Bill Troxel of Colorado, USA, won the 2020 World Online Championship, reported in the November newsletter. He used a fresh Tupdog & Emerald Legionnaire brew, and we decided to ask him some questions about its creation and how it works. First, the decklist:

 

 

Crypt (45)
45x Tupdog

Library (90)

Master (39)
10x Agent of Power
2x Archon Investigation
2x Direct Intervention
10x Inceptor
8x Liquidation
7x Parthenon, The

Action (22)
7x Scrounging
15x Summon History

Ally (13)
1x Cry Wolf
10x Emerald Legionnaire
1x Gianna di Canneto
1x Veneficti

Action Modifier (10)
10x Skin of the Chameleon

Reaction (6)
6x Delaying Tactics

Preview art by Camille Défarge for a upcoming Vampire: The Eternal Struggle card.

Greetings fellow Methuselahs,

We apologize for this late newsletter - sometimes unlife gets in the way! But forget about that now and focus on the artwork above, by VTES newcomer artist Camille Défarge. Isn´t it fantastic?!

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SPRECHEN SIE DEUTSCH?

A message from Black Chantry CEO and VEKN Chairman Hugh Angseesing:

We are happy to announce our first Vampire: the Eternal Struggle cards in German, or Deutsch: Aline Gädeke and Horst von Brühl.

Why these two?
Well, they’re German vampires in the best set of Vampire: the Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition - so it seemed appropriate!

Why any German cards?
These have been created to celebrate the German Grand Prix in Essen on 17th September 2023 and to reward the German players for the effort they have put into creating a, nearly, fully operational rulebook. Thank you, team Deutschland!

A German rulebook you say?
A German rulebook has been drafted and it will need some final adjustments as we reprint and tidy up the English rulebook first.

What happens in the future?
In terms of whether we will be printing more German cards in the future, we intend to get the rulebook available as a PDF and then see what demand is like for a local print, either through our traditional printers or via a print-on-demand facility.

What is the scale required?
Minimum volumes through our traditional printers would be around 1,000 copies.

Partnership
We have discussed working with other partners to make a German language product, at the moment there is nothing happening there, but we will continue looking at options. A pre-order or crowdfunding option is likely to be the best way to make a larger volume, especially for retailers.

What about other languages?
I don't want to steal from the success of the German team, but we have also been working with our Italian friends and would hope to release a PDF rulebook and again some rewards as a minimum and go from there.

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WHO WILL BATTLE IN THE 2023 VTES EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX FINAL?

A message from Orian Gissler, the VEKN Organized play coordinator:

Fellow cainites,

First of all, a reminder: The last GP is this weekend in Essen, Germany - more information about that is at the related VEKN forum thread.

With that said, it’s time to see where we are standing for the finals of GP circuit to be held during European Championship 2023 in Barcelona, from 13th to 15th October (Book your tickets at the vtes.es site.)

This year’s GP winners were the following:
• First, in September, Bartosz Kalinczuk beat a field of 30 players to claim GP Poland in Warsaw,
• He was soon followed in October by Javier Naranjo Ortiz winning over a very impressive field of 98 players in GP Spain in Benidorm, Valencia.
• Then the Italian lord Danilo Torrisi decided to claim the annual Italian GP held in Bologna in December over 42 players (next year Italian GP will be in Milan, stay tuned for more information!)

In 2023, we had two GP’s so far:
• Kim Nilsson was the first foreign GP winner, claiming title in Liverpool in May over 27 players for the very first GP UK,
• And finally during summer, another national legend decided to claim his GP with Bram Van Stapppen claiming the Belgian GP in Brussels over a very nice attendance of 49 players.

Before Essen, we have the following top 7 (with a bunch of players at 15 points behind them):
Player    Total points
Javier Naranjo Ortiz    43
Tero Aalto    33
Bartosz Kalinczuk    25
Bram Van Stappen    25
Danilo Torrisi    25
Kim Nilsson    25
Filippo Mengoli    18

Reminder of what this means:
• GP winners are all qualified to EC Day 2
• 5 GP winners are automatically qualified for GP finals. If 6 GP winners show up, then we rank them according to points, then to attendance during their victory,
• To complete the GP final if less than 5 winners show up, we use total points;

So for the moment everything remains to be done: being first seed in the GP finals might be a big deal, and so far Javier holds this position. Then other GP winners might contest for the 5 spots in the finals, and attending a second GP might secure them a spot in the finals. Finally for other players, everything is still open from 2nd to 5th seed in the finals.

I hope to see you in big numbers for our next events in the GP series and for our next announcements! Thanks for supporting us!

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JOAB ROGERIO WINS GRAND PRIX CAMPINA GRANDE 2023!

24 players turned up for this Grand Prix tournament in Campina Grande on August 5.

Standings before the final:
1. Joab Rogério 3 gw 11 vp
2. José Robério 2 gw 6 vp
3. Rafael Barbosa 2 gw 9 vp
4. Maycon Alves 2gw 6vp
5. Cleriston Oliveira 1 gw 5,5 vp

Congratulations Joab Rogério Barbosa da Silva, crushing all opposition in the final, taking home all the 5 victory points! Well done!

