VTES Oceania 2025

Champion in the middle.

Reported by RichE, VEKN Prince of Melbourne and Head Judge:

The Oceania Continental Championship (OCC) was held in Melbourne on Saturday, 25 October. We would like to thank Plenty of Games for hosting, Black Chantry for the beautiful price support, Mots Imports, Australia’s Online VTES card store, Steve Harris, Keith Lim, Bert Perry, all the organizers for their help, and all attendees.

Such a great turnout of 31 people for the championship and a greatly run event. Of the archetypes I saw today, the most prevalent was Malkavian (4), followed by Banu Hakim, three Ventrue, three Hecata and three Tzimisce.

About 55% of the decks were V5 decks, the rest legacy decks. Stealth Bleed was probably the most prevalent of the five main archetypes, and nominally combat was pretty close. Vote was a little bit behind that. There were four Ally decks and two wall decks that I saw. Overall, it was a wide range of archetypes and the way they were played. As head judge, I saw a lot of smiles and fun had by all.

VTES Oceania 2025

VTES Oceania 2025

The OCC annual coaster for all participants.

VTES Oceania 2025

VTES Oceania 2025

Pre-finals standings:
1. Benjamin Szymkow 2 GW 7.5 vp
2. Ke Carlton 2 GW 6 vp
3. Bert Perry 1 GW 6.5 vp
4. Stephen Harris 1 GW 6 vp
5. Andrew Stott 1 GW 6 vp

VTES Oceania 2025
The champions report AKA “What’s a girl to do all alone in the PoG?”:

I’ve top seeded and identify no good seats. The choice to sit as Hecata prey was based on the idea that if I spend the first chunk of the game concentrating on survival then hopefully the table can collapse around me and then I can use my tech to control the votes and close out the game.

I see Catalina, Diana, Diana, and Mkhokheli in my uncontrolled region. I decide to influence out a copy of Catalina so I can quickly Groom and Enchant to get an almost free Mkhokheli and be off to the races. Unfortunately for me I blunder and place counters on Diana. Much laughter on the table all round as I do my best cry of doooom!

Diana will be the only vampire I influence for the entire game.

Steve is doing his best to put me down quickly as the rest of the table sets up and goes about doing their business. I Parity Shift backwards with a Voter Cap as my first action which is supported by Ke. My first turn ends with a Forced March into Enchant Kindred and quickly transfer off.

I spend the next forty minutes or so desperately nursing the little pool I have left with the help of Enchant Kindreds. My predator brings out more minions and gets closer and closer to killing me. I manage to call an Anarchist Uprising with Diana cancelling Steve’s delaying tactics. My game looks pretty hopeless, but I hold on for dear life.

Bert Camarilla Iron First forward, I secure a precious pool by voting for it. Ke does not like this, but does Banish forward to help me survive. His intention was to Banish backwards but I threatened him with a Scalpel tongue and I think he needed that Amici Noctis for his maths to work. Steve can’t quite oust me on his next turn but gets very close.

Andy is firing on all cylinders as he has no predator. Bert defends admirably with Carlton but eventually succumbs. Ke has only managed to get two vamps out.

Andy uses Inside Dirt plus Marajava Thugee to bin one of Ke’s minions (great combo!).

Worth noting at this point that one of Andy’s minions with Guarded Rubrics is taking a dirt nap. Ke makes some tough decisions and decides to throw a vote backwards onto Andy to assist me getting the oust.

I get the oust with another Anarchist Uprising which allows Ke to make quick work of Steve’s remaining pool. On the turn I got the oust I play a risky Art Museum with the hope that will help me win heads up.

Heads up does not take too long as instead of eating Ke’s torpored minion I just focus onbleeding, unlocking and holding Scalpel. Very hard position for Ke at this point and I manage to take the game win.

Somehow I manage to win with a single vampire. It was a great day all round and thanks to all the finalists and spectators for a great experience!

Final result: Ben won with 1.5 vp (and highest seed tie breaker). Andrew had 1 vp and Ke had 1.5.

VTES Oceania 2025

Tournament winning deck: “Girl walks into PoG” by Ben Szymkow
Comment: Diana with tap/bleed module using Scalpel and Under the Skin. Predicted a wide-board meta so ran extra Anarchist Uprising and a Neonate Breach instead of KRC. Expulsion was to have an answer for baron flick and reduce.

