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.

Cos Koniotis VTES 2021Art by Cos Koniotis for a card in the 2022 New Blood set.

Greetings fellow Methuselahs

VTES rule change

NEW RULE FOR FINAL ROUND SEATING

From Vincent Ripoll, VEKN Rules Director:

In tournament play, lurking (also known as scouting) has long been seen as a necessary evil: choosing the seating in the finals is meaningless if one doesn’t know what the others are playing. However, all players are not equal in the amount of information about others´ decks they can gather – it depends on who met whom during the preliminary rounds, and of how much data you can collect from other players between rounds. Lurking often also tends to become a nuisance as players interfere in games once their own game is over.

In order to remove the necessity of lurking for the purpose of choosing one's seating for the final table, the following change was tested during the last six months throughout the world, and the feedback was highly positive. Therefore, it will be official as of January 1st 2022 (see Tournament Rules).

3.1.3. Final Round Seating
Table positions are not assigned in the final round. Instead each of the finalists is given an index card (or reasonable substitute) with his or her name on it. Each finalist shuffles his or her crypt and presents it to the judge for additional shuffling and cutting, if desired. The judge then draws three random cards from each crypt and reveals them: those, as well as the number of cards left in the crypt and to whom they belong, are public information until all the players are seated. Starting with the lowest qualifier, each qualifier places his or her index card face-up in a row on the table. When placing his or her card, each player must choose to position his or her card at either end of the row (one end of the row is equivalent to the other) or may create a space between two cards already placed. After all cards have been placed, they are read from left to right to determine seating positions in the final round. The judge will then determine randomly which player will play first. The revealed crypt cards are shuffled back into their owner's crypt.


VTES rankings change

NEW TOURNAMENT RANKING CATEGORIES

Also from Vincent Ripoll:

Due to the pandemic, online tournaments are more popular than ever with 18 online tournaments in 2020 and 67 in 2021! Don't forget to check the event calendar and the announcements made on the "Vampire: The Eternal Struggle - Official" Discord and the VEKN.net forum.

To accommodate this new kind of tournaments, a distinct ranking will be put in place as of January 2022, leading to 4 categories:

  • constructed
  • limited
  • online constructed
  • online limited

Also, some tournament types (such as National Championship Qualifier) are not used anymore, and some others (such as Grand Prix) are missing. The list will evolve to reflect new tournament types.


VTES Online World Championship
VADER DORIAN IS THE ONLINE WORLD CHAMPION 2021!

After two months of preliminary games, with a total of 57 players, the final of the VTES Online World Championship 2021 was played on December 11. It can be watched in its entirety at the Codex CRCG Youtube channel.

VTES Online World Championship final table
Congratulations Dave Riordan, “Vader Dorian”, new Online World Champion, who got 1.5 victory points in the final.

Dave's tournament winning deck: Pandermonium
Crypt (12)
1x Feo Ramos 1 aus Pander:3
1x Angela Decker 1 pre Pander:2
1x Huang, Blood Cultist 1 pro Pander:2
1x Jimmy Dunn 4 for CEL POT Pander:2
1x Lena Rowe 3 aus obf pre Pander:2
1x March Halcyon 1 for Pander:2
1x Mitchell, The Headhunter 2 obt pot Pander:2
1x Olga Triminov 1 vic Pander:3
1x Rex, The Necronomist 3 pot pro vic Pander:2
1x Royce 1 dom Pander:2
1x Basil 1 obf Pander:2
1x Christine Boscacci 2 dom vic Pander:2

Library: 66
Master (19)
1x Elder Library
1x Fear of Mekhet
1x Fortschritt Library
4x Information Highway
1x Joseph Pander
2x Kaymakli Nightmares
3x Not to Be
2x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Día de los Muertos
3x Dreams of the Sphinx

Event (4)
1x Slow Withering, The
1x Veil of Darkness
1x Bitter and Sweet Story, The
1x Blood Weakens

Action (2)
2x Embrace, The

Political Action (36)
2x Kindred Segregation
10x Kine Resources Contested
6x Legacy of Pander
2x Neonate Breach
2x Rumors of Gehenna
2x Year of Fortune
7x Consanguineous Boon
5x Conservative Agitation

Ally (2)
1x Carlton Van Wyk
1x Alia, God's Messenger

Action Modifier (3)
3x Change of Target

Thanks to sponsors, organizers and players!


