Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
HÅVARD SKJEVLING IS THE 2022 NORWEGIAN CHAMPION!
A Special report by Jon Martin Fjeld:
Saturday 6th of August saw the rebirth of the Norwegian Nationals tournament. For the first time in 11 years the Norwegian (and some Swedish) Methuselahs gathered to establish dominance over this remote, cold domain.
The tournament was held at Tabletopbattle in the city of Moss, in southeastern Norway, and 22 players were ready to compete. Boosters and promo cards were handed out, and a local brewer even made a special-brew that was served at the event.
 |
 |
 |
 |
After 3 nail-biting rounds, where the last table to finish was so exciting it had 15 spectators, the final seating was determined. 3 Norwegians and 2 Swedes… With everything at stake, could this get more tense?!
The seeding into the final looked like this:
Martin Svenneryd 1
Johnas Johansson 2
Ole Andreas Gresholt 3
Marius Ramstad 4
Håvard Skjevling 5
And with that, this is how the final seating ended up:
Martin Svenneryd was the first player, with his Followers of Set. Håvard Skjevling, the second player, with his version of the “8-ball madness” Malkavian deck. The third player, Johnas Johansson, played his Presence-deck with the legendary Jost Werner and friends. Marius Ramstad, the fourth player, made his own “Ventrue Stickmen” variant the night before the tournament. And finally, Ole Andreas Gresholt with his “Nanamalism” deck in the fifth slot, playing the same deck he used to win the first tournament he ever played. All in all, a group of experienced players and a nice spread of play-styles.
After only 1 hour and 20-or-so minutes, there were only 2 Methusalas remaining. Both Håvard Skjevling and Marius Ramstad had eliminated their preys, and were squaring off to determine who would be walking home with the trophy.
By using Revelations to regain the upper hand, Håvard managed to oust his prey and was declared the Norwegian national champion of 2022. Congratulations!!
(PS: how many V:TES card names can YOU spot in the text above?)
Håvard´s tournament winning deck: "Homunculi Network"
Crypt (13)
5x Rachel Brandywine 10 ani AUS DEM OBF PRO prince Malkavian:3
3x Philip van Vermeer IV 7 dom pro AUS DEM OBF Malkavian:2
2x Greger Anderssen 7 dom pro AUS OBF prince Malkavian:2
1x Quentin King III 7 obf pre AUS DEM prince Malkavian:3
1x Victoria 5 cel obf AUS Malkavian:2
1x Zöe 3 cel obf AUS Malkavian:2
Library (90)
Master (19)
1x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
1x Guardian Angel
4x Madness Network
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
3x Perfectionist
1x Rack, The
1x Secure Haven
3x Villein
1x Wash
Event (1)
1x Uncoiling, The
Action (5)
1x Anima Gathering
1x Blessing of Chaos
1x Revelations
2x Shadow of the Beast
Ally (1)
1x Carlton Van Wyk
Equipment (3)
1x Bowl of Convergence
2x Camera Phone
Retainer (6)
5x Homunculus
1x Mr. Winthrop
Action Modifier (15)
2x Crocodile's Tongue
3x Elder Impersonation
1x Enkil Cog
3x Faceless Night
3x Lost in Crowds
3x Spying Mission
Action Modifier/Combat (5)
5x Swallowed by the Night
Combat (17)
3x Disengage
11x Earth Meld
3x Form of Mist
Reaction (18)
4x Eyes of Argus
2x On the Qui Vive
7x Second Tradition: Domain
5x Telepathic Misdirection
RICARDO MOLINA SOBREIRA IS THE 2022 BRAZILIAN CHAMPION!
20 players turned up for the Brazil national championship in Rio de Janeiro on July 30.
Standings before the final:
1. Desso Alastor 2 GW 8 VP
2. Ricardo Molina Sobreira 2 GW 7 VP
3. Junior 1 GW 6 VP
4. Jonathan da Silva Goudard 1 GW 5,5 VP
5. Itamar G. Jr. 1 GW 5 VP
Unfortunately we don’t have details on what decks were played or the seating.
Congratulations Ricardo Molina Sobreira (center above), victorious with 3 VP in the final. Desso and Jonathan had one each.
Ricardo´s tournament winning deck: “Tzimisce ludymilan“
Crypt (12)
3x Lady Vadislava 9 ANI AUS DOM VIC nec priscus Tzimisce:5
3x Xipe Totec 9 ANI AUS PRO VIC archbishop Tzimisce:5
3x Ludmijla Rakoczy 7 ANI AUS VIC bishop Tzimisce:5
3x America Johnson 4 AUS vic Tzimisce:5
Library (90)
Master (17; 2 trifle)
1x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Carver's Meat Packing and Storage
1x Smiling Jack, the Anarch
1x Library Hunting Ground
1x Powerbase: Barranquilla
2x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Rack, The
1x Rötschreck
1x Tension in the Ranks
3x Villein
2x Vessel
Action (13)
1x Aranthebes, the Immortal
2x Army of Rats
4x Deep Song
3x Fiendish Tongue
3x Under Siege
Ally (3)
1x Carlton Van Wyk
2x Asanbonsam Ghoul
Equipment (1)
1x Bowl of Convergence
Action Modifier (4)
4x Changeling
Combat (28)
7x Aid from Bats
3x Breath of the Dragon
8x Carrion Crows
6x Chiropteran Marauder
4x Taste of Vitae
Reaction (24)
2x Enhanced Senses
6x Eyes of Argus
6x Read the Winds
3x Sense the Savage Way
7x Telepathic Misdirection
Some words from Ben Peal, Product Director of Black Chantry Productions:
Darby Keeney has stepped down as Playtest Coordinator for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle. For the past four years, Darby has helped guide us through our Sabbat pre-constructed decks, the Fifth Edition box set, the First Blood demo decks, the recent Anarch and Banu Haqim decks, the New Blood demo decks, and The Fall of London. The waters were tough to navigate at times - especially with Fifth Edition - but Darby handled them excellently. Many, many, many thanks, Darby!
Moving onward, we're taking a new approach by having multiple Playtest Coordinators, one for each language the game is currently printed in.[*] The goal is to lighten the workload on each coordinator and to encourage more communication and feedback by removing a possible language obstacle.
French language coordinator: Serge Cirri
Spanish language coordinator: Darío Canto
English language coordinator: Norman Brown
Portuguese language coordinator: TBD
[*] Ginés Quiñonero can be the Playtest Coordinator for Latin, if he likes. :)
If you're a native Portuguese speaker and would like to participate in our playtest program, as a playtest group or as the Playtest Coordinator for Portuguese, please email me at .
A lot of people ask me how I get the excellent tournament results that I usually get. And I always reply: “with a lot of work and dedication.”
This is usually not enough to satisfy the curiosity of the person who asks me, so I normally continue explaining that I prepare the tournament from all fronts, as a deck builder, as a VTES player and as a connoisseur of the cards and their interactions and of the game rules.
I think that anyone who wants to face a tournament with guarantees has to delve into these three facets of the game: deck builder, player and ruler.
I am not going to differentiate between how I approach a large tournament and a small one, because I understand that a small tournament, although it is easier to prepare, and even more so if it is an environment where you know the existing metagame, can be prepared in the same way as a big tournament, although in some aspects you oversize the previous work.
Previous study of the tournament. Number of participants and expected metagame.
The first thing I do is to see where the tournament will be held and the expected turnout it will have. A tournament of 20 people is not the same as a tournament of 200. And a tournament played in your usual environment is not the same as an international tournament.
Having made these distinctions, I usually start my journey to try to win the tournament.
For this, I start to study the expected metagame in said tournament.
If it's a local tournament, the metagame and the players are usually more defined and you have more knowledge of what to expect from the tournament.
