Greetings Methuselahs,
2024 was the first year of my reign as prince(ss), and the vampire scene in Cape Town has appeared to have some new energy coursing through its veins, thankfully. It reminds me of the sudden kinematics of sedentary creatures that one finds as they lift up and view the under-side of a long-sitting rock.
Just like those hustling go-gos (a South Africanism for insects & bugs), our sleepy Capetonian Methuselahs arose from long torpor… some were even resurrected from the burnt ashes of the past. And as they awakened, a river of new-blood flowed in. The curious were caught and brought into the fold, newly Embraced, and several new VEKN IDs were added to the database.
But whether we were old or new, all were drawn to the same nerdy shop, to sit at the same sticky tables, to play our same beloved ghoulish card game, and share in these bloody sights and dark delights. Tables with smiling, fang-filled faces, anticipating their next oust, or combo, or flashy-reprisal and very hungry for the beads of blood to their left…
With cards from the Blackest of Chantries, and from 30 years of yore, came the most fierce and unforgivable decks - each one piloted by an equally unforgivable grotesque yet unique and nuanced personality – the strongest weapon on this kind of battlefield! The wisest should take note, as I shall reveal their secrets and preferred methods as this essay continues and I highlight the events of VTES in Cape Town for the year 2024.
TOURNAMENT: “Freak Drive”, Sealed 5th Ed Deck Tournament, March 24th, at Pandemonium Games
Final Table: Hendrik Schalekamp, Neil Muller, Kris Van Zyl, Jo Worsley and Nick Worsley
Winner: Kris Van Zyl with the 5th ed Malk deck! Well done to him, especially as a new-blood, having only just started in the recent years and playing socially in 2024.
The power of Malks was very real here, and Kris drove home those big bleeds very smoothly.
For some context, each attending player received a random pre-constructed 5th ed deck: There was one each of the five camarilla decks (so only one Malkavian deck), and one each of the Banu, Ministry, Gangrel and Brujah, and then two each of the Tzimisce, Ravnos and Salubri. That’s 15 players at this first tournament! Not a bad start to get the year going. May this garden grow.
Kris got the Malkavians. I should be clear: Do not conflate Kris with the Malkavians. Though he can play them out of the box and win a tournament with them, he did not choose them (they chose him). He is far more formidable and experienced Gangrel deck-gineer, and has already taken a rather avant-garde approach to deck building which is exciting and new to see. Mad scientist in the making. Watch out!
TOURNAMENT: “Ungovernable”, Unlimited Multi Deck Tournament, June 16th, at Pandemonium Games
Final Table: Peter Herbert, Skye Segal, Michael Streatfield, Jo Worsly and Yancke Van Tonder
Winner: Michael Streatfield, with a Baali power-vote nasty surprise. Congrats to Michael for meticulous Machiavelli antics and devilish deal making.
The heads up between Michael and Yancke’s power-vote/bleed with Lutz was very intense and lasting. I witnessed the true power of Arishat as she shat down Lutz’s four votes for breakfast. She’s a group 6, and has made a guest appearance in my Toreador for just that reason.
My advice if you meet Michael at the table is to be his cross-table ally, and not his predator or prey. He’s an extremely experienced player and a most dangerous and calculated foe.
NEW BLOOD LEAGUE: March to May 2025, at Pandemonium Games
Final Table: Kris Van Zyl, Martin Mezzabotta, Peter Herbert, Yancke Van Tonder and Nick Allum
Winner: None – the final match was a draw. But the de facto winner by leader-board standing was Peter Herbert.
Peter, being an older player, really impressed me with how much he embraced the new 5th ed cards, namely the Ministry, which often along with his Malkavian deck, would see him be a consistent threat at any table. Also, you’re not allowed to hug Peter, OK?
Next, we had the yearly Dragonfire hosted by my old compadres, CLAW (Cape Legion of Adventurers and Wargamers) at the University of Cape Town (my old hunting ground). And once again we limited this to only 5th ed cards. This made things very interesting!
TOURNAMENT: “Clockwork Convergence”, Limited to 5th Ed Cards, Multi-Deck Tournament, August 10th and 11th, at the UCT Dragonfire annual convention.
Final Table: Jo Worsley, Justin Bedford (Biggy), Martin Mezzabotta, Hendrik Schalekamp and Nick Worsley
Winner: Martin Mezzabotta. (GGWP)
Apparently, a few other cities had been trying this out, and I had to get some assistance from the inner-circles of Black Chantry to try get an official listing of legal 5th ed cards and reprints with which I shared with my community.
It was a challenge for the older players with bigger collections to adapt to this, and it was very welcomed by the newer players with collections weighing more heavily on the 5th ed side. It also really helped that the games ran smoothly due to the greater fluency and vocabulary with new cards. So often does an old-hat play something that no-one’s ever seen, and the game has to have a two or three minute “Oh wow” moment as the new (old) card is taken in and discussed and brainstormed for all possible permutations where it makes sense to play it in your decks…. Great for socials with no time limits, so rather that kinda thing was minimized as very little reading was required at all, thanks to the collective clear knowledge of the limited set.