Crypt (12 cards)
4x Diana Iadanza 9 AUS CEL FOR PRE justicar Toreador:7
3x Catalina Vega 8 AUS CEL PRE for prince Toreador:6
2x Flávio Gonçalves 7 CEL PRE aus for prince Toreador:6
2x Mkhokheli 6 PRE aus cel for prince Toreador:6
1x Maila 6 AUS PRE cel primogen Toreador:6

Library (90 cards)
Master (16)
1x Anarch Troublemaker
2x Art Museum
1x Camarilla Conclave
1x Creepshow Casino
1x Direct Intervention
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fortitude
5x Grooming the Protégé
1x Monastery of Shadows
2x Visit from the Capuchin

Action (9)
7x Enchant Kindred
2x Entrancement

Political Action (17)
2x Anarchist Uprising
1x Ancilla Empowerment
2x Banishment
3x Camarilla's Iron Fist
1x Expulsion
1x First Tradition: The Masquerade
1x Neonate Breach
6x Parity Shift

Action Modifier (30)
2x Aire of Elation
6x Forced March
3x Freak Drive
5x Loup
4x Perfect Paragon
3x Under the Skin
7x Voter Captivation

Action Modifier/Combat (4)
4x Resist Earth's Grasp

Action Modifier/Reaction (4)
4x Scalpel Tongue

Combat (6)
2x Charismatic Aura
4x Majesty

Reaction (4)
2x Second Tradition: Domain
2x Telepathic Misdirection

https://vdb.im/decks/07732accb

VTES Oceania 2025

VTES Oceania 2025
Photo opportunity with two fresh champions: Micon Garcia, who won the Asian Continentals last month in the Philippines popped in to say hi over the weekend.

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

VTES Asia 2025

This event was played on September 6 in Mandaluyong, Philippines. Report by Joscar Malacaman, Tournament Organizer and VEKN Prince of Taguig:

Asian Continental Championships 2025 will be one for the books! Last Saturday, we had 39 players battle it out for over 10 hours to achieve the coveted title of Asian VTES Champion. This has been one of the largest Vampire the Eternal Struggle tournaments in Asia and showcases just how far the Philippine VTES community has grown over the last couple of years. 

VTES Asia 2025

VTES Asia 2025 VTES Asia 2025
VTES Asia 2025 VTES Asia 2025
VTES Asia 2025 VTES Asia 2025
VTES Asia 2025 VTES Asia 2025
VTES Asia 2025 VTES Asia 2025
VTES Asia 2025 VTES Asia 2025
VTES Asia 2025 VTES Asia 2025

Before the final:
1st seed Micon Garcia Computer Hacking (2 GW, 9 VP)
2nd seed Johann Louie Ong Tzimisce Toolbox (2 GW, 6 VP)
3rd seed Dante Gagelonia Boleslaw Barons (2 GW, 5.5 VP)
4th seed Toni Dela Pena Ministry Platinum Protocol (1 GW, 8 VP)
5th seed Aurelio Icasiano Salubri Antitribu (1 GW, 5.5VP)

VTES Asia 2025

VTES Asia 2025
The final table starts with Dante playing Failsafe into Information Highway. Toni play a Dreams of the Sphinx to accelerate while Aurelio and Johann just had their regular transfers. Micon, however, exploded into the scene with an Effective Management and influencing out 4 1-caps.

Turn two allowed the others to bring out their first vampires Dante with a Leumeah, Toni with a Elisha Tucker, Aurelio with Michaela, Johann with Meshenka. Micon bled for a total of 4 for the round and then brought out a New Blood and another 2-cap. That's six minions on turn two for the top seed. 

Turn 3 is pretty aggressive with bleeds flying everywhere and Aurelio getting a Blade of Bellona in play. Micon continues his momentum with an 8 bleed turn although he lost a minion in the process. Dante attempts to stabilize with Failsafe triggering and getting an Aranthebes in play. Toni continues to get some bleeds in with Platinum Protocol. Aurelio rushes back with Michaela but Toni had a pair of dodges to keep her minions ready. Johann bleeds with Meshenka for 2 but Micon manages to deflect it to get some pool damage in despite the Aranthebes. Micon is really being slowed down by the Aranthebes but is still able to deal 4 pool worth of damage dropping Dante to 2 pool. 