You can anticipate what local players are going to play and to what extent, if you are a person who regularly follows the game in the area, either because you are interested in it or because you play actively.
If it is an international or very large tournament (National or Continental Championship, Grand Prix...), then you have to study which are currently the most played decks and the decks with the best tournament results.
Many times, and more so if the environment where you play is competitive with a large number of experienced players who want to win (and not just play to test decks), both metagames can coincide.
It is important to explain that there are tools that empower you to do this kind of study, from compendiums of winning decks such as the Tournament Winning Deck Archive (TWD), to WhatsApp groups, social media groups, in addition to knowledge of the game, the cards and/or decks that dominate the metagame.
The ability to make this forecast will lead you to have an approximate analysis of what you can expect in the tournament you are preparing, being fully aware that in this game and on the table you can find anything.
If you got it right, and you don't get a false positive, the next decision will be whether you play for the metagame or against the metagame.
My opinion is that a skillful and dominant player can play both ends of this decision.
You can play in favor of the metagame because you are a better player and, consequently, in an environment where the expectation is that there are dominant decks and/or strategies, you will play them better. Therefore, it is always an option to play in favor of the metagame.
If you are a better player, you can also play against the metagame, that is, play a deck that strategically dominates the expected decks in the metagame forecast you made.
If the forecast of the metagame is not clear, because the previous study has not been decisive or we have not been able to read it clearly, the choice of deck should always be either a very extreme deck or a very balanced one.
In the first case, we will want to play an extreme deck regardless of the environment: a deck that works autonomously and with as little interaction as possible with other decks, generally due to speed or its ability to "combo" (Khazaar's Diary, Emerald Legionnaires, Tupdogs, Girls will find…)
In the second case, we will want to look for a very balanced deck that allows us to face all facets of the game with certain guarantees and adapt to the table with resources to fight against any strategy (Grinder Ventrue antitribu, Tremere toolbox based on Magic of the Smith...)
Finally, there is an extra factor in international tournaments. If your level of English, or in general, your ability to communicate with players from different countries can be a handicap, you should play decks that allow you to play without having to get into big discussions, primarily disregarding political and/or high table-control decks.
The choice and construction of the deck, a phase prior to success. The deck builder.
When I have already determined the expected metagame or I assume that I cannot have a clear idea of what I am going to find, I choose the deck. In my case, I don't care if I play for or against the metagame, in both situations I'm comfortable.
Normally, and in my case, I put together four decks: a political, a wall, a combat, and a bleed deck. And, when I have them assembled, knowing what I have foreseen, or knowing that I have not been able to foresee, I pick one based on what I think will best suit the tournament, without forgetting that it has to be a deck with which I have a certain affinity, because playing a deck you don't feel comfortable with is always a worse option.
The deck builder facet is absolutely decisive in the functioning of the deck and in the development of your player facet during the tournament.
At this time more tournaments are lost than are normally won.
This is because people tend to build decks with a "certain" fantasy, without taking into account issues such as the speed of card cycling, the number of master cards, the amount of blood or blood pool that is spent, the consistency and the speed of your vampires coming into play… Many issues that are currently impossible to explain in a comprehensive way, but it is possible to point them out in a generic way.
Your deck is your tournament tool. The better your tool is, the better you can play, and for that purpose you have to have a series of clear rules:
1. Play only essential cards. Do not play good cards and obviously either bad or regular cards. When your deck only has essential cards, you always draw a card that you want to play.
2. When building your deck, look for similar decks to take ideas from and, if you like them and they are good, implement them (even so, you will see many small tournament decks whose construction is more than questionable. Learn to discern what is good and what is bad for your deck. We're only interested in must-have cards.)
3. Study the clan or discipline cards, know all the cards you can play and choose with all the information available.
4. If you know a good player of the archetype you are going to play, ask him, share the knowledge, soak up.
5. Test the deck in two ways:
a. Against the wall: Draw and play dummy hands, dummy situations, and watch it cycle. If the deck does not withstand this test, it must be rebuilt (master cards clogging your hand, lack of cycling to obtain resources, vampires are put in play too slowly...)
b. Play a couple of games with friends or your gaming group, try it out in a controlled environment, see how it performs in a “real” test.
6. Adapt the deck to the sort of the tournament you expect, adapt it to the metagame you expect, always without dirtying the deck (if you expect a lot of politics, you can include one more copy of Delaying Tactics or Direct Intervention in exchange for a prevention card, for example). The adaptation of the deck does not mean changing the structure or the game plan you have, you shall always include essential cards.
7. If you are going to include silver bullets to adapt it to the metagame, you should be aware that either you are going to look for cards via tutors (Magic of the Smith, Summon History...) or you are going to have to toss in cards that can be useful at any time and/or easily disposable without affecting your card cycling or your game strategy. Some of these cards can be Fear of Mekhet, Gran Madre de Dio, Italy, Scourge of the Enochians…)
For me, this is the most complicated facet of the game. People understand that my decks are good and they regularly borrow them from me, and I hand them to them without any problem. But you have to understand that all my decks have a lot of work behind them and a lot of micro decisions about how to build them and why I include copies of certain cards or why I don't include them.
In the last tournament (I got 3 game wins out of 3 with a new-crypt Gangrel deck). I spent two days considering if I needed to include 2 copies of Smiling Jack and 1 of Constant Revolution, 1 and 1, 2 and 0 and, after two days of work, I decided to change those cards for 1 more Bait and Switch, 1 more Direct Intervention and an additional Protection Rack. Those changes were a success and took me to the first place in the tournament.
And, although it appeared to be a meaningless decision, I thought about it a lot. I tested that several times and, in all situations, those cards seemed to be bad cards to me for what I intended. I understand that some people may disagree with me on this, but I simply refer to my results.
Generally, those are very thoughtful and well-worked decisions.
As I always say, my decks are public, but they don't usually come with an instruction manual, and deckbuilding is an extraordinarily complex and deep facet, beyond merely sheathing good cards for the deck.
The study of the rules and interactions of the chosen cards, cards that can give a clear advantage in the game. The ruler.
If you are not a person who usually plays combat and you have still decided to play combat, you should carefully study that facet of the game that may be more unknown to you. Does the press step come before or after Taste of Vitae? If both combatants have a card that determines range, how are the effects prioritized (Brick by Brick vs Terror Frenzy)?
It is important to be clear about the rules of the game, but it is also very important to review certain mechanics, especially if you are going to play around them.
Also, if you have conflicting cards that generate complicated interactions, it is good to review not only the rules regarding them, but also the clarifications that may have been given for them.
There are cards that are highly conflictive in this game, such as: Unleash Hell's Fury, Determine (and imbued cards in general), Direct Intervention... and if we are going to play them, it is important to be clear about how they are going to influence the table if our adversaries generate interactions with them.
In general, reviewing the rules of the game, the tournament rules and the specific rules of some cards, is something that I usually do before a tournament, with special attention to questions I have doubts or insecurities about.
This gives you depth in making decisions where these cards are going to be involved, depth that your opponents may not have and this gives you a two-fold advantage:
1. In the analysis of your move, when you decide to make it, because you know perfectly well the scope of the move with the interactions that you can foresee.
2. In the execution of the move, that you will always do it with greater precision.
In addition, not making mistakes in certain mechanics and interactions frees you from negative game factors by having made a bad or suboptimal move (which can even cost you your permanence at the table).
The day of the tournament. How to face it. The player.
Although it is a cliché, there are things that have to be done on the day of the tournament and that I always do, because they are extremely important:
1. Sleep well the day before.
2. Get up on time and do not be in a hurry or under stress. Have your deck list ready beforehand, have your deck, play mat and counters ready, as well as the money on hand... anything that makes it easier for you not to have to be under stress before the tournament.