Now on to Martin. Martin is my childe! And my-my, has he fallen far from the tree… I tried to teach him how to play for like over 10 years or so, and I think he’s got finally gotten it! Maybe! (doubt it)
Yes, I am proud. He won his first tournament and it was a Dragonfire! Even though his road was laid out in gold before him, he got a tournament win! Well done Marty!
Martin loves the Laibon and enjoys playing Toreador and Nosferatu too, and together we’ve created some weird in-game jokes and memes over the years… but it would not be right to share those here, you kinda had to be there. I will say though that he has become quite the exquisite tool-box maker and often surprises me with his ideas. Just don’t listen to him in game as he will wiggle into your mind and setup lodging there forever.
He also turned 40 this year and I got a commission done for him by Ken Meyer Jr:
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Yup, we’re that passionate about VTES here in Cape Town! Happy birthday again to Martin! And thanks Ken! What a legend. My birthday is coming up soon too, so…
ANARCH MASQUERADE LEAGUE: June to October 2024, at Pandemonium Games
Final Table: James Snowball, Yancke Van Tonder, Michael Streatfield, Skye Segal and Neil Muller
Winner: The legendary James Snowball, with Banu combat tweaked like a pro.
James is a card kung-fu master with mantis style. This cool character is such a powerful force in our community, and his passion for VTES is contagious. He’s one of the first VTES players I ever met, and has taught me a thing or two about combat. He’s from the Deep South. We used to talk about Deep South - a collection of southern most suburbs in Cape Town - similarly to the way we hear the international community go on about Finnish Politics.
James’ passion for VTES is contagious. He’s set the standard for when it’s time to get up out of your seat due to a fantastic play – like putting an animalism master on your Beast, The Leatherface of Detroit… goes something like: “Why’s his crows hitting for two? Oh. My. F*&k! You put Animalism on BEAST! AWESOME!!”
May he test his decks on you and may you enjoy it!
TOURNAMENT: “Dragonbound” Standard Constructed and valid for TWDA, 3rd November
Final Table: Yancke Van Tonder, Hendrik Schalekamp, James Snowball, Neil Muller, and Casey Callaghan
Winner: Snowball again, with classic euro-brujah with dominate (and a sideshow of, yes, it’s Beast).
Combat. And you don’t wanna see his !Salubri toolbox he’s been working on for more than two decades.
Well here we have some proof that James is an all-star, taking combat decks shiningly to the podium each-time. Very inspirational. Isn’t he just so dreamy?
That wraps up the recap of our competitive scene here in Cape Town during my first year with Prince(ss) responsibilities. It was a very successful year, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my co-prince, Ryan, and his shop Pandemonium Games for getting in all the cards, prizes and promos from Black Chantry and keeping us posted about new stock. We’re all very grateful to you Ryan Kruger and Pandemonium Games and all the store-keepers for letting us use the space.
There were so many consistent players who also deserve a shout-out but can’t all be named here. They may not have won a league or a tournament, but they got to final tables and gave everyone a run for their money, many are from the old school, but it was even more remarkable to witness the power of the Worsley couple, who being completely new to the game, got placed at final tables in every tournament they attended! Well done Jo and Nick, come take it home in 2025.
And here’s a shout out to all my players who come play just for the fun. I hope to see you vibrantly bleeding your preys out in the next year too!
Can I also just say a massive thank you to Mikey Feguson too? The UK champ and YouTuber which sparked this journey for me after that interview in February. Sometimes a person needs a tiny little nudge and the next thing they’re flying away with their passion-project. In this case, that’s me being Prince(ss). So, thanks again Mikey! Check out that interview here: Lies From The Tabletop
And thanks to all the talented international players, artists, and creators I’ve been lucky enough to chat to on social media and become friends with. I am humbly honoured by all of your acquaintances, and inspired to keep a spotlight on my home-town’s VTES scene just for you!
And thus I conclude that the Cape Town VTES scene was re-awakened and revitalized by our very keen and growing player base in the year 2024, as we still continue into the holiday season with our social games and a very busy WhatsApp group buzzing about the new Hecata in-coming...
And we’ll carry this momentum forward into 2025! We look forward to Cape Town hosting the South African Nationals’ tournament at the Dragonfire convention, usually around August, and perhaps we’ll see some of our JHB country-men there.
We’ll have more tournaments other than that too, some of which may be limited or explore story-line themes and of course to try the 5th ed format again, learning from past mistakes, while adding the Toreador 30th anniversary, Lasombra and Hecata cards to the roster.
We’ll also have a league running in each semester, and maybe some surprise events too.
From newbie sessions and demo days, to long conversations about which clans we’d be if we were all vamps, to our heated tournaments and all the drama in and out of games…
Cape Town loves VTES, and we’re all looking forward to a fun and eventful 2025!
Yours sincerely,
Skye Segal
Prince of Cape Town