The finalists: Marius, Andreas, Julien, Frédéric, and Rodinei.

Reported by Sven Helmer, VEKN National Coordinator of Switzerland, with comment from the champion himself:

On 7 November, fifteen Methuselahs assembled in Zurich to decide who will be the next Swiss champion. Apart from the parking situation (which is a bit of a nightmare in the inner city), everyone had a good time and enjoyed the friendly atmosphere in the new venue. This was the first VTES tournament in Zurich at DuBischDra, a new boardgaming cafe that opened its doors in September. It's an old cinema that was refurbished and is a really cool place.

After three preliminary rounds, the finalists were determined (from fifth place to first): Andreas, Rodinei, Julien, Frédéric, and Marius.

Julien, an up-and-coming player and one of the earliest members of the (fairly) newly established Zurich playgroup, won his first tournament and was crowned Swiss champion. Congratulations on the first tournament win and being victorious at a National Championship!

Here is a brief recap of the final in Julien's words:

"Before the tournament, I was already faced with an important decision. What deck will I bring? I was thinking about Salubri combat, but the age-old question of 'How do I win?' pointed me towards powerbleed. In the end my goal was to bring the Salubri a national title.

Deck in hand, I went into the ranking phase of the tournament and swept my first table with 5 VPs. This already set me up to be in the finals for sure, but I wanted to secure first place for better seating. In the end I only managed to get one more VP, but at least the deck was working well and I only spotted one other counter deck to me, which I wanted to avoid.

With third place secured I entered the finals and had my first terrible choice. Either Nephandus as my prey or Ghede Typhonic Beast. I made the call to sit behind Ghede, as I could surprise-oust that deck. Nephandus is the absolute counter to me and I would lose for sure with no stealth in my deck and no way to destroy the Nephandi. Both Trophy Anson and Brujah seated behind me, putting me between two combat decks. Thus, I didn't bring out any vampires until I had three at the same time.

My crosstable buddies got destroyed by rushes and transferred to low pool. I struck a deal with Ghede to not bleed (fully planning to break it) and took the Brujah's bleeds. A crucial block on an Open War slowed them down.

At the right moment I pushed forward with big bleeds and took Ghede off the table giving me breathing room.

The Nephandi player fell afterwards, as he was rushed to death before that and down to one pool. With a Direct Intervention on my modifier he went out on his own terms.

The Anson player was also low on pool and rushed to death by the Brujah, giving me 3 VPs and the game win. In the end I perished to the Brujah, but it did not matter anymore.

Looking back, I am proud of how I played my seating on this tense table, considering all the rushes. The Swiss title remains in Swiss hands and the Salubri have won the Nationals!"

And here is the decklist of Julien's deck: "Hidden Predator"

Crypt (12)
3x Djeneba
2x Abaddon
2x Ilonka
1x Aniel
2x Malachi
1x Sakhar
1x Opikun

Library (90)
Master (15)
1x Anarch Troublemaker
3x Blood Doll
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
1x Information Highway
1x Meditative Grove
1x Pentex™ Subversion
1x Porto de Santos
1x Saulot's Guiding Wisdom
1x Saulot's Healing Touch
1x Sudden Reversal
2x Vessel

Action (21)
6x Feast of the Soul's Secrets
10x Govern the Unaligned
2x Revelations
3x Touch of Valeren

Equipment (2)
2x Lambreta

Action Modifier (34)
2x Bonding
6x Conditioning
2x Daring the Dawn
5x Forced Confessional
2x Foreshadowing Destruction
5x Freak Drive
1x Murmur of the False Will
4x Seduction
3x The Sleeping Mind
4x Unleashing the Bestial Soul

Combat (5)
2x Hidden Strength
3x Rolling with the Punches

Reaction (13)
5x Deflection
2x Delaying Tactics
2x Eyes of Argus
2x On the Qui Vive
2x Telepathic Misdirection

For the full standings of the tournament, check the Archon website.

Many thanks go out to Black Chantry for the generous prize support, DuBischDra for hosting the event, and, last but not least, all the players attending the event! Hope to see you at the Swiss NC 2027!

Thanks for this report Sven, congratualations to Julien, and thanks to all helpers, sponsors and players!