3. TAKE A SHOWER.
4. Be on time for the tournament, have a good breakfast, but not a hearty one.
5. Do not make any excesses the day before, neither before nor during the tournament.
6. Be confident and with some adrenaline, the desire to play and win are important.
If you've got your metagame forecast right and built your deck properly, you will have a great place to start, but you still have to play the game.
These are some constants that I try to keep at a table whenever I play, and that have worked well for me:
1. At the tables you must not lose your temper, ever. You have to try to communicate effectively with the rest of the table, you don't have to protest continuously or talk systematically about the movie you saw yesterday or about the restaurant you went to last week, because when you want to say something interesting, people will pay little attention to you.
There are players who are greatly harmed because they do not stop talking, they comment on all the plays, they put discord in all the actions, their own or others. That makes people less willing to talk to them out of sheer saturation.
2. At the table you have to be firm with your decisions, which must be oriented to your style of play, and people must be clear that you are at the table developing your own game, whatever it may be.
Your game plan is set in stone. Your way of developing can be adapted to the table, if necessary. This becomes very complex to explain, but you have to be clear about what you want, and you have to play your deck in a certain way, although you can adapt to how you develop that game (which will always be the same).
As an example, and putting an extreme case, if you are going to play a deck with 8 First Tradition, you have to go out playing a First Tradition and then adapt your game development to the table, but not play the First Tradition when it is your only game plan and that makes you not develop any game and be ousted. Be firm in your game plan, adapt to its development.
3. You have to think through your moves, not only on your turn but on other people's turns, so that your turn is fluid and consistent, leaving little to the imagination or randomness. As I always say, there is a good move and all the others are worse.
If you give yourself time to think about your moves, because you are focused and you actively play the two hours of the game (and you don't disconnect when someone else is playing…), you’ll minimize bad moves a lot.
4. You have to establish a game plan in the first turns to gain access to victory at the table. You have to detect not only the player who is going to be your biggest rival at the table, but also the cards that can be played against you by your prey and/or predator, and also those that can be played cross-table.
This was typical when you played Sabbat against Camarilla many years ago and, you had an Inner Circle cross-table. You knew that sooner or later Protect Thine Own would affect you, and you had to anticipate that move, counter it and then dominate the game.
Anticipating those moves that can take you off the table is the key to having an effective response to them and being able to stay on the table.
5. You have to be patient and thoughtful, and you don't have to rush the play of key cards (such as, Direct intervention, Scourge of the Enochians, Fear of Mekhet, Club Illusion…), and you have to assume, as soon as possible, the fate of those cards (for example, if they cancel cards, what cards are going to have to be canceled, and if they are cards that will be relevant on the table, whether or not they should come into play or be discarded).
6. And, of course, don't make game mistakes, that's the basics. Although, with everything that’s been explained so far, you can probably minimize those mistakes.
If you finally manage to carry out all this, it is possible that you can play a great role in the tournament, but one thing must be clear: facing a tournament and wanting to win it has a great depth, and winning games is also extremely difficult.
The winner wins because he works hard and also plays well. If you are not one of them, I will give you the last piece of advice:
The problem is you. Games are not always lost by your rivals because they played badly, and games are not always won by them by chance or because their friends gave them to them. Be critical, review your game, your decks, your developments and adaptation to the games, your analysis of the environment, your concentration... and you will realize, if you are honest with yourself, that you have done something wrong. Improve it and start winning.
However, if you've done everything right... The only thing left is to win all the rounds and the final!!!
We thank Aldo for sharing his wisdom. Do you also want to contribute to the newsletter? Contact .
 |
 |
 |
Finally another artist interview! This time we had a talk with Mitch Mueller of Sydney, Australia, who have illustrated Vampire: The Eternal Struggle cards since Black Chantry took over production in 2018.
Hi Mitch! How are you doing today?
- Busier than ever. Due to the C-word pandemic more people are in need of illustrators. Last month was my first week off in two years. And our first baby is on its way and due in two months. A new part of my life begins and we are looking forward to it.
How about your background as an artist? Are you educated or self-taught?
- Like most, I guess, started from early age to doodle. But back in the day the Internet didn't have as much to offer in regards to tutorials for inspiration. Watching Dragonball and meeting Akira Toriyama kept me inspired throughout childhood but I never knew you could make money working as an illustrator. I didn't turn "professional" and pursue an actual career until 2014. I went to the Bali Illustration Workshop and that really changed my life. Obtaining first-hand advice from artists like Dave Rapoza and Kekai Kotaki helped create a different perception about the vast possibilities in this industry. After that, I spent 2 years sitting at my tablet late at night honing my skills after work before I even got a foot in the door. But once things got into motion, all the studying paid off.
 |
 |
What artistic techniques do you prefer?
- It varys from illustration to illustration and client to client. I used to love pencil sketches and for any artist in their first years of learning this skill, pen and paper should be essential. I currently only use Photoshop for painting from scratch. I don't have time for sketches atm. But hopefully in due time I will get back to the traditional process. Usually I would start out with sketches and see what the client leans towards and refine it until we have a clear direction and go from there to flat colors and then rendering.
How do you work with models and photos?
- I only used photos as reference for poses and lighting. Your visual library can only hold that much. In earlier days, my ego would tell me reference is cheating but I know now that we need to refer to something in order to make it look realistic or according to the style.
We guess many who read this have seen your recent work for VTES. What else have you worked with? What of your art are you most proud of?
- I think the last two pieces I worked on for VTES came out really well. I´m not sure when the “The Fall of London” will be released but I am happy with that. I am usually happy with my work when the clients are and also when I see it being used in games. It's very satisfying. Probably Gods Unchained by Immutable, an online card game like Hearthstone, was a lot of fun to work on.
What other work do you have upcoming?
- Uhhhhh... there are lots of projects I keep working on. Bantam West, a wild west boardgame by Ike Brunicardi, is probably one of my favorites.
We thank Mitch Mueller for this chat. Check out more of his work at his Artstation page. If you like artist interviews, these are our previous ones:
- Riccardo Fabiani
- Noora Hirvonen
- Ken Meyer Jr
- Heather Kreiter
- Mark Kelly
- Javier Santos
- Samuel Araya
- Amy Wilkins
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: AUGUST 2022
• The 54-card mini-expansion The Fall of London is being printed, expected to ship for stores in late September. Most cards have been previewed in various places, including Gaming with Brett S. There will be a storyline tournament format with rules that will be published soon.
• A first draft of the next preconstructed decks (Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce) have been sent to the playtesters (see Ben Peals message above).
• Other parts are moving on, with focus on new promos and other event support, planning/designing future sets, preparing more reprint cards for print-on-demand, updating the rulebook and new translations.
- 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)
Fifth Edition: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French)
Promo Pack 3 (Event promos only)
Fifth Edition: Banu Haqim (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Brujah (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Gangrel (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: The Ministry (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French)
The Fall of London (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.
RECENT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS
Jason Carl and the rest of the World of Darkness crew are doing something really cool and different with New York By Night, the Vampire: The Masquerade actual play show. We talked about its first season in the previous newsletter, and guess what - that season is already over! But fear not, season 2 is airing in September! The cool thing is that there´s a new cast for season 2, with clans Lasombra, Nosferatu, Toreador and Ventrue of the Camarilla sect. So with the first season characters being of the Anarch sect, this means we get to see two sides of the Eternal Struggle in New York. Exciting!
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Belgium
Brazil x6
Chile
Czech Republic
Finland
France
Hungary
Italy
Netherlands
Online
Poland x3
Spain x6
Sweden
United Kingdom
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
He who cannot obey himself will be commanded.
Preview art by Christian Byrne from Fall of London, the
next expansion for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle.
