Preview art from Fall of London by Mitch Mueller.
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
VAMPIRE: THE ETERNAL STRUGGLE PRODUCTION UPDATE MAY 2022
Greetings, fellow Kindred! It's been a good while since I provided an update on where we at Black Chantry are at with Vampire: The Eternal Struggle releases and what's down the road. Last year, we had the release of the Banu Haqim, Brujah, Gangrel, and Ministry pre-constructed decks, as well as the successful Kickstarter for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Unleashed. Additionally, we made available on Drivethrucards.com the legacy reprints of Followers of Set, Giovanni, Lasombra, and Ravnos, and Latin translations of the Fifth Edition decks.
So far this year, we've made the English language versions of the Fifth Edition decks available on Drivethrucards, as well as legacy reprints of Pander, Salubri, and Tzimisce. April saw the release of the New Blood introductory decks for Malkavian, Nosferatu, Toreador, Tremere, and Ventrue. We're presently waiting for the artwork to be complete for the Fall of London storyline set. Mike Nudd is the lead designer for it, and he also is a co-author of the Fall of London book for Vampire: The Masquerade. We're expecting a summer release for that set.
We have a change in plans for what's coming after Fall of London. We had originally planned to release a follow-up set for the Camarilla, filling out the Group 6 crypts and adding new library cards for them. However, with the heavy Camarilla themes of the New Blood decks and Fall of London, we felt we'd be oversaturating you with Camarilla-related cards. We're presently planning for these cards – including the new Justicars! – to be in your hands in first quarter of 2023.
Coming after Fall of London, planned for the fourth of 2022, is another wave of pre-constructed decks. This time they'll be Ravnos, Salubri, and Tzimisce, updated accordingly for the Vampire: The Masquerade V5 canon. We're presently vetting the templating and mechanics of the cards and we'll have them sent off for playtesting in June. We'll have more information for you about those as we get closer to their release.
Heading into 2023, there's the aforementioned Camarilla follow-up set, and following that we'll have pre-constructed decks for the Lasombra and Hecata. We'll also be wanting to release follow-up sets for all of the clans, as we're definitely not done creating crypt and library cards for them. I'm frequently asked when we'll be making new cards for the Sabbat. We're very early in the concept and planning stages for the Sabbat, so they're further down the production timeline, but we're definitely excited for them.
I wish you all great summer nights and I look forward to seeing you at tournaments this year!
- Ben Peal, Product Director Black Chantry Productions
TIME TO PRE-REGISTER FOR THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP!
Good times for fans of tournament VTES coming up! Many championships in June, including the North American Championship and the Spanish Nationals with HUGE expected attendance. And please don´t forget to sign up for the European Championship in Helsiniki in July - the pre-registration is at the official site. Do this to help the organisers, and you can also see the exciting list of already registered Methuselahs that you will oust!
BILL TROXEL IS THE ATLANTIC CUP 2022 CHAMPION!
A report from organiser Lionel Panhaleux:
The Atlantic Cup was held on the 21st and 22nd of May, a massive online tournament with more than 50 players. The struggle was real, with a great variety of decks. The Brujah G6 were very much in the place with 4 decks, as the Malkavians and their antitribu with 7 decks. The Baali were very present too, with three The Unnamed decks and 4 vote decks featuring Arishat and G6 princes and Barons – variations around Bram van Stappen´s “Princes of Anarch” that won the Belgian Nationals last year in the hands of Emiliano Imeroni.
The Giovanni continue to be loved, but did not score much - we've seen Del Giorgio using Protean and Isabel and her friends bleeding or trying to invoke Khazar's Diary. The big classics were also represented, with a couple of !Ventrue Grinders, Girls, Parliament of Shadows and Goratrix Wall. Anarchs are very much in fashion, and more niche builds were present, like Anarch Gargoyles with their Razor Bats and Seterpenre playing so many Anarch tri-disciplines. They were also a few (four) Emerald Legionnaire decks, accompanied by Kurshid, or Summoned through History, or more unexpectedly, with a few Imbueds.
The bar for the finals was 1 game win and 6 victory points.
Bill Troxel won with his very hatable deck called “Dumpster Fire of Pure Hate”. He explains: “As a hater of the Imbued, I see this deck as representing many of the worst aspects of the game, hence the title. Other unlikeable facets include Veil of Darkness (hardest card-text in the game to abide by), Liquidation, Unmasking, and of course, Emerald Legionnaire. If the mechanics of Ashur Tablets weren't antithetical to the workings of this deck, I would have searched for a way to include them as well.” More of Bill´s own comments can be found at this thread at the VEKN Forum.
Congratulations Bill, champion with an impressive 5 victory points in the final. For those who did not see the finals, the replay can still be seen at Twitch.
