Reported by José Fontenele, VEKN Baron of Rio de Janeiro:

On Sunday, June 7th, the tournament "1st Step of the South American VTES Grand Prix" was held at the Tijuca Municipal Club, within the Iniciativa RPG event in Rio de Janeiro, the largest RPG event in the state. With a record attendance of 39 players, we had three extensive rounds of combat, (many) bleeds, and manipulations to conquer the coveted spot in the final and the Grand Prix title. It is necessary to have Fortitude!

A three-round tournament plus a final is no easy feat. From the start, it was necessary to worry both about the time of the rounds and the sanity needed to pilot the same deck in different scenarios and conditions. As many players present had never played in this format before, I heard reports of mental fatigue and even stress with their own deck – which is why we always recommend choosing a deck you already master in tournaments. This makes each round less tiring and also helps in planning each table's victory.

Regarding the decks present, it was noticeable how the fierce competition to reach the final (and secure an even more complete prize pool) led the players, in majority, to choose decks focused on bleeds for the tournament. At every table there was at least one, and even two or three decks focused on inflicting the maximum possible damage on the prey, just in different ways. We had bleeds with allies (merciless specters), bleeds with votes, bleeds with swarms, power bleeds, low-cap bleeds, and high-cap bleeds. On the other hand, it was also possible to find combat decks, vote decks (we had a rare Legacy of Pander deck), and powerful walls to slow down or redirect the heavier bleeds.

There was, therefore, a whole hodgepodge of strategies, machinations, and manipulations to snag a spot in the championship final. With the tight schedule and moods affected by each round where "the deck wouldn't run" or "the cross-over didn't help," among other justifications for things not going well, we had 3 very competitive rounds where it was possible to witness a five-way tie between third and eighth place in the number of VPs until the final round.

In other words, as I heard from other more experienced players, only the decks that truly performed well in all rounds made it to the final. And the finalists, with their respective decks, were:
1. Anderson Pinto Rodrigues 2 GW 10 VP
2. Alberto Ferreira e Sousa 2 GW 8 VP 156 TP
3. Gabriel Mattos 2 GW 8 VP 156 TP
4. Cristiano Cordeiro Teixeira Vaz 2 GW 7 VP 168 TP
5. Yuri Furtado Prange    2 GW 7 VP 144 TP

The final table promised plenty of excitement. Gabriel Mattos is the current city champion, Yuri Prange is another great champion (currently the Top-1 in the State), and there's also the experienced Cristiano, Prince of Niterói, emerging with his Nosferatu decks; “Bacia”, an experienced tournament player, and, making his finals debut, Anderson “Panda”, who earlier had the luck of winning a Dark Sovereigns booster pack and also taking home a brand new Arika card as a prize.

After a little over an hour and a half of play, Anderson “Panda” won the GP! First final and first championship, 100% success rate. Respect! He's the one who tells us about how the last game went:

"In the final, there he was again, I met Yuri once more to thwart my dream of becoming a tournament champion. I've been playing since 1998 and have always been just another participant in the championships. Also in the final, Cristiano with his Nosferatu, whom I met in the previous round, "Bacia," and Gabriel "Joe Stock," both with their Oblivion vampires, filled the table with Spectral Servitors.
  As the first in the overall score, I could choose my position at the table and decided to risk being preyed upon by the Nosferatu, also seeing that he would be in trouble with the Spectral Servitors. Gabriel started in sprint mode, raised his vampires, who in turn summoned their Spectrals, and there they all went to bleed 3 or more against Cristiano, who seemed like he wouldn't last long.
  For me, it was a relief. Either Cristiano focused on surviving or he gave up the game if he wanted to attack me. Those who were blocked met their bloodthirsty crows and bats, or spectral plasma." "Bacia," in the same recipe, raises a vampire, who recruits Spectral Servitor, and everyone starts bleeding the prey. I watched, summoning a Thing here, another I read, giving my humble bleeds of 1, which were accepted and turned into Propaganda of the Deed on the table.
  And then she appeared again, Luck, Yuri equips himself with a miraculous Gran Madre di Dio. Gabriel immediately warned, "if you equip it, the servitors will be practically nullified." And so it was, after that the course of the match changed completely. Gabriel goes all out and kills Cristiano; "Bacia" is increasingly drying up Yuri's pool, and I see the Hecata already sitting on the table to decide between the two who would be the champion.
I waited and Gabriel came with his bleeds, my Bait and Switch were already waiting for him, 3 bleeds passed to the prey and "Bacia" has his pool zeroed. In my hand the final card. Turn passed to me and I call a Revolutionary Council, having 6 vampires in play, nobody blocks, I kill Yuri and Gabriel in the same action, giving a VP of thanks for the Gran Madre di Dio.
  Thiago Souza, our match judge, even says that it was with refinements of cruelty.
It was a great joy, my friends, to win a tournament of your favorite game, in an event with 40 participants and 3 rounds plus a final – it was special. Now that song by The Cardigans – ‘Losing’ in My Favorite Game sounds different to me”.