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2022 SUMMARY
FINALLY, after three years of waiting, Helsinki was able to host the EC on July 28-31. The weather was lovely, the organisers excellent and the community of players behaved lovely the whole event. Pure delight!
Above you see the event special promo card awarded to all attendants, with art by Noora Hirvonen of Helsinki, both VTES artist and skilled player.
As usual, everything started out with a “Week of Nightmares” series of smaller tournaments – these were won by Jyri Puhakka, Tommi Hakomaa and Tero Aalto.
On Thursday there was a very nice welcome party at a downtown venue close to the Finnish parliament, with drinks, food, quiz, The Fall of London previews, Black Chantry CEO Hugh Angseesing Q & A and a spectacular, vampire-themed burlesque dance show.
Welcome party.
Welcome party dance show.
Hugh Angseesing, CEO of Black Chantry Productions.
Art by Noora Hirvonen.
Thanks to Marko Saari for most of the photos here. More can be found at vtes.orava.org.
The Friday “Last Chance Qualifier” tournament had 82 players. Nowadays this is not an actual qualifier for EC Day 1, but the five finalists qualify for EC Day 2. Standings after three preliminary rounds:
1. Kim Nilsson 2 GW 8 VP
2. Richard Stefan Utner 2 GW 8 VP
3. Otso Saariluoma 2 GW 7,5 VP
4. Andreas Stjernfelt 2 GW 7 VP
5. Emiliano Imeroni 2 GW 6 VP
Richard, Kim, Otso, Andreas and Emiliano.
Congratulations Otso Saariluma, who took 4 victory points in the final, Andreas took 1. You find the stream at vtes.orava.org, including a winner interview at the end. Yes, Otso also won the Day 2 tournament – he is a great player, and obviously was in top form this weekend.
Otso´s tournament winning deck:
Crypt (12)
3x Enkidu, The Noah 11 for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO Gangrel antitribu:4
3x Matasuntha 10 ANI AUS CEL FOR PRO Gangrel:5
1x Andre LeRoux 3 aus Toreador:5
1x New Blood 2 san Blood Brother:ANY
4x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY
Library (90)
Master (27)
9x Ashur Tablets
1x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fame
1x Giant's Blood
1x Guardian Angel
1x Monster
2x Parthenon, The
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Montreal
5x Villein
1x Wash
1x Wider View
Event (1)
1x Dragonbound
Retainer (9)
1x Mr. Winthrop
8x Raven Spy
Action Modifier (5)
1x Enkil Cog
2x Forced March
2x Instantaneous Transformation
Combat (30)
1x Claws of the Dead
8x Diversion
4x Drawing Out the Beast
2x Earth Meld
2x Hell-for-Leather
2x Infernal Pursuit
2x Pack Alpha
2x Psyche!
1x Pursuit
6x Taste of Vitae
Reaction (18)
3x Cats' Guidance
4x Forced Awakening
4x On the Qui Vive
7x Sense the Savage Way
EC Day 1 had 99 players, which is a very nice turnout considering everything. The general feeling was that the average skill of players was high, even though the EC is an open tournament these days. Standings after three preliminary rounds:
1. Kari Hyll 2 GW 8,5 VP
2. Randal Rudstam 2 GW 8 VP
3. Bram Van Stappen 2 GW 7,5 VP
4. Kalle Blomgren 1 GW 8 VP
5. Antti Penttilä 1 GW 6,5 VP
Kalle, Randal, Kari, Bran and Antti.
Congratulations Antti Penttilä, winner with 4 victory points in the final (Kalle got 1). Watch the stream via vtes.orava.org.
Antti´s tournament winning deck: Khursidwall
Crypt (12)
3x Khurshid 8 AUS FOR NEC POT Harbinger of Skulls:6
2x Mordechai Ben-Nun 8 ANI AUS FOR NEC Harbinger of Skulls:5
2x Anu Diptinatpa 7 aus vic DOM NEC Nagaraja:6
5x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY
Library (90)
Master (21)
3x Direct Intervention
1x Fragment of the Book of Nod
1x Haven Uncovered
6x Liquidation
5x Piper
4x Villein
1x Wider View
Event (3)
1x FBI Special Affairs Division
2x Unmasking, The
Action (6)
4x Gear Up
2x Soul Feasting
Ally (10)
10x Emerald Legionnaire
Retainer (2)
2x Vengeful Spirit
Action Modifier (2)
2x Trochomancy
Combat (19)
3x Aura Reading
6x Hidden Strength
2x Rolling with the Punches
6x Target Vitals
2x Taste of Vitae
Reaction (27)
3x Eluding the Arms of Morpheus
9x Eyes of Argus
5x Guardian Vigil
3x My Enemy's Enemy
7x Telepathic Misdirection
 |
 |
The Grand Prix trophy and ring.
Later on Saturday, after the Day 1 final was over, the European Grand Prix final was played by these beautiful people, the five available GP players with the highest ranking:
1. Tommi Hakomaa: 30 points
2. Noora Hirvonen 28 points
3. Sebastian Fredenberg: 25 points
4. Magnus Söder: 23 points
5. Esa-Matti Smolander: 18 points
Tommi, Magnus, Noora, Esa-Matti and Sebastian.
Congratulations Sebastian Fredenberg, Grand Prix grand champion 2022! He got 1,5 VP in the final (streamable via vtes.orava.org), before it timed out.
Sebastian´s tournament winning deck:
Crypt (12)
1x Farah Sarroub 7 aus obf CEL THA prince Banu Haqim:6
2x Kassandra Tassaki 6 obf CEL THA prince Banu Haqim:6
1x Kalinda 6 tha CEL OBF primogen Banu Haqim:6
1x Khadija Al-Kindi 6 CEL OBF THA primogen Banu Haqim:6
2x Warmaksan 5 cel obf THA prince Banu Haqim:6
1x Asmin Kobane 5 dom obf tha CEL Banu Haqim:6
1x Greg Mazouni 4 cel obf tha Banu Haqim:6
1x Nayarana 4 cel THA Banu Haqim:6
1x Bijou 3 cel tha Banu Haqim:6
1x Alu 2 obf Banu Haqim:5
Library (90)
Master (19)
2x Alamut
4x Haqim's Law: Retribution
2x Khabar: Community, The
1x Market Square
4x Priority Contract
1x Underworld Hunting Ground
5x Villein
Event (1)
1x Narrow Minds
Action (14)
1x Aranthebes, The Immortal
7x Haqim's Law: Leadership
1x Third Tradition: Progeny
5x Web of Knives Recruit
Equipment (1)
1x Ivory Bow
Action Modifier/Combat (11)
3x Resist Earth's Grasp
8x Swallowed by the Night
Combat (35)
3x Blur
3x Flash
6x Hunger of Marduk
4x Psyche!
4x Pursuit
3x Quickness
4x Taste of Vitae
8x Weighted Walking Stick
Reaction (9)
2x Delaying Tactics
7x Second Tradition: Domain
On Sunday two tournaments were played, EC Day 2 and “The best of the rest”. For EC Day 2 the top 40 players from EC Day 1 were qualified, together with the 5 finalists from Friday´s LCQ and the winners of each European Grand Prix tournament this season.
The Best of the rest tournament that was played at the same time as EC Day 2 had 41 players. The top five after three rounds were:
1. Filippo Mengoli 3 GW 9,5 VP
2. Erik Wallgren 2 GW 8 VP
3. Niko Vanhatalo 2 GW 8 VP
4. Zsolt Cziráki 1 GW 6 VP
5. Lasse Pöyry 1 GW 6 VP
Niko, Lasse, Zsolt, Filippo and Erik.
Congratulations Zsolt Cziráki, coming out on top with 2 VP after an unusually violent final with a heads-up against Lasse´s Samedi, who also had 2 VP but lower seed. Filippo got 1 VP. This final was not streamed.