MEC 2021 Finalists

ŁUKASZ HO THANH IS THE 2021 MIDDLE EUROPEAN CHAMPION!

We totally forgot to report about this event in the last newsletter, but it seems it was a very nice time, so here we go: 25 Methuselahs gathered at Restaurant Centimeter in Vienna, Austria on October 31 to play the Middle European Championship.

VTES MEC 2021 VTES MEC 2021
VTES MEC 2021
VTES MEC 2021 VTES MEC 2021


Congrats Łukasz Ho Thanh
, the new champion, beating Lukas Vrbicky, Milos Krstic, Richard Utner and Karel Vaigl in the final.

Łukasz´s tournament winning deck: Harbingers Emerald Legion
Comment: "Since Polish Nationals l’ve changed all fortitude prevent for CE (Spiritual Intervention). As it turned out, the change was crucial for the final in Vienna ;)"
Crypt (12)
1x Anarch Convert 1 -none- Caitiff:ANY
1x La Viuda Blanca 6 for obf AUS NEC Harbinger of Skulls:6
2x Mordechai Ben-Nun 8 ANI AUS FOR NEC Harbinger of Skulls:5
1x Pearl 4 obf AUS Malkavian antitribu:5
2x Veejay Vinod 3 AUS Nagaraja:6
1x Hecate 6 AUS FOR NEC Harbinger of Skulls:5
3x Khurshid 8 AUS FOR NEC POT Harbinger of Skulls:6
1x America Johnson 4 vic AUS Tzimisce:5

Library: 90
Master (16)
1x Erciyes Fragments, The
1x Fragment of the Book of Nod
1x Giant's Blood
1x Guardian Angel
2x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Rack, The
1x Barrens, The
1x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
4x Vessel
2x Direct Intervention

Event (1 cards)
1x Unmasking, The

Action (2)
1x Anima Gathering
1x Abbot

Ally (11)
11x Emerald Legionnaire

Equipment (6)
1x .44 Magnum
1x Ivory Bow
1x Kevlar Vest
2x Sniper Rifle
1x Bowl of Convergence

Action Modifier (5)
1x Kiss of Ra, The
2x Trochomancy
2x Call of the Hungry Dead

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

Action Modifier/Reaction (4)
4x Spectral Divination

Combat (5)
5x Spiritual Intervention

Reaction (36)
3x Enhanced Senses
11x Eyes of Argus
5x Forced Awakening
3x My Enemy's Enemy
4x On the Qui Vive
6x Telepathic Misdirection
4x Eagle's Sight

Thanks to sponsors, organizers and players!


Promos VTES 2021

EVEN MORE NEW PROMO CARDS!

Black Chantry Productions aren´t lazy on creating new special promo cards – here are more:

Direct Intervention (Two versions)
These are special promo versions (one sketch and one "part painted") for tournament players and volunteers. So far they have only been awarded to a couple of German players and to 25 players at the Spanish National Championship, but more have been printed so don´t pay too much on Ebay for one!

Official The Edge card
This was also handed out at the Spanish National Championship this year, but it can be printed on demand by anyone on Drivethrucards.com.


Russian VTES 2021SEND IN COOL VTES CONTENT!

Please help out with material for this newsletter – mail to . Tournament reports (large events mainly) and anything of your own writing have priority for publishing, but really anything that’s cool and about VTES is interesting, to show the game is played all over the world and to inspire others. Two examples:

Nice to see that Russia is playing! (images above). It´s been hard to access recent products and promos, but now some have reached the Russian community, and Moscow tournaments and a Telegram channel is active. Thanks to Denis N, Armen K and others for organizing!