Just as things to have seem to have slowed down, Micon gets a double oust netting him 2 VPs in rapid succession. With the Computer Hacking swarm behind him, Aurelio attempts to stabilize by sending 4 out of the 7 ready minions on Micon's side to torpor. Johann continues to put pressure on Micon but the 12 pool gain is proving to be a huge speed bump. 

Aurelio then shocks the table by playing his own Aranthebes. With Micon's deck really thin, there were already murmurs of whether he had enough gas to get one more oust to lock the victory. Through clever balancing of Computer Hacking bleeds and Leverages, Micon manages to get the final two pool damage he needed to get the oust and the tournament win. He wouldn't have enough gas to fight through Johann's Tzimisce though and the Philippine National Coordinator managed to get some VPs in the final table but ultimately, it was not enough to stop the techy weenie swarm from taking the Asian Continental Championships for Micon! 

Final result: Micon Garcia 3, Johann 2.

VTES Asia 2025
Tournament winning deck: “Leveraging my Hacking Skills” by Micon Garcia

Crypt (12 cards)
1x Christine Boscacci 2 dom vic Pander:2
1x Mustafa Rahman 2 dom Tremere:2
1x New Blood 2 san Blood Brother:ANY
1x Ohanna 2 dom Malkavian:2
1x Samson 2 dom Ventrue antitribu:2
1x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY
1x Antoinette DuChamp 1 cel pre Caitiff:2
1x Franciscus 1 aus Caitiff:2
1x Julius 1 qui ser Caitiff:2
1x Navar McClaren 1 ani Caitiff:1
1x Royce 1 dom Pander:2
1x Smudge the Ignored 1 Caitiff:1

Library (62 cards)
Master (15)
2x Anarch Revolt
2x Antediluvian Awakening
6x Effective Management
2x Information Highway
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
2x Sudden Reversal

Action (20)
20x Computer Hacking

Political Action (1)
1x Ancient Influence

Action Modifier (6)
6x Leverage

Combat (10)
10x Dodge

Reaction (10)
4x Deflection
3x Delaying Tactics
3x Wake with Evening's Freshness

VTES Asia 2025
Acknowledgements: I'd like to thank the Philippine VTES Community and our guests from Japan and Taiwan for making ACC MNL 2025 a smashing success. Huge props as well to Paul Jonathan Sia Tio, James Lin, and Black Chantry Productions for our prizes. Of course, this also wouldn't have been possible without Whimsy Game Cafe.

Congratulations again to Micon Garcia for winning the main event.

Hope to see you at the Asian Continental Championships being planned for Japan next year!

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

VTES Czech Republic 2025
This event was played in Sázava on September 6. Report by Jan Koci, VEKN Prince of Jihlava with comment from the champion:


Pulled Fang #14 – a great weekend full of VTES

Another edition of Pulled Fang, this time with the number 14, is behind us. The tournament once again brought exciting battles, creative strategies, and most importantly, a gathering of players from all over Europe.

Friday – the climax of the year-long league

On Friday, we held the finals of the year-long league, with Petr Muller, Daniel Gargulák, Jakub Hrbáček, Martin Weinmayer, and Jakub Rýpar making it to the table. In the end, Petr Muller emerged as the winner, showing the strength of his Hecata deck – congratulations! It’s just a pity that such a final can’t be turned into an Archon report.

Saturday – the main tournament with international attendance

On Saturday, an impressive 57 players gathered in the venue. Participants came from Poland, Hungary, Austria, France, Spain, Denmark, and of course the Czech Republic.

VTES Czech Republic 2025

Standings before final:
1. Matej Lenarth 2 GW, 9.0 VP
2. Richard Stefan Utner 2 GW, 8.5 VP
3. Richard Utner 2 GW, 8.0 VP, 168 TP
4. Maciej Frankowiak 2 GW, 8.0, 144 TP
5. Gyula Erdős 2 GW, 8.0 VP, 124 TP

VTES Czech Republic 2025
VTES Czech Republic 2025
Final report by Matej Lenarth:
The seat choice was logical: a slower predator (The Capuchin) and a prey who wasn’t an ANI Baron, and moreover, I could deal damage both forward and backward through Revolts. At the same time, I could let the other two animalism decks beat each other up.