Zsolt´s tournament winning deck: Alab+baron v2
Crypt (12)
4x Alabastrom 7 aus cel for POT VIS Gargoyle:6
4x Handsome Dan 5 aus cel for pot vis Gargoyle:6
4x Leumeah 6 cel for pot PRE Brujah:6
Library: 90
Master (16)
1x Fame
1x Flames of Insurrection
1x Anarch Railroad
1x Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
1x Giant's Blood
1x Rack, The
1x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
5x Vessel
1x Carfax Abbey
1x Club Illusion
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
Action (10)
1x Fee Stake: Boston
1x Fee Stake: Los Angeles
1x Heroic Might
2x Armor of Terra
1x Open War
2x Preternatural Strength
2x Line Brawl
Retainer (1)
1x Razor Bat
Equipment (2)
1x Heart of Nizchetus
1x Sniper Rifle
Action Modifier (8)
2x Forced March
2x Monkey Wrench
2x As the Crow
2x Skin of the Chameleon
Combat (23)
2x Lam Into
3x Raking Talons
2x Roll
3x Taste of Vitae
2x Bond with the Mountain
8x Diversion
3x Dust Up
Reaction (30)
6x Guardian Vigil
4x On the Qui Vive
8x Bait and Switch
10x Organized Resistance
2x Delaying Tactics
EC Day 2 is thereby the very best players battling for the most prestigious title of the year. After three preliminary rounds the standings were:
1. Otso Saariluoma 2 GW 7 VP
2. Antti Penttilä 2 GW 6,5 VP
3. Esa-Matti Smolander 2 GW 5,5 VP
4. Matias Frosterus 1 GW 6 VP
5. Héctor Javier Ordóñez 1 GW 5,5 VP
Héctor, Otso, Matias, Esa-Matti and Antti.
Congratulations Otso Saariluoma, for the third time European champion! Stream the game, and read the winner interview below.
Otso’s champion deck: Finnish Politics
Crypt (12)
1x Enkidu, The Noah 11 for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO Gangrel antitribu:4
2x Nangila Were 9 obf ser ANI POT PRE Guruhi:4
1x Black Annis 9 ani pro OBF POT Nosferatu antitribu:4
3x Nana Buruku 8 ANI POT PRE Guruhi:4
1x Andre LeRoux 3 aus Toreador:5
4x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY
Library (65)
Master (25)
4x Anarch Revolt
1x Archon Investigation
6x Ashur Tablets
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fame
1x Giant's Blood
1x Information Highway
1x Mbare Market, Harare
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Luanda
1x Powerbase: Montreal
5x Villein
1x Wider View
Event (1)
1x Dragonbound
Action (5)
3x Deep Song
1x Entrancement
1x Well-Marked
Combat (28)
1x Canine Horde
5x Carrion Crows
1x Glancing Blow
6x Immortal Grapple
3x Roundhouse
1x Slam
1x Stunt Cycle
4x Taste of Vitae
2x Thrown Sewer Lid
4x Torn Signpost
Reaction (6)
1x Cats' Guidance
1x Delaying Tactics
2x On the Qui Vive
2x Sense the Savage Way
This was one of the most well organised big VTES events ever - there were barely any delays or other mishaps during the weekend, which was important, because the schedule was tight. The VEKN wants to thank the organisers, judges and all their helpers for their efforts, as well as the sponsors and, of course, the players - hope to see everyone again next year in Barcelona!
INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH: OTSO SAARILUOMA, EUROPEAN CHAMPION 2022
Congratulations Otso! As many might know you won the last EC (2019) too, with a very similar deck (see deck list above). Is it in fact the exact same deck? And why did you go with it again this time?
- I have played basically the same deck on Day 2 of EC in 2018 and 2019 and it has overperformed both times, netting one spot in the finals and one win. I also enjoy playing the deck as it gives a lot of options for the player and it fits well in the grindy meta of EC Day 2. I think I decided quite early on not to change the winning team, maybe even in 2020. Once the Guruhi get their asses handed to them they get to retire.
I made some small adjustments from 2019, mainly removing one Pentex Subversion due to the new wording of the card and making room for the newly released Roundhouses. I also did cut Mr. Winthrop, which rarely saw play. I considered dropping Glancing Blow, which has really never been super useful, but left it in as a silver bullet anticipating some aggro poke from Protean barons, but I didn’t need it this time either and the card should probably go.
How were your preliminary rounds on Day 2? Any particular problematic tables, or just smooth sailing?
- I can’t say that any of the games were smooth sailing: First round I lost the heads-up to Antti’s fully setup Emerald Legionnaires and got 1 VP from the round. Second round I made a table-split deal with Kamel’s Animalism barons as my predator for GW and 3 VPs. Third round I had already mentally resigned to get 0 VPs, but I did get my Animalism prey to 1 pool, at which point he self-ousted as his prey refused to give him 0,5 VPs had he stayed on the table, and with the luck of the draw I managed to win the heads-up against Sebastian’s Banu Haqim, getting GW and 3 VPs.
About the final, what were your thoughts for the seating? (See table layout in the EC summary above.)
- I ended up being the top seed with my 2 GW 7 VPs. Preparing to choose my seat, I was most of all concerned of Antti’s Legionnaires as I felt I couldn’t handle them should the game go long. My plan was to try to oust Antti or cripple the deck early on. I would have preferred to be Antti’s predator, because ousting people other than your prey is really risky business, especially in the finals. But as Antti chose to be hunted by Matias’ Kiasyd I felt I couldn’t sit between them. I might be able to shut down Antti and prevent the Kiasyd from ousting me, but then Matias’ predator Esku (Esa-Matti, editors note) would probably steamroll over both Matias and me.
So I ended up sitting between Hector and Esku. I didn’t know the aggressive nature of Hector’s deck and anticipated the more common Gangrel barons wall. I was also hopeful that I would be able to oust Esku as he was playing titled high-cap vampires without any hitback, which is pretty much perfect for me. Sitting down I was pretty happy with my spot and thought the most likely way of me winning would be with 1,5 VPs.
How were you feeling about how the game evolved?
- My initial crypt was horrendous – three copies of Nana Buruku and one Anarch Convert. The next vampires were another Anarch Convert and Andre Leroux. The first vampire with built-in rush was Enkidu as crypt card number seven and he came out with 30 minutes left on the clock. I couldn’t really play my normal game, but chose to try to cripple the Legionnaires early on nevertheless with a cross-table rush.
I was still hopeful I might be able to oust Esku at some point as his crypt draw was almost as bad as mine. However, when he got the first Villein and a bit later a Secure Haven on Stanislava, I knew I couldn’t oust him anymore. At that point it was only about surviving and trying to help players stay in the game. It’s a boring way to win, but it was the only path available to me at that point. I did have a game plan to win throughout the game, but had to adjust as the game progressed.
I was pretty sure I had won the game when I survived the lunge turn by Hector thanks to Antti’s interference. My next turn I got to pull back out of ousting range with Villein and also drew my Delaying Tactics for an additional safety measure and meanwhile Hector still had just enough pool and blockers to withstand Antti’s lunge.
What are your thoughts on the future of VTES tournament play? For example, many have ideas about changing MMPA and/or Emerald Legionnaires, both maybe a bit too dominant – how do you feel about that?
- It seemed to me that the newest batch of V5 starters are rather strong. During the weekend we got to see all kinds of Anarch and Banu Haqim decks performing quite well. I believe we will see lots of them in the tournaments and the racking up tournament wins also.