Awesome deckbox by Répliquant, available at Events for games, this one painted by @ewiie83. Anyone can create merch like this, just remember to talk to Black Chantry before using any logos or artwork.


Black Chantry logo

BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: DECEMBER 2021

• The big thing this month is that Black Chantry now has its own webshop, Black Chantry Distributions. Its located in Denmark (EU) and run by Jesper Bøje. The primary purpose for creating this is to make it easier for VTES cards to reach people that don´t live close to a friendly local game store that stocks it. Hope you like it!

• The design team thought the Fall of London cards needed another round of playtesting, so round 3 started December 18 and will go on for a month. Some errata for older problematic cards are also being tested.

VTES Tegyrius Promo 2021
In addition to the Direct Interventions and Edge promos mentioned above in this newsletter, a group 6 version of Tegyrius, Vizier was created as a reward for backers of MET Vampire: The Masquerade - War of Ages. It will be made available later, either as normal event promo or in a product.

• Black Chantry have received a lot of feedback about the rulebook and are working on releasing an updated version in 2022. If you have any feedback, please tell by mail or message!

• In summary, 2021 was a busy year for Black Chantry. Of course, the conditions for marketing a multiplayer, (mostly) live card game is not optimal during a pandemic, but efforts were plenty: 500+ cards added to Drivethrucards (not counting the Latin cards craziness!), playtesting of future sets, 20+ new promo cards, the massive Unleashed Kickstarter campaign (330 percent funded!), event support (for the few events that were possible), own webshop and, of course, the four new Fifth Edition precons (Brujah, Gangrel, Banu Haqim and Ministry). As usual, some projects needed to be put on hold to prioritize others, but 2022 has many new things waiting for VTES fans. Black Chantry wish you a happy, healthy new year!

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.


 

RECENT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

The World of Darkness team over at Paradox launched "Vampire Jam" at the end of their Month of Darkness, a way for anyone to create a World of Darkness-themed digital game, submit it and get the chance of having it published. The contributions were plenty and some look awesome - check out the videos below!



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.

 

If you want more done - do less.

Oskar Anasov VTES Carmen CornetOskar Anasov - Art by Carmen Cornet.

Greetings fellow Methuselahs

Above you see art for one of the new crypt cards in Fall of London, the card set that will be out in early 2022. Two of them were previewed in the World of Darkness News show this month, in an interview with Black Chantry´s Hugh Angseesing. Check it out at the World of Darkness Youtube channel if you missed it!

Abraham Mellon VTES Mitch Mueller Oskar Anasov - VTES - Carmen Cornet

 


JUAN RODRIGUEZ IS THE 2021 SOUTH AMERICAN CHAMPION!

This year's South American Championship was played at the Piedra Bruja store in Santiago, Chile on November 13 with 23 players.

Note the promo card above, made also in Spanish, also awarded at the Spanish National Championship.

The top five players after the preliminary rounds were:
1. Luis Espejo 2 gw 9.0 vp
2. Matías Barros 2 gw 8.0 vp 168 tp
3. Richard Cortés 2 gw 8.0 vp 150 tp
4. Alice Victoria 2 gw 7.0 vp
5. Juan Rodríguez 1 gw 6.0 vp

SAC 2021 VTES

Congratulations to Juan Rodríguez, champion with 1.5 vp in the final with a rather original Tzimisce deck.