Champion's deck: "Thing in the Tijuca Forest"

2x Casey Snyder     6  PRO ani cel for  baron  Gangrel:6
2x Kuyén      6  ANI PRO    baron  Gangrel:6
1x Massimiliano     7  ANI FOR pro   baron  Gangrel:6
1x Ángel Guerrero   7  ANI DOM PRO   baron  Tzimisce:6
1x André the Manipulator  6  FOR PRO     Gangrel:5
1x Branimira     6  ANI dom pre pro  baron  Tzimisce:6
1x Kamile Paukstys  5  PRO ani for    Gangrel:6
1x Nathan Turner    4  PRO ani     Gangrel:6
1x Indira     3  PRO      Gangrel:6
1x Ruslan Fedorenko    2  pro      Gangrel:6

Library (90 cards)
Master (23; 1 trifle)
6x Villein
4x Effective Management
2x Archon Investigation
1x Anarch Railroad
1x Backways
1x Carfax Abbey
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Ecoterrorists
1x Ennoia's Theater
1x Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
1x Giant's Blood
1x Information Highway
1x Parthenon, The
1x Powerbase: Montreal

Action (14)
13x Thing
1x Rewilding

Action Modifier (11)
5x Propaganda of the Deed
4x Earth Control
2x Monkey Wrench

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

Combat (15)
9x Earth Meld
4x Form of Mist
2x Claws of the Dead

Political Action (6)
2x Consanguineous Boon
2x Eat the Rich
2x Revolutionary Council

Reaction (17)
7x Bait and Switch
6x Organized Resistance
2x Delaying Tactics
2x Deep Ecology

Our friend Lucas "Odin" Guimarães made a great video on his YouTube channel showing the RPG event and also the VTES championship. 

Acknowledgments

A Grand Prix like this, with a record number of participants, lots of prizes, and widespread player satisfaction, is not something that is built alone. I want to thank all the participating players, the people who came from Araruama, Nova Iguaçu, Itaocara, Volta Redonda, São João de Meriti, Niterói, the West and Southwest Zones, the city center, in short, everyone who traveled on a somewhat cold Sunday to Tijuca to play VTES (and enjoy RPG at Iniciativa as well).

The prizes were another highlight of the championship, so I want to thank Editora Conclave (www.conclaveweb.com.br), Gabriel Mattos from Joe Stock (www.joestock.com.br), and Jean from VTES Store (www.vtesstore.com.br), great partners who fostered the GP's prizes.

I would also like to thank two friends who played very important roles in running the championship: Thiago Santos, who was our head judge throughout the tournament, and our comrade Archbishop Marcelo Farias, who gave a VTES workshop to those interested. Thank you all! Until next time, and let's play VTES!


For clarity: The South American GP consists of three stages: two in Brazil and one in Chile. The final stage takes place in the country that is not hosting the South American Championship itself. This year, the first stage happened in Rio de Janeiro. The second stage will take place in Fortaleza (in August), and the third in Santiago, Chile. There is also the Brazil GP, where State and Regional events count towards the final table during the Brazilian Championship.

Thanks for this report and thanks to all organisers, sponsors and players!

Reported by Julio García Martín, prince of Alcalá de Henares:

On June 27th, 158 Metuselahs answered the call. During this day, old pacts were broken, alliances were formed only to die a few turns later, and the Jyhad was once again waged on the tables of the 2026 Spanish VTES Championship.

However, it wasn't just the strategists who attended the gathering. Those whose hands have shaped the game's imagery for decades were also present. Presiding over this illustrious conclave was Lawrence Snelly, a true legend with over thirty years of experience illustrating the cards that have accompanied generations of players. Alongside him shone some of the biggest names in the national scene: Francisco Tebar, Marta Ruiz Anguera, and María Loren, who shared their talent by signing cards, chatting with attendees, and offering the opportunity to purchase original artwork.