As for the old boogeyman decks you mention, I think that Emerald Legionnaires are prevalent enough to have already shifted the meta toward playing more pool damage per minion-votes as well as .44 Magnums. The “Girls Will Find” decks are harder to tech against as the archetype is still really robust. The strength of these decks relies on the absence of decent counters to ash heap strategies. I probably wouldn’t mind seeing something that would create a bit more of a battle over ash heaps as a resource as long as it’s somehow dynamic in nature and creates more interplay. Maybe a master that you need to defend until your unlock phase to get to remove cards from an ash heap and gain some benefit?
But I have to say that I don’t think these decks are necessarily too strong or prevalent for my enjoyment of the game even as is. I think that in this game there will always be decks that require coordination from the other players to prevent them from steamrolling the table, be it Ravnos Clown Car, Legacy of Pander or Madness Network+Reversal of Fortunes decks.
Thanks for the interview Otso, and once again congratulations. Winning with that horrible crypt draw is a really strong achievement!
EC 2023 WILL BE IN BARCELONA, SPAIN
The VEKN are happy to inform you that next year´s European Championship will be held in beautiful Barcelona, Spain! We have to return to you about the exact date, but it will be some time during the autumn, possibly October or November. So we avoid the worst heat and heaviest tourism season. Hope to see you there!
David, Lasse, Sebastian, Tommi and Esa-Matti.
SEBASTIAN FREDENBERG WINS GRAND PRIX MALMÖ!
39 Methuselahs turned up for the last installment in the looong 2019-2022 European Grand Prix circuit. The location was sunny Malmö in southern Sweden, at a big game event called Malmö Game Week which also hosted some huge Magic: The Gathering tournaments.
Standings after three preliminaries:
1. Lasse Agaard 2 GW 8 VP
2. Sebastian Fredenberg 2 GW 7 VP
3. David Luhaæær 2 GW 7 VP
4. Esa-Matti Smolander 2 GW 7 VP
5. Tommi Hakomaa 2 GW 7 VP
Congratulations Sebastian Fredenberg, raking in 4 VP in the final with a rather original deck (Esa-Matti got 1 VP). Are Assamites/Banu Haqim finally a solid winning clan? :)
Sebastians tournament winning deck: “Haqim's Lawmen”
Comment: “Bring out vampires, bloat and put knifes into training to begin with. Then start bleeding once there are 1-2 Haqim Law: Retribution and 4+ vampires out. Don't focus too much on combat, the cards are there to bleed with too. Khabar Commuity is expensive but should be used when there are several vampires that can bleed for a lot each to oust.”
Crypt (12)
2 Kassandra Tassaki
2 Warmaksan
1 Farah Sarroub
1 Kalinda (G6)
1 Khadija Al-Kindi
1 Asmin Kobane
1 Greg Mazouni
1 Nayarana
1 Bijou
1 Alu
Library (84)
Master (18)
5 Villein
4 Haqim's Law: Retribution
3 Priority Contract
2 Alamut
2 Khabar: Community, The
1 Market Square
1 Underworld Hunting Ground
Event (1)
1 Narrow Minds
Action (18)
7 Haqim's Law: Leadership
5 Web of Knives Recruit
3 Hunter's Mark
1 Aranthebes, The Immortal
1 Khabar: Glory
1 Third Tradition: Progeny
9 Action Modifier/Combat
6 Swallowed by the Night
3 Resist Earth's Grasp
Combat (29)
7 Weighted Walking Stick
7 Hunger of Marduk
3 Blur
3 Psyche!
3 Pursuit
2 Fast Hands
2 Flash
2 Quickness
Reaction (9)
7 Second Tradition: Domain
2 Delaying Tactics
Thanks to the organisers Henrik Roos, Samir Arabi-Eter and Marcus Andreasson, other helpers, sponsors Ultra Pro and Black Chantry, and of course the players!
BRAM VAN STAPPEN IS THE 2022 BELGIAN CHAMPION!
This was a 33 player event in Brussels on July 10. Head organiser Emiliano Imeroni wrote a report at the VEKN.net forum, check out that for more details!
Standings before the final:
1. Bram Van Stappen 3 GW 10 VP
2. Axel Huet 3 GW 9 VP
3. Vincent Ripoll 2 GW 7 VP
4. Serge Cirri 2 GW 6.5 VP
5. Marius Iscru 2 GW 5.5 VP
Congratulations Bram Van Stappen, now approaching 15 tournament wins, not counting online results. For some of his thoughts, check out this interview from last year, made after he won the Atlantic Cup with a somewhat similar deck.
Crypt (12)
1x Anarch Convert 1 -none- Caitiff:ANY
1x Homa 6 AUS CEL POT Osebo:4
1x Idrissa 4 aus CEL Osebo:4
3x Massassi 9 obf AUS CEL POT QUI Osebo:4
1x Neighbor John 5 dom for AUS Ventrue antitribu:4
2x Bakr 8 dem pro CEL OBF QUI Assamite:5
1x Titi Camara 5 pot AUS CEL Osebo:5
1x Guggenheim 6 AUS CEL PRE Toreador antitribu:5
1x Dominique Santo Paulo 6 pot pre AUS CEL Toreador antitribu:4
Library: 90
Master (17)
1x Erciyes Fragments, The
1x Giant's Blood
1x Haven Uncovered
6x Ashur Tablets
1x Powerbase: Luanda
1x Powerbase: Montreal
5x Villein
1x Wider View
Equipment (8)
7x .44 Magnum
1x Bowl of Convergence
Event (1)
1x Dragonbound
Combat (35)
5x Infernal Pursuit
5x Psyche!
6x Pursuit
1x Side Strike
2x Sideslip
5x Taste of Vitae
4x Blur
7x Concealed Weapon
Reaction (29)
1x Enhanced Senses
8x Eyes of Argus
3x My Enemy's Enemy
5x On the Qui Vive
2x Quicken Sight
7x Telepathic Misdirection
3x Eagle's Sight
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: JULY 2022
• The Fall of London 54-card expansion is at the printer, but some last minute changes mean there is a slight delay. There´s a product page and the preview season is ongoing. Below you see a new Gangrel with art by Christian Byrne. As soon as there´s a shipping date a release date will be set.
• Ginés, Henrik, Hugh and Vincent were present at the EC in Helsinki. Hugh acted as judge at some of the tournaments, and the four were able to have one of those very rare physical company meetings. The wonderful VTES players had a lot of questions (some could be answered!) and opinions that will be taken into account for the future of VTES. A great weekend!
• One current concern is the absence of a playtest coordinator, as Darby Keeney has stepped down after many years of splendid duty. Several candidates have been spoken to, and hopefully one or more of them will meet the requirements and be able to commence work immediately. First, that would be the first round of testing for the next preconstructed decks, and also some testing of an exciting rule change and the nerf of a problematic card.
• Both the German and the Italian translation of the Fifth Edition box contents are completed. Now there´s the question about exactly how and when to publish these.
- 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)
Fifth Edition: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French)
Promo Pack 3 (Event promos only)
Fifth Edition: Banu Haqim (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Brujah (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Gangrel (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: The Ministry (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French)
The Fall of London (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.
RECENT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS
There´s a brand new Vampire: The Masquerade actual play show! After a long run of "LA by Night", Jason Carl now storytells "New York by Night" with characters of the Gangrel, Ravnos, Tzimisce and Ventrue clans. Well worth a look, and also don´t miss the "Club Auspex" follow-up talk show.
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Brazil x8
Czech Republic
Chile
Germany
Italy
Mexico
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Spain x6
Sweden
United Kingdom
USA x5
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
That mountain you've been carrying, you were only suppose to climb.
Preview art by Carmen Cornet from Fall of London, the
next expansion for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle.
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
DON´T FORGET TO PRE-REGISTER FOR THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP!
Please pre-register if you plan to attend the EC, it helps a lot. Just fill in your name at the registration page at the official site vtes.orava.org, thanks!