VTES SAC 2021 Chile

Juan´s tournament winning deck:

Tournament winning deck:

Crypt (12)
1x Ana Rita Montaia 5 aus dom obf VIC Tzimisce:3
2x Horatio 2 vic Tzimisce:2
2x Lolita Houston 4 aus VIC Tzimisce:2
2x Meshenka 8 ANI AUS VIC Tzimisce:2
1x Olga Triminov 1 vic Pander:3
2x Caliban 6 ANI AUS VIC Tzimisce:2
1x Christine Boscacci 2 dom vic Pander:2
1x Corine Marcon 6 ani AUS VIC Tzimisce:2

Library: 81
Master (22)
1x Jake Washington
1x Antediluvian Awakening
1x KRCG News Radio
1x Library Hunting Ground
2x Perfectionist
1x Rack, The
3x Rötschreck
2x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
4x Vessel
2x Villein
2x Line, The
1x Channel 10
1x Creepshow Casino

Event (2)
2x Unmasking, The

Action (7)
7x Fiendish Tongue

Ally (11)
8x Asanbonsam Ghoul
2x War Ghoul
1x Carlton Van Wyk

Equipment (2)
1x Living Manse
1x Bowl of Convergence

Action Modifier (8)
8x Changeling

Action Modifier/Combat (7)
7x Plasmic Form

Combat (10)
3x Breath of the Dragon
7x Chiropteran Marauder

Reaction (12)
3x Eyes of Argus
3x On the Qui Vive
6x Telepathic Misdirection

SAC 2021 VTES playmat

The official SAC 2021 playmat, with Backways art by Clint Langley.

Thanks to organizer Gonzalo Andrés del Rio Díaz, players and helpers!


VTES Spain 2021

DAVID FRAILE ZAMORANO IS THE 2021 SPAIN NATIONAL CHAMPION!

A whopping 112 players turned up to play the Spanish National Championship at Restaurante 88 in San Vicente del Raspeig on November 27, possibly the largest national tournament ever.

Standings after the preliminary rounds:
1. Bram van Stappen 3 11.0
2. Oriol Pubill Guilló 2 11.0
3. Julio García Martín 2 10.5
4. Hugh Angseesing 2 8.5
5. David Fraile Zamorano 2 8.0

Spain 2021 VTES prize cup Spain 2021 VTES counters
Spain 2021 VTES prizes Spain 2021 VTES
Spain 2021 VTES Spain 2021 VTES finalists

VTES Spain 2021 final

Congratulations to David Fraile Zamorano, who took 2.5 victory points in the final.

David's tournament winning deck:

3 Owain Evans
3 Blackhorse Tanner
2 Neighbour John
1 Jephra Hester
1 Edward Nelly
1 Joseph O´grady
1 Charice Fontaigne

1 Corporate Hunting Ground
1 The Coven
1 Creepshow Casino
1 Direct Intervention
2 Dreams Of The Sphinx
1 Giants Blood
1 Hungry Coyote
2 Pentex Subversion
1 Vessel
2 Wash
2 Wider View

14 Govern the Unaligned
2 Dominate Kine

1 .44 Magnum
1 Bowl of Convergence
2 Heart of Nizchetus
1 Kevlar Vest
1 Mylan Horseed
1 Mr. Winthrop

6 Bonding
1 Conditioning
2 Daring The Dawn
1 Foreshadowing Destruction
6 Freak Drive
2 Kiss of Ra
5 Murmur Of The False Will

1 Armor of Vitality
2 Soak
5 Rolling with the Punches

8 Deflection
8 Eyes Of Argus
2 On The Qui Vive
1 Redirection
2 Telepathic Misdirection

Noora Hirvonen VTES art Gines Quinonero VTES art

Special thanks to the artists Noora Hirvonen and Ginés Quiñonero who graced this event with their presence and wonderful VTES art! (see above)

Also thanks the sponsors Ultra Pro, Black Penny Games, Black Chantry Productions, Glass Workshop, Drivethrucards and Hostal La Lonja.

And, of course, thanks to head organizers José Más Cruz and Andrés Serrano, all others that helped and to the fantastic players!


2021 Finland floor VTES
AKSELI JALAVA IS THE 2021 FINLAND CHAMPION!

53 players (impressive!) turned up at Library Entresse in Espoo. Head organizer was Tero Aalto.