Joab’s tournament winning deck: “Lobos de Winterfell”

Crypt
2x Casey Snyder 6 PRO ani cel for baron Gangrel:6
1x André the Manipulator 6 FOR PRO Gangrel:5
1x Hanna Nokelainen 4 ani for pro Gangrel:6
1x Indira 3 PRO Gangrel:6
1x Joaquín de Cádiz 3 for pro Gangrel:6
1x Kamile Paukstys 5 PRO ani for Gangrel:6
1x Kuyén 6 ANI PRO baron Gangrel:6
1x Lillian 3 ani pro Gangrel:5
1x Massimiliano 7 ANI FOR pro baron Gangrel:6
1x Nathan Turner 4 PRO ani Gangrel:6
1x Ruslan Fedorenko 2 pro Gangrel:6
1x Vivian VI 7 PRE PRO obf tha baron Ministry:6

Library (90)
Master (24; 7 trifle)
1x Anarch Railroad
1x Backways
1x Carfax Abbey
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Ecoterrorists
5x Effective Management
1x Ennoia's Theater
1x Giant's Blood
2x Information Highway
2x Parthenon, The
1x Powerbase: Montreal
7x Villein

Action (15)
1x Rewilding
14x Thing

Political Action (5)
2x Consanguineous Boon
3x Revolutionary Council

Action Modifier (10)
1x Daring the Dawn
4x Earth Control
5x Propaganda of the Deed

Action Modifier/Reaction (4)
4x Form of the Bat

Combat (16)
3x Claws of the Dead
9x Earth Meld
4x Form of Mist

Reaction (16)
6x Bait and Switch
2x Deep Ecology
6x Organized Resistance
2x Poison Pill

Thanks to all organisers, sponsors and players!

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ABOUT THE SPANISH VTES LEAGUE 2023-2024 AND REGIONAL LEAGUES

Some words from Spanish National Coordinator Arnau Diez:

The Spanish V:TES leagues aim to foster interaction among different gaming groups in the Spanish community while establishing a recognizable competitive schedule. The 2023-2024 Spanish V:TES League builds on previous editions to engage players, both newcomers and veterans, beyond local groups. With the growth of the game, flexibility is allowed in modifying league rules.

The league includes 7 regions, with Galicia having a specific modifier due to distance. The winner of the Spanish League becomes the Spanish Archon for the subsequent season. An invitational tournament concludes each regional league, open to regular tournament winners and high-ranking players. The invitational follows a 2 or 3 rounds plus final format and has separate prizes.

League committees, chosen by prior committees and the National Coordinator, manage league functions, including finances, prize selection, and addressing unforeseen issues. Player conduct is expected to be exemplary, fostering a supportive environment for learning and competition. The league's organizing Prince remains responsible for tournament logistics.

Prizes are determined by each committee, using collected funds, with no specific demands from players. Prizes are awarded as sealed materials or merchandise, with organizers not receiving monetary compensation. The aim is to encourage participation and healthy competition, with top participants receiving distinct rewards.

To learn more about the rules of the Spanish League and the regional leagues, please refer to this PDF file.

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The champion to the left, with NC and organiser Joachim Randa.

JON GRØNSET IS THE 2023 NORWEGIAN CHAMPION!

15 players turned up in Moss for this year’s Norwegian championship on August 5.

 

Standings before the final:
1. Björn Rohm 2 GW, 6 VP
2. Jon Grønset 1 GW, 6 VP
3. Nicklas Lallo 1 GW, 6 VP
4. Richard Sandvik 1 GW, 5.5 VP
5. Ole Andreas Gresholt 1 GW, 4 VP

Congratulations Jon Grønset, taking home the championship with 4 victory points in the final. Ole Andreas Gresholt got 1 victory point.

Jon´s tournament winning deck: “The Strokes”
Comment: “Original work by Bill Troxel. Added a few more bounces and a Monkey Wrench. Worked out perfectly.”

Crypt (13)
5x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY
4x Babalawo Alafin 7 AUS FOR NEC ani Harbinger of Skulls:4
2x Crow 5 ANI for pro tha Gangrel:5
1x Monica Chang 3 dom tha Tremere:5
1x Mordechai Ben-Nun 8 ANI AUS FOR NEC Harbinger of Skulls:5

Library (90)
Master (27; 2 trifle)
2x Direct Intervention
11x Liquidation
3x Maabara
1x Metro Underground
5x Parthenon, The
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Los Angeles
1x Sudden Reversal
2x Wider View

Event (5)
2x FBI Special Affairs Division
3x Unmasking, The

Ally (11)
11x Emerald Legionnaire

Action Modifier (6)
5x Call of the Hungry Dead
1x Monkey Wrench

Action Modifier/Combat (4)
4x Breath of Thanatos

Action Modifier/Reaction (2)
2x Spectral Divination

Reaction (35)
5x Delaying Tactics
15x Detect Authority
5x Eyes of Argus
3x On the Qui Vive
7x Telepathic Misdirection

Thanks to all organisers, sponsors and players!

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LOTTE SIEBERT IS THE 2023 IRISH CHAMPION!