The schedule:
25 July: Week of Nightmares Helsinki 2022 Monday
26 July: Week of Nightmares Helsinki 2022 Tuesday
27 July: Week of Nightmares Helsinki 2022 Wednesday
28 July: Helsinki tour and welcome event
29 July: Last Chance Qualifier (Top 5 to EC 2022 Day Two)
30 July: EC 2022 Day One (Top 40 to EC 2022 Day Two)
31 July: Best of the Rest
31 July: EC 2022 Day Two
Follow the EC in social media:
• Facebook: Vampire: the Eternal Struggle European Championship 2022
• Twitter: 2022Ec
• Instagram: vtesec2022
BILL TROXEL IS THE 2022 NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPION!
Didn´t we have an image of an happy Bill Troxel in the last newsletter too? Yes we did! But there´s nothing stopping this man.
After many tournaments (eleven to be exact) during the Week of Nightmares, the actual NAC gathered 25 Methuselahs at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio on June 11.
Congratulations Bill Troxel, new North American champion, who took 4 victory points in the final, while Kelly Schultz got 1.
As for all sanctioned and reported events, the full list of participants and their results can be found in the VEKN Event Calendar. A discussion thread with some comments from Bill ("Killiam") is at the VEKN forum.
Bill´s tournament winning deck: “ABC-EL Daughters: A Chorus of Legionnaires” aka “Pentex Is Still Good”
Crypt (12 cards)
3x Scout Youngwood 8 for qui MEL OBF PRE 2 votes Daughter of Cacophony:6
2x Hillanvale 5 obf FOR MEL Daughter of Cacophony:6
4x La Viuda Blanca 6 for obf AUS NEC Harbinger of Skulls:6
1x Colette 5 dom AUS OBF Malkavian:6
1x Pearl 4 obf AUS Malkavian antitribu:5
1x New Blood 2 san Blood Brother:ANY
Library (90 cards)
Master (15)
2x Agent of Power
1x Fame
1x Frontal Assault
1x Giant's Blood
1x Jake Washington
5x Liquidation
2x Pentex(TM) Subversion
2x Wider View
Event (3)
2x FBI Special Affairs Division
1x Unmasking, The
Action (22)
2x Concert Tour
20x Shattering Crescendo
Ally (12)
12x Emerald Legionnaire
Action Modifier (18)
3x Cloak the Gathering
3x Faceless Night
7x Forgotten Labyrinth
4x Swallowed by the Night
1x Veil the Legions
Reaction (20)
2x Delaying Tactics
1x Enhanced Senses
4x Eyes of Argus
2x My Enemy's Enemy
4x On the Qui Vive
7x Telepathic Misdirection
Thanks to the organisers, sponsors and players!
NOORA HIRVONEN IS THE EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX HYVINKÄÄ CHAMPION!
25 brave Methuselahs turned up for this installment in the very, very long 2019-2022 European Grand Prix circuit. The location was sunny Hyvinkää, Finland, 50 kilometers north of the capital Helsinki. The event was hosted by the Hypecon convention.
Congratulations Noora Hirvonen, who stood victorious even though the final table depicted above had some hard to beat decks and great players. As many already know Noora is also one of the talents that provide art for VTES these days - for example Matasuntha,
Noora´s tournament winning deck: "Girls will find... Inner Circles"
"Mostly after Jorge Delgado's EC2019 Day 1 winning deck - added Archon Investigation, some differentiating stealth, swapped Lucian to Mistress Fanchon, and totally forgot to put in Information Highway (which would have been very nice)."
Crypt (12 cards)
4x Cybele 10 ANI DAI OBF PRE SER THA Baali:4
4x Aksinya Daclau 9 cel tha ANI FOR PRE PRO Gangrel antitribu:4
1x Adana de Sforza 11 aus CEL OBF POT PRE PRO inner circle Brujah:4
1x Lutz von Hohenzollern 11 pot AUS DEM OBF PRE inner circle Malkavian:4
1x Mistress Fanchon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF THA VIC inner circle Tremere:4
1x Rafael de Corazon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF PRE inner circle Toreador:4
Library (78 cards)
Master (50)
1x Archon Investigation
15x Ashur Tablets
1x Coven, The
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
2x Golconda: Inner Peace
1x Jake Washington
7x Liquidation
1x Metro Underground
1x Monastery of Shadows
2x Parthenon, The
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
6x Villein
2x Wider View
7x Zillah's Valley
Event (1)
1x Scourge of the Enochians
Action (4)
2x Entrancement
2x Unleash Hell's Fury
Action Modifier (16)
3x Aire of Elation
2x Elder Impersonation
1x Enkil Cog
2x Faceless Night
3x Into Thin Air
1x Lost in Crowds
2x Spying Mission
1x Swallowed by the Night
1x Veil the Legions
Combat (3)
3x Majesty
Reaction (4)
1x Guard Dogs
2x Lost in Translation
1x Rat's Warning
Thanks to the organisers, sponsors and players!
Alain in the middle.
ALAIN GREINER IS THE EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX AIX EN PROVENCE CHAMPION!
23 Methuselahs came to the fifth Grand Prix tournament in Aix en Provence, just north of Marseille, southern France.
Congratulations Alain Greiner, winning the final with 1.5 vp (Jonathan, Bertrand and Orian got 0,5 each).
Alains tournament winning deck: "Dark Girls" (Original design by Jorge Delgado)
Crypt (12 cards)
1x Lutz von Hohenzollern 11 pot AUS DEM OBF PRE Malkavian:4
1x Mistress Fanchon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF THA VIC Tremere:4
1x Rafael de Corazon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF PRE Toreador:4
1x Adana de Sforza 11 aus CEL OBF POT PRE PRO Brujah:4
2x Tupdog 1 POT VIS Gargoyle:3
3x Aksinya Daclau 9 cel tha ANI FOR PRE PRO Gangrel antitribu:4
3x Cybele 10 ANI DAI OBF PRE SER THA Baali:4
Library: 80 cards
Master (51 cards)
1x Giant's Blood
2x Golconda: Inner Peace
1x Jake Washington
7x Liquidation
1x Archon Investigation
1x Metro Underground
1x Monastery of Shadows
2x Parthenon, The
15x Ashur Tablets
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
6x Villein
7x Zillah's Valley
1x Blind Spot
1x Coven, The
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
Event (1 card)
1x Scourge of the Enochians
Action (4 cards)
2x Entrancement
2x Unleash Hell's Fury
Action Modifier (20 cards)
2x Elder Impersonation
1x Enkil Cog
3x Faceless Night
5x Into Thin Air
3x Spying Mission
3x Aire of Elation
3x Swallowed by the Night
Combat (3 cards)
3x Majesty
Reaction (4 cards)
1x Guard Dogs
2x Lost in Translation
1x Rat's Warning
Thanks to the organisers, sponsors and players!
Ricardo in the middle.
RICARDO FELIPE MARTA IS THE 2022 NATIONAL CHAMPION OF SPAIN! (139 PLAYERS!!)
Yes, that is correct, no less than 139 Methuselahas turned up to play the Spanish national championship in Zaragoza on June 4. One gets the feeling there was some built up longing for physical gaming after the pandemic, but also the translation to Spanish has of course contributed to increased populatity of the game and this huge event attendance.
Congratulations to the champion Ricardo Filipe Marta, who gathered 4 victory points in the final, Manuel Teódulo got 1. A special site with some more statistics about the tournament can be found at bcncrisis.com.