The tournament winning deck: “Dumpster Fire of Pure Hate”
Crypt (13 cards, min=15 max=24 avg=4.92)
1x François "Warden" Loehr 3 def jud Judge:4
2x Jack "Hannibal137" Harmon 4 def jud Defender:4
4x Jennie "Cassie247" Orne 5 inn jud vis Visionary:4
1x Marion "Teacher193" Perks 4 red jud Redeemer:4
4x Mina Grotius 6 cel FOR NEC Harbinger of Skulls:3
1x Nicomedes 5 aus for nec vic Harbinger of Skulls:4
Library (90 cards)
Master (29)
1x Barrens, The
1x Church of Vindicated Faith, The
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fortschritt Library
1x Fragment of the Book of Nod
9x Liquidation
4x Parthenon, The
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Specialization
4x Unity
4x Wider View
Conviction (13)
3x React with Conviction
7x Second Sight
3x Strike with Conviction
Ally (14)
2x Carlton Van Wyk
10x Emerald Legionnaire
2x Vagabond Mystic
Equipment (6)
2x Crusader Sword, The
1x Heart of Nizchetus
3x Ivory Bow
Power (8)
1x Champion
3x Discern
4x Vigilance
Action Modifier (3)
1x Call of the Hungry Dead
2x Change of Target
Action Modifier/Combat (5)
5x Breath of Thanatos
Action Modifier/Reaction (1)
1x Spectral Divination
Reaction (3)
1x Determine
2x On the Qui Vive
Event (8)
1x Nightmares upon Nightmares
1x Recalled to the Founder
4x Unmasking, The
2x Veil of Darkness
Thanks to all organisers, players and sponsors!
DOUBLE DEMO GAMES IN ZARAGOZA!
A report by Raúl Perfecto, Prince of Zaragoza
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La Goblinera
On May 7, 2022, we had the opportunity to present the New Blood pre-constructed decks at the Club de Rol La Goblinera located in Zaragoza, Spain. Coordinated by the club managers, we reached an impressive participation of 15 Methuselahs, which meant three tables of play with all five Camarilla clans in contention.
At the tables, there were both new players and former Methuselahs who had their cards gathering dust in a drawer. In common, the illusion shown by all, since the vast majority are also fans of the World of Darkness game saga.
A highlight: the great playability of the New Blood decks. A First Blood deck was also delivered. This material is the perfect invitation to start or to re-engage in the game.
We add a few photos to illustrate the great atmosphere enjoyed at the event.
Allow me to thank all the participants, La Goblinera for organizing everything and the Ancillae Iñigo Orbegozo and Alejandro Galve, who generously gave their time to teach the attendees how to play.
El Quinto Elemento
On May 14, 2022, we ran more demo games at the Quinto Elemento game shop in Zaragoza, Spain. Once again, 15 Methuselahs turned out to learn how to play VTES. However, since we had already run out of New Blood decks, we used First Blood decks instead. The demo games were a total success.
In summary, we can say with great pride that the Zaragoza VTES community is more undead than ever!
Are you also interested in demoing VTES but need some help? Have a talk with your local game store or gaming event, and with your local Prince or National Coordinator, or with Black Chantry directly!
DEMO GAMES AT MODENA PLAY!
Like we told you in the last newsletter, the Italian national coordinatior Simone Zanni organised demo games at big games fair Modena Play in Modena, Italy on May 20-22. He tells us it was a great experience! Everyone that played a demo got a free New Blood deck, and a lot of new and lapsed players were reached! He used some variant rules to make the demo games go faster: 20 pool, first victory point ends the game and 4 transfers for everyone from start.
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SEALED DECK TOURNAMENT IN MEXICO CITY!
We want to mention this, as it is a variant tournament event that is a bit more beginner friendly than the normal ones. Organiser Luis Jiménez tells us:
This was a tournament-like event with 15 players at Orc Stories in Mexico City, playing only with New Blood decks, opened at the event. It was a really fun and enjoyable gaming experience, the new embraces were really comfortable and two of them made awesome games against experienced Methuselahs. Thanks to Black Chantry for the prize support for these kind of events!
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RULES Q & A
Black Chantry Rules Director Vincent Ripoll answers some rules questions:
Q: "Bleed bounce" cards such as Deflection, Telepathic Misdirection or Bait and Switch state that they are only usable "after blocks are declined." What does it mean exactly? Does "Declining to block" mean that you haven't tried to block with anything? Or does it still count as "Declining to block" if you attempt to block but your minion gets out-stealthed?
A: Methuselahs can decline to block if they don't attempt to block at all, or once they are done with all their (unsuccessful) block attempts. A Methuselah cannot decline to block in the middle of a block attempt, but once there's no more ongoing block attempt (usually because it has failed due to a lack of intercept or a card that makes the block fail), that Methuselah can simply state that they don't make any further block attempts: they “decline to block”.