The top five players after three preliminary rounds:
1. Tommi Hakomaa 2 8.0
2. Akseli Jalava 2 6.0
2. Magnus Söder 1 8.0
3. Juri Juskevits 1 7.0
4. Joona Tuominen 1 6.0

2021 VTES Finland final tableCongratulations Akseli Jalava, new Finnish champion, with 2 victory points in the final. Read a bit more, including all final decks, and discuss this event at the VEKN.net forum.

2021 Finland VTES

Finalists Joona, Tommi, Akseli (champion) and Magnus.

Akseli´s tournament winning deck: “Avarakatseisuuden riemulaulu”

Crypt (12; Capacity min=3 max=8 avg=6.2)
1x Ermenegildo, The Rake 5 pot DOM OBT Lasombra:4
2x Isanwayen 6 DOM MYT OBT Kiasyd:4
2x Arcadian, The 8 chi for DOM MYT OBT Kiasyd:5
1x Lucy Markowitz 3 dom obt Lasombra:4
1x Omme Enberbenight 7 cel dom MYT OBT Kiasyd:4
1x Onaedo 6 aus pot DOM OBT Lasombra:4
1x Pherydima 8 obt pot DOM MYT NEC Kiasyd:4
1x Badr, Shadow of Granada 7 DOM OBT POT Lasombra:5
1x Roderick Phillips March 7 cel obt tha DOM MYT Kiasyd:4
1x Dame Hollerton 5 myt DOM OBT Kiasyd:4

Library: 83
Master (19)
1x Coven, The
1x Direct Intervention
4x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
1x Great Symposium
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
4x Villein
6x Wider View

Event (1)
1x Scourge of the Enochians

Action (15)
10x Govern the Unaligned
4x Gremlins
1x Song of Pan

Ally (7)
1x Mylan Horseed
6x Nocturn

Equipment (1)
1x Heart of Nizchetus

Action Modifier (20)
1x Blanket of Night
2x Bonding
4x Conditioning
3x Shadow Play
5x Shroud of Absence
2x Shroud of Night
3x Stone Travel

Action Modifier/Combat (2)
2x Fae Contortion

Combat (4)
4x Shadow Body

Reaction (14)
4x On the Qui Vive
2x Redirection
6x Deflection
2x Delaying Tactics

Thanks to the organizers, the library, the sponsor Ultra Pro and all players!


Belgium VTES 2021

EMILIANO IMERONI IS THE 2021 BELGIUM CHAMPION!

This year´s Belgian championship gathered 17 players at The Outpost in Brussels on November 6. The organizer (AND champion!) has written an nice report - check it out the VEKN.net forum!

Standings before the final:
1.Emiliano Imeroni 2 8.0
2. Jonathan Sinien 1 6.0
3. Nicolas Verhille 1 5.0
4. Vincent Ripoll 1 4.0
5. Bart Jansen 1 3.0 2021 VTES Belgium final

Congratulations Emiliano, who got 4 victory points in the final (Vincent Ripoll sniped 1).

The tournament winning deck: “Infernal Princes of Anarchy”
“All credit to the deck's creator, grandmaster Bram Van Stappen! Thank you! A new generation of the classic "Royalty" deck based on the new cheap Fifth Edition Princes, with the "Reckless" support of Anarch Barons and of the invaluable Lutz-cancelling star Arishat. Instructions for use: steal deck from Bram the day before the event, then quickly unleash your political might on everyone while trying to stay (barely) alive.”