Not a normal national championship tournament, but anyway, here are some words by the organiser Ben Fox:

Sadly didn't even get up to 11 players. Three people had to cancel the day before with life viciously conspiring to try and derail the event by wild means including somebody managing to find covid in 2023 (I assume from a nostalgia-scented scratch-and-sniff calendar), a dead dog, and more medical misadventures, with a further 1 dropping the morning of the event. So had to jump into the action with an intrepid 7, which put us under the threshold to do a final, and so just played the 3 rounds to fulfill the core goal of the event – getting people to play more games.

The top five decks after those three games:
G6 Malks – 2 GWs, 8 VPs
G5-6 Gangrel – 2 GWs, 5 VPs
Lasombra Nocturns bleed – 1 GW, 3 VPs
G6 Ministry – 0 GW, 2 VPs
Gargoyles combat – 0 GW, 2 VPs

Seems like people were worried about it being our first proper timed super official tournament, so turned up with power bleed all over, planning to just race through the event like Ricky Bobby, leaving minimal defense to just focus on being first across the line. This plan mostly worked, as the winning Malkavian got into a great flow and very nearly swept every table, and over the course of the day bled out everybody except for the Gangrel at least once over the event.

Congratulations Lotte Siebert!

Lotte´s tournament winning deck: “Malkavians Go Fast”

Crypt (12)
2x Evan Klein 5 OBF aus dom pre Malkavian:6
1x Abraham Mellon 8 AUS DOM OBF for tha Malkavian:6
1x Alexander Silverson 8 AUS DOM OBF pre prince Malkavian:6
1x Andi Liu 6 DOM aus obf pre prince Malkavian:6
1x Ashley 3 dom obf Malkavian:6
1x Colette 5 AUS OBF dom Malkavian:6
1x Darius Shirazi 6 AUS DOM obf Malkavian:5
1x Gelasia Fotiou 6 AUS DOM obf pre Malkavian:6
1x Gilbert Duane 7 AUS DOM OBF baron Malkavian:6
1x Jason "Son" Newberry 7 AUS DOM OBF pre primogen Malkavian:6
1x Sully 4 aus dom obf Malkavian:6

Library (75 cards)
Master (7)
2x Barrens, The
2x Blood Doll
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Elder Library

Action (17)
1x Conceal
16x Govern the Unaligned

Equipment (1)
1x Heart of Nizchetus

Action Modifier (32)
4x Cloak the Gathering
8x Conditioning
4x Elder Impersonation
4x Faceless Night
4x Foreshadowing Destruction
4x Lost in Crowds
4x Spying Mission

Action Modifier/Combat (4)
4x Swallowed by the Night

Combat (2)
2x No Trace

Reaction (12)
5x Deflection
2x Eyes of Argus
4x On the Qui Vive
1x Wake with Evening's Freshness

Since in the World of Darkness you always have sneakiness behind the scenes, Ministry seem to have been the unspoken winners, as in her victory speech the winner declared that having mastered Malkavians, is moving on to experiment with another clan, that being the Ministry, in a move entirely unrelated to the corruption counters received...

Thanks for the effort Ben, and thanks to sponsors and players – good luck with future events!
 

BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: AUGUST 2023

• The tournament legality date for the new cards in the Banu Haqim, Brujah, Gangrel and Ministry New Blood packs has been set to August 31. So by the time you read this it´s time to try them out!

• On August 25, 57 new old Tremere Antitribu cards were added to VTES Legacy Singles at Drivethrucards.com. Next up is Dementation cards, then more cards for bloodlines.

• The first ever VTES cards in the German languages have been printed, see above. German versions of Horst von Brühl and Aline Gädeke will be awarded to participants in the Essen Grand Prix tournament on September 17.

• The next preconstructed decks (Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce) are now 100 % ready for print. When the exact print time is set, we can tell you an approximate launch date. Spoilers start now, with the top image in this newsletter – stay tuned to Black Chantry social media and site for more previews!

• The first round of playtesting of the next two preconstructed decks is ongoing! It is clans Lasombra and Hecata, who both share the common discipline of Oblivion, brand new for VTES. Read more about it at the Vampire: The Masquerade wiki.

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 (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)
  
  

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.

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RECENT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

Finally! News about Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2! The long awaited sequel to the classic Bloodlines game from 2004 will be released “fall 2024”. The new, previously undisclosed developer is The Chinese Room, until now most known for exploration games such as Dear Esther. A bunch of fresh visuals were shown in the new trailer, so check it out if you haven´t already!

Also, a new mobile game was revealed: Vampire: The Masquerade - Clans of London, developed by Well Played Games.

Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!

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CALENDAR

Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Australia
Austria
Belarus
Brazil x13
Chile x3
Czech Republic
Denmark
Deutchland
France x2
Hungary
Italy
Netherlands
Online x2
Poland x2
Spain x14
Sweden
USA x4

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!

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CONTACT VEKN

You can contact the VEKN Inner Circle members using contact forms at VEKN.net. Also follow the official VTES Facebook page Vampire: The Eternal Struggle and the official VEKN Twitter account @VEKN_VTES 

Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.