This is equivalent of the defending Methuselah to "pass" instead of declaring a block attempt, letting other Methuselahs the opportunity to block with cards such as Eagle Sight.
Once every Methuselah has declined to block, the impulse goes back to the acting Methuselah who can increase the bleed or pass, then to the defending Methuselah to can play "bleed bounce" cards, etc.
As reminded on those cards, changing the target of a bleed creates a new blocking opportunity for every Methuselah, starting with the new target of the bleed and following the sequencing order (see the Rulebook). For instance:
A declares a bleed action against B with Nonu Dis.
B, who controls Kuyén and Martina Srnankova (+1 intercept during bleed actions), tries to block with Kuyén.
A plays Swallowed by the Night for +1 stealth.
B does not increase Kuyén's intercept: the block fails. B could attempt to block with Martina Srnankova but decides to "decline to block". Other Methuselahs pass too.
A plays Aire of Elation to increase the bleed.
B plays Bait and Switch to change the target of the bleed to C.
C can now attempt to block the action.
By using this stratagem, B "forces" A to play stealth in order to hinder C once the bleed is redirected to him or her. However, if someone cancels the Bait and Switch as it is played, then B cannot backpedal and try to block with Martina since the block opportunities are over.
Q: Some cards ask the Methuselah to do “A or B” during the unlock or master phase, for instance Ex Nihilo (“During your master phase, this vampire burns 1 blood or is burned.”) Does the Methuselah get the choice between A and B?
A: Yes (this is a reversal for some cards). Those cards will be reprinted with “do B unless you do A” to make the choice more explicit. Some cards such as Fear of Mekhet don’t leave the choice and are explicitly written so (“During this vampire's unlock phase, they burn 5 blood. If they cannot burn the blood, they are burned.”)
Q: If Kuyén (with the text “Animals (allies and retainers) cost Kuyén 1 fewer blood or pool.”) recruits or employs an animal using Piper or Pack Alpha, is the cost of the animal reduced?
A: Yes, the cost applies as normal, this includes any applicable cost reduction or increase. Some cards (e.g., Charisma) only reduce the recruit or employ actions. In that case, the cost of recruiting an ally or employing a retainer through Piper or Pack Alpha is not reduced since those are not actions.
Do you have rules questions? The easiest way to get them answered correctly is to ask at the VEKN Forum, in the VEKN Facebook group or on the VTES Discord, sometimes by the rules director himself!
VAMPIRE: THE ETERNAL STRUGGLE STOOL OF THE MONTH
... rumored to belong to Dennis D of Belgium, but never trust VTES rumors!
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: MAY 2022
• See the update from Ben Peal at the top of this newsletter!
• With lots of new cards up on the "pick and choose" VTES Legacy Card Singles service on Drivethrucards, the most common question to the Black Chantry customer support is, by far, "Will there be a European print-on-demand place soon?". The answer is: Unknown! Black Chantry have searched for such a printing partner facility since the company started, but so far with no luck. Do you have advice? Don´t hesitate to contract !
• The Fall of Sabbat set is being translated to non-English languages. June is printing time!
• Both Anthology 1 and the 25th Anniverary set is being reprinted.
• The five deck Fifth Edition box is being reprinted this summer, along with a updated rulebook.
• The bloodlines cards that did not appear in Heirs of the Blood are next up for upload on Legacy Card Singles, so those cards are now scrutinezed for rewordings, retemplating and maybe even nerfing!
- 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 (Stores only)
Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition Latin (Drivethrucards only)
Fifth Edition: Malkavian
Fifth Edition: Nosferatu
Fifth Edition: Toreador
Fifth Edition: Tremere
Fifth Edition: Ventrue
Promo Pack 3 (Event promos only)
Fifth Edition: Banu Haqim
Fifth Edition: Brujah
Fifth Edition: Gangrel
Fifth Edition: The Ministry
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
Our two picks for highlights from the past month are:
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong was released, available on PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. This is a narrative-driven, single-player game where you take on the role of a vampire investigating Kindred-related mysteries in Boston.
• There´s a new Hunter: The Reckoning rulebook preview available for free download at Renegade Game Studios. This meaty excerpt explains some key concepts of the game, such as The Reckoning and The Drive. One wonders if anything of this finds it´s way into VTES soon?
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (booked so far) are in:
Spain x4
France x4
Czech Republic
Online
United States x14
Denmark
Finland
Chile x2
Poland
Italy
Brazil
For details about these events, see the VEKN Event Calendar.
Remember: Online tournaments are possible - just check the box "Online tournament" when you add the event to the calendar!
CONTACT V:EKN
You can contact the V:EKN Inner Circle members using contact forms at V:EKN.net. Also follow the official V:TES Facebook page Vampire: The Eternal Struggle and the official V:EKN Twitter account @VEKN_VTES
You can complain about the game or you can learn the rules.