The future was also represented. Daniel Argudo, one of Black Chantry's newest additions, offered a glimpse of the talent that will shape the look of the game's upcoming expansions. Completing this exceptional lineup was Ginés Quiñonero, Black Chantry's art director, reinforcing the bond between the publisher and a community that continues to grow year after year.

Artists: María, Marta, Lawrence, Francisco and Ginés.

When the moment of truth arrived, the real fight for the throne began.

With 158 participants, every victory point was precious, and every decision could determine the outcome of a game. The tables became battlefields where diplomacy was as lethal as the cards themselves, and where patience proved as important as aggression. Despite the event's scale, the championship proceeded at an excellent pace, with hardly any delays and an exemplary atmosphere, demonstrating once again the commitment of all the players.

Predictions suggested that at least three tables would be needed to reach the final. But fate had other plans. The competition was incredibly close. Dozens of players arrived at the two tables, and the final spot was decided in a dramatic three-way tie. Two tables and nine victory points were enough to achieve glory... while others, by an almost imperceptible margin, saw their dream of competing for the title slip away.

Standings:
1. Miquel Jorge Tortajada 3 GW 9 VP
2. Israel Alcalde 3 GW 9 VP
3. Ivan Bernal 2 GW 10 VP
4. Oscar Garcia Vera 2 GW 9 VP
5. Alfonso Barrientos 2 GW 9 VP

And then came the final table.

Five Metuselahs took their seats, knowing that only one would leave the room as champion. For almost two hours, every action was measured, every temporary alliance concealed an inevitable betrayal, and every move brought them closer to or further from the coveted victory.

As night was about to claim the board, Miki Jorge Tortajada, who had arrived as the top seed, demonstrated why he had dominated the championship since the previous rounds. He waited for his moment, played patiently, read the board with precision, and when the opportunity arose, he delivered the decisive blow. The point and a half he got was enough to claim the title and become the new 2026 Spanish VTES Champion.

The tournament winning deck: “Potato's New Groove with modifications” by Outback295 (Based on a deck by Jani Malmi)

Crypt
4x Ambrosio Luis Monçada, Plenipotentiary  10  DOM OBT POT PRE aus for  cardinal  Lasombra:2
3x Gratiano     8  DOM OBT obf pot  priscus Lasombra:2
2x Alvaro, The Scion of Angelica  9  OBT POT dom pre  archbishop  Lasombra:2
2x Antonio Delgado    9  DOM OBT POT tha  archbishop  Lasombra:2
1x Francisco Domingo de Polonia   9  DOM OBT POT PRE pro  archbishop  Lasombra:2

Library (84 cards)
Master (18; 1 trifle)
7x Unholy Sacrament
6x Villein
1x Barrens, The
1x Black Forest Base
1x Gurchon Hall
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Power Structure

Action (6)
6x Govern the Unaligned

Political Action (17)
6x Cold War
2x Banishment
2x Kine Resources Contested
2x War of Ages
1x Anarchist Uprising
1x Ancilla Empowerment
1x Meddling of Semsith, The
1x Political Stranglehold
1x Reins of Power

Action Modifier (25)
5x Amici Noctis
4x Shadow Play
4x Shroud of Absence
4x Dominant Personality
2x Conditioning
2x Private Audience
2x Magnetic Authority
2x Unthinkable Humiliation

Action Modifier/Reaction (7)
5x Ominous Chorus
2x Murmur of the False Will

Combat (2)
2x Majesty

Reaction (9)
7x Deflection
2x Obedience

Every great story needs allies. Our deepest gratitude to the sponsors Glass Taller, Átomo Game, TCG Market, Infernal Forge, Doctor Muge, Kingdom Wargame, Estalia, Black Penny, and Alcalá Comics, who made this championship possible, and especially to Black Chantry, whose support allows VTES to continue bringing together players from all over Spain each year. Also thanks to Conclave Ibérico and the Círculo de Isengard Cultural Association, with its sponsor Domino's Pizza.

The dust settles once more on the tables. The cards return to their decks. The old guard retreats back into the shadows. But only for a while. Because the eternal struggle never ends. See you at the 2027 Spanish VTES Championship!

Thanks for this report, and thanks to everyone at this HUGE event!