that card work as beautifully as my brother once did when testing my deck.

Deck name: Dream world 16.1

Crypt (12)
1x Anarch Convert  1 -none-  Caitiff:ANY
1x Hadrian Garrick  4 obf pre  Follower of Set:2
1x Lena Rowe  3 aus obf pre  Pander:2
1x Nepata  4 obf pre ser   Follower of Set:2
3x Sheila Mezarin  6 cel for AUS PRE  Toreador antitribu:2
1x Tock  4 obf pot pre  Nosferatu antitribu:3
4x Victor Gerard  7 cel dom for obf AUS PRE  Toreador:2

Library: 81
Master (10)
4x Obfuscate
1x Rack, The
3x Vessel
2x Wider View

Action (17)
1x Aranthebes, The Immortal
2x Dream World
6x Enchant Kindred
1x Entrancement
7x Public Trust

Ally (1)
1x Carlton Van Wyk

Equipment (3)
3x Heart of Nizchetus

Action Modifier (27)
4x Aire of Elation
3x Cloak the Gathering
3x Faceless Night
6x Forced March
3x Freak Drive
3x Lost in Crowds
2x Spying Mission
3x Veil the Legions

Action Modifier/Combat (2)
2x Swallowed by the Night

Combat (6)
6x Majesty

Reaction (15)
1x Delaying Tactics
5x Eyes of Argus
1x My Enemy's Enemy
2x On the Qui Vive
6x Telepathic Misdirection

As I have practiced deckbuilding, a few times I have given my deck to my brother to test. He has played the deck without going through the cards first, all blind. Three times he has won, once with a sweep.

I played my Dream World deck in the latest local tournament. My first game was ruined because of a bad starting crypt and a Sudden Reversal to my Wider View. The second one was a table of four and in front of me was Stanislava. All my prey had to say after the game was that well, “I was bled for fifteen during one turn.” There I had everything I needed: Victor, Sheila and two others plus Heart of Nizchetus. And as I had gained momentum, I swept the table for the first time in a tournament. The third game collapsed as I was too afraid of Nephandi behind me and not concentrating in my own doing. I still made it to the finals table and got my first ever 0,5 final victory points. I still have a lot to learn about playing this game.

I have been learning to play other decks besides just stealth-bleed. My brother, who once introduced me to VTES and is still my mentor, made me his own version of a deck list of Emerald Legionnaires and Shambling Hordes. I have played it a few times and not lost once. It’s just that I play it so slowly as I need to try to think which cards I need with Liquidation, Sudario Refraction and Legionnaires.

One time I tested a Tupdog Nephandus list I found in the TWDA. Playing it was a great pleasure. My prey told me the next time we met that the game had left him traumatized since I had let him do nothing in the game. He managed to bring out one vampire who was immediately torporized and could do nothing else in the entire game. One mistake I made there, I had once moved a blood to a Tupdog in the uncontrolled region but forgot to move him to ready region. Luckily, this didn’t ruin everything. Next there was a Tzimisce starter deck that the Tupdogs actually had to work their way through. It was a sweep like none before, a full control of the table. Well, it’s good to have that once in a lifetime.

Let the struggle never end!

Mari Tiippana
Joensuu, Finland


Black Chantry logo

BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: JANUARY 2022

• The first five Fifth Edition decks (Malkavian, Nosferatu, Toreador, Tremere and Ventrue) are now available for print-on-demand at Drivethrucards!

• The next batch of Legacy singles at Drivethrucards will be cards for Salubri, Tzimisce and Pander. These are going through the final proofreading and will be uploaded soon.

• The last round of playtesting of Fall of London has ended. After reading that report some final adjustments will be made and cards will be sent to the printer!

• The upcoming New Blood mini-decks are less complicated (not as many new, tricky cards), so those will also be ready to print really soon.

VTES Fifth EditionVTES Products 2021-11

Do you have opinions or questions for Black Chantry? Start a topic on the VEKN forum, or contact the company by e-mailFacebookInstagram or Twitter.


 

Forbidden Religions

RECENT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

In the latest World of Darkness News show we pick these highlights:

  • Interview with Matt Holland from Renegade Game Studios, who now has launched organized play of Vampire: The Masquerade Rivals and has a whole bunch of World of Darkness sourcebooks already out or in the 2022 pipeline, including Hunter: The Reckoning!
  • Forbidden Religions, the latest book for Vampire: The Masquerade, now available for download on Drivethurpg.com.
  • A very nice video collage of digital games from Vampire Jam - also check out the entries at Itch.io!

CALENDAR

Upcoming events: Yes, we report about exciting live events in this newsletter, but the VEKN still refrain from generally encouraging physical tournaments. Follow local regulations on what events are possible. Online tournaments are possible - just check the box "Online tournament" when you add the event to the calendar!

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

 

You can't go wrong with no plans.