Crypt (12)
3x Arishat 6 DAI OBF PRE 1 vote Baali:6
1x Alice Chen 7 dom obf FOR PRE prince Ventrue:6
1x Benjamin Rose 7 ani pot AUS OBF prince Nosferatu:5
1x Graham Gottesman 7 obf pre tha DOM FOR prince Ventrue:5
1x Karen Suadela 7 obf pre CEL POT prince Brujah:5
1x Andi Liu 6 aus obf pre DOM prince Malkavian:6
1x Belinde 6 ani aus pot OBF prince Nosferatu:6
1x Benedito, a Lanterna 6 ani aus obf POT baron Nosferatu:6
1x Donny Kowalczyk 6 obf dom cel AUS prince Malkavian:6
1x Jacques Rouge 6 ani pot pre OBF baron Nosferatu:6

Library (62)
Master (23)
9x Ashur Tablets
1x Coven, The
1x Creepshow Casino
3x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
4x Information Highway
3x Parthenon, The
1x Protected Resources

Action (1)
1x Unleash Hell's Fury

Political Action (18)
1x Ancilla Empowerment
3x Kine Resources Contested
1x Neonate Breach
8x Parity Shift
4x Reckless Agitation
1x Rumors of Gehenna

Action Modifier (13)
1x Bewitching Oration
1x Faceless Night
5x Forgotten Labyrinth
2x Lost in Crowds
2x Perfect Paragon
2x Voter Captivation

Combat (5)
4x Majesty
1x Staredown

Reaction (2)
2x Second Tradition: Domain

Thanks to organizers, helpers and players!


Decks to beat VTES Top 3

THE BEST VTES CARDS EVER?

The last twelve month, Rudolf Scholtz and I (Henrik) wrote a series of articles in these newsletters called "Decks to beat". We took a look at the most prominent tournament winning decks of each month in the years 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015, all presented with some modern comments. With “prominent” we mean the winning deck in the tournament with most participants. Sure, this was only a small selection of decks and better data are available (the whole TWDA!), but I couldn´t resist compiling what cards were most common in these 48 decks:

Decks to beat VTES Top 30

Comments:

  • The top card is Deflection, a discipline card, not a generic card. Govern the Unaligned and Conditioning are also high on the list, suggesting Dominate is a very strong and popular discipline.
  • Some cards, most notably Wake with Evening´s Freshness and Minion Tap, now have very strong "replacements" in One the Qui Vive and Villein. While still playable, the new cards are almost always better. Blood Doll is special - many consider Vessel its equivalent, not strictly better.
  • Obfuscate seems to be a strong discipline, and Lost in Crowds (powerful) and Swallowed by the Night (flexible) are the most played Obfuscate cards.
  • Kine Resources Contested is the best vote card. It still shows up in most political decks, although not in as great numbers as earlier.

Did you miss any of the Decks to beat articles? Browse the newsletter archive, starting November 2020.


World of Darkness Nexus

RECENT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

During the pandemic, playing roleplaying games online by video link has really exploded, reaching a populartity that few could guess it would ever be near. This month we want to highlight World of Darkness Nexus, the upcoming official digital toolset for online play of Vampire: The Masquerade and other World of Darkness games. It will be produced by Demiplane, who does a similar tool for Pathfinder RPG. Check out the video below, the announcement in World of Darkness News and visit www.worldofdarknessnexus.com!




Black Chantry logo

BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: NOVEMBER 2021

  • The four new Fifth Edition preconstructed decks (Banu Haqim, Brujah, Gangrel and The Ministry) are now in stores! If your local store or favorite webshop is out of stock, please tell them to contact their distributor or Black Chantry directly.
  • Black Chantry members try to attend VTES events - Hugh and Ginés were at NC Spain, Vincent was at NC Belgium and Henrik was at NC Finland. Tournament results may vary, but its nice to meet in person again - hope new lockdowns are few and short!

VTES Legacy singles

  • More Legacy cards are being prepared for print-on-demand at Drivethrucards. Current top sellers are the above nastiness!
  • Hugh was the guest at World of Darkness news in the beginning of this month (see above), to talk about the new releases and the future of VTES. It was a nice chat, don´t miss it!
  • The last touches are put into both the Fall of London and the New Blood set. Release for both: Early 2022, we´ll see what is ready first.

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-mail, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.



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.

 

"The more I practice, the luckier I get."