Ricardo´s tournament winning deck: "Girls Will Find Boys"
Crypt (12 cards)
1x Lutz von Hohenzollern 11 pot AUS DEM OBF PRE Malkavian:4
2x Nana Buruku 8 ANI POT PRE Guruhi:4
1x Nergal 10 AUS DAI FOR OBF PRE THA Baali:5
1x Rafael de Corazon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF PRE Toreador:4
1x Adana de Sforza 11 aus CEL OBF POT PRE PRO Brujah:4
3x Aksinya Daclau 9 cel tha ANI FOR PRE PRO Gangrel antitribu:4
3x Cybele 10 ANI DAI OBF PRE SER THA Baali:4
Library: 90 cards
Master (56 cards)
1x Giant's Blood
1x Golconda: Inner Peace
2x Information Highway
1x Jake Washington
9x Liquidation
1x Archon Investigation
1x Metro Underground
1x Misdirection
1x Monastery of Shadows
3x Parthenon, The
15x Ashur Tablets
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
7x Villein
1x Wider View
6x Zillah's Valley
1x Blind Spot
1x Coven, The
1x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
Event (1 cards)
1x Narrow Minds
Action (5 cards)
2x Entrancement
1x Intimidation
2x Unleash Hell's Fury
Political Action (2 cards)
1x Ancilla Empowerment
1x Autarkis Persecution
Action Modifier (17 cards)
2x Elder Impersonation
1x Enkil Cog
2x Faceless Night
1x Hide the Mind
1x Into Thin Air
2x Lost in Crowds
1x Mirror Walk
1x Perfect Clarity
1x Perfect Paragon
1x Veil the Legions
2x Aire of Elation
2x Cloak the Gathering
Combat (4 cards)
4x Majesty
Reaction (5 cards)
1x Guard Dogs
1x Lost in Translation
1x Mental Maze
1x Confusion of the Eye
1x Delaying Tactics
Thanks to the organisers, sponsors and players!
All the finalists, "Nuggetz" with the trophy.
THOMAS "NUGGETZ" CORNAZ IS THE 2022 NATIONAL CHAMPION OF FRANCE!
This year´s French national championship was held in Metz in the northeastern part of France, just south of Luxemburg and also close to both Belgium and Germany. 43 eager Methuselahs turned up for the battle, and 1 game win with 6 victory points was needed to play the final.
 |
 |
Congratulations Thomas "Nuggetz" Cornaz! He had 2 game wins and 7,5 victory points in the preliminary rounds, and won the final with 3 victory points. Axel and Marius got 1 victory point each.
Thomas tournament winning deck: "Take cover Mr Emerald"
Crypt (12 cards)
5x Erlik 10 AUS CEL FOR NEC THN Harbinger of Skulls:3
2x Babalawo Alafin 7 AUS FOR NEC ani Harbinger of Skulls:4
1x Erebus 7 AUS FOR NEC dem Harbinger of Skulls:3
1x Mina Grotius 6 FOR NEC cel Harbinger of Skulls:3
1x Nicomedes 5 aus for nec vic Harbinger of Skulls:4
1x Solomon Batanea 5 AUS FOR nec Harbinger of Skulls:4
1x Anarch Convert 1
Library (90 cards)
Master (17)
1x Barrens, The
3x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant’s Blood
6x Liquidation
1x Pentex™ Subversion
1x Powerbase : Montreal
2x Vessel
Event (3)
1x FBI Special Affairs Division
2x Unmasking, The
Ally (12)
12x Emerald Legionnaire
Equipment (1)
1x Bowl of Convergence
Retainer (2)
2x Vengeful Spirit
Action Modifier (18)
4x Breath of Thanatos
5x Call of the Hungry Dead
6x Spectral Divination
3x Trochomancy
Combat (17)
3x Aura Reading
7x Rolling with the Punches
2x Spiritual Intervention
5x Target Vitals
Reaction (20)
4x Delaying Tactics
5x Eyes of Argus
1x My Enemy's Enemy
4x On the Qui Vive
6x Telepathic Misdirection
Thanks to the organisers, sponsors and players!
 |
 |
DEMO GAMES ALL OVER THE WORLD!
• The above images are from a VTES demo day held in Singapore. If you want to know more about this and other VTES activities in that part of the world, join the Facebook groups V:tES Singapore and VTES Asia.
• VTES demos was held at the XI convention of tabletop games "Queremos jugar” (We want to play):
 |
 |
Some words from Moisés Gámez, prince of Seville, Spain:
"On May 28 and 29, the XI convention “Queremos jugar” on board and role-playing games and other related hobbies were held in Dos Hermanas (Seville), with an attendance that exceeded 1,500 visitors. Members of the player community in Seville were there on the first day promoting the game. We were able to teach dozens of interested fans during the day, who were given a First Blood deck (courtesy of BlackChantry) to get started.
Nowadays games have become very popular, and this was noted in the type of visitors the convention had, totally family-oriented and very diverse in age, from little ones to very old. Fortunately, those times when the hobby was just a thing for guys are far away.
We were able to explain the game to several groups of parents with their children, to couples, to groups of friends and even to old players who rediscovered the game and did not know that it was still being published. The explanation had to be adapted to each type of group, but being able to teach them with the First Blood decks in Spanish and with such simple mechanics made things much easier.
At the end of the day we were exhausted, but with several new contacts of interested people who can join our community. Definitely, a day to remember."
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!
GREAT VTES CONTENT
• After a long wait, Amaranth Deck Builder has now been updated with cards up to the New Blood release. Much appreciated!
• Reading Between the Lyons is a new series of short videos by Kelly Lyons about VTES - in English!
• Bleed de Tres is a new podcast in Spanish about VTES, with already seven episodes out. Check it out!
• Nathaneal Zheng continues to produce nice VTES videos in English, for example a good chat with "Disco Stu" about the upcoming Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce precon decks.
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: JUNE 2022
• First: If you didn´t read Ben Peal´s production update in the last newsletter, go ahead and do that, it outlines plans for the coming year or so.
• Printing of Fall of London is somewhat delayed, but not much. Should be done in July, in English, French and Spanish. A first draft of the next batch of preconstructed decks (Ravnos, Salubri, Tzimisce) has been handed over from the design team to the rules director for a review of wordings. After that, they wil be sent to the playtest groups for a first round of testing. These decks look incredibly cool! If testing leaves them somewhat recognizable – and even makes them better – you will not be disappointed.
• We were a bit sloppy with the words in the last newsletter, sorry for that. What is next for upload to VTES Legacy Card Singles is the bloodlines cards that did not appear in Heirs of the Blood. Hopefully all of them have art that need not to be replaced or any other problems that prevents them from being published again.
• The Black Chantry crew are doing some event appearances this summer, for example Ben organised the NAC, Henrik and Hugh were at Grand Prix Malmö and Ginés, Henrik, Hugh and Vincent will be at the EC in Helsinki. They look forward to seeing you there, getting ousted and answering all kinds of impossible questions! :)
- 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)
Fifth Edition: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French)
Promo Pack 3 (Event promos only)
Fifth Edition: Banu Haqim (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Brujah (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Gangrel (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: The Ministry (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Ventrue (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.
RECENT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS
Our picks this month:
• World of Darkness Nexus is the brand new official digital toolset for playing Vampire: The Masquerade. It is hosted on the Demiplane platform and features all kinds of nice features, such as a digital reader, rules search, playgroup matchmaking and video, voice and text chat for your digital game sessions. Early access is now open, have it a try!
• Hunter: The Reckoning is the second White Wolf tabletop roleplaying game to be given a new edition under the Paradox Interactive "Fifth Edition" lore. The Core Rulebook is produced by Renegade Game Studios and available here. For a nice preview of the creeds (the types of hunters), have a look at Martyna´s presentation in World of Darkness News of June 3.
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Belgium x2
Brazil x3
Chile
Finland x8
France
Poland
Portugal
Spain x5
Sweden
Great Britain
United States
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 said you would start months ago.
Page 13 of 48
- You are here:
-
Home
- Uncategorised