The first round was mostly about negotiating who would bring out what. I drew Trung (Ravnos, 3 ANI), Massimiliano, Kuyen, and Angel. Gyula wanted Angel, Maciej wanted Kuyen, so I said OK. First turn: Master – Anarch Revolt. Trung popped out for me, and before Cappucin could come out, I managed to bring out Massimiliano.

The Revolt cut into everyone on turn two and a few players for several more turns. Richard brought out a 9-cap Assamite, I rushed him, dealt 6 over 2 turns (Villein, of course), leaving him with 3 blood. Then he brought out his second and third vampires.

The Capuchin then became Anarch, the Assamite didn’t. On top of that, Maciej rushed Richard’s vampires backwards because Richard hadn’t given him a good enough answer to the question whether he was going to bleed him the next turn.

There was one attempt to remove the Revolt, but it ended 6:6, since Gyula supported me across the table, as it suited him (he was planning to rush The Capuchin, which he then did, sending him to torpor, but Maciej rescued him and restored him to full with Giant’s Blood).

Richard’s Assamites then died, and I contested Angel, so Maciej was left with Doc Martina and Kuyen, while I had Massimiliano and Trung.

VTES Czech Republic 2025
Maciej rushed Massimiliano, but I sacrificed Trung, who dropped Doc Martina into torpor (and went down himself). I then planned to contest Kuyen, since he was Maciej’s last vampire, so that the Anarch Revolts (at least two at that point) would cut him down. But Richard with The Capuchin helped me instead – he decided to bleed for 5 at 2 stealth, and since I had Bait and Switch and Maciej didn’t, I gained 6 pool. On my turn I think I rushed two of Gyula’s vampires, torporized one, dropped Angel myself, and brought out Kuyen.

I wasn’t drawing Tastes or any other lifegain, until finally next turn I drew Poacher’s Hunting Ground, which worked thanks to Gyula’s Papillon. Gyula then finished off Richard’s The Capuchin, who still managed to bring out Gerald Windham, only to go straight into torpor after combat with Gyula’s Baron. That left us in heads-up.

It didn’t look good for me at all. I was missing lifegain and Tastes.

I kept bringing out more Revolts, so there were 4 on the table. Tension in the Ranks showed up, and I played Villeins on vampires in torpor for 0 just to cycle and not reduce Kuyen’s and others’ blood.

It was pretty dramatic, because Gyula had the Sphinx, Papillon, Rack… and The Edge. I had only Poacher’s HG. After the game, Karel told me that Gyula forgot to add 2 from the Rack to Branimir and gave her only Papillon. In that turn I managed to get into combat with her, torporized her (Massimiliano went down too), and contested Adrian (Gyula’s last vampire). Since by the end of my turn Gyula had 6 pool, and there were 4 active Revolts plus we were contesting Adrian, Dreams of the Sphinx, and the Rack, I managed to win :)

The final table was tough, with animalism strategies dominating the field. After a long and demanding fight, Matej Lenarth claimed victory with his Ani Baron deck. Congratulations not only to him, but to all the finalists for their excellent performance.

Tournament winning deck: “Czech nationals 2025 – BarAni” by Matej Lenarth (credits to Jozef Patrnciak)

Crypt (12 cards)
1x Adrino Manauara 8 ANI DOM PRO pot baron Tzimisce:6
2x Massimiliano 7 ANI FOR pro baron Gangrel:6
1x Ángel Guerrero 7 ANI DOM PRO baron Tzimisce:6
2x Branimira 6 ANI dom pre pro baron Tzimisce:6
2x Kuyén 6 ANI PRO baron Gangrel:6
1x Whisper 5 ANI DOM pro Tzimisce:6
1x Trung Chau Pham 3 ANI Ravnos:7
2x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY

Library (90 cards)
Master (20; 7 trifle)
6x Anarch Revolt
1x Carfax Abbey
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fame
1x Poacher's Hunting Ground
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Rack, The
1x Tension in the Ranks
6x Villein
1x Wider View

Event (1)
1x NSA Trio

Action (12)
12x Deep Song

Equipment (1)
1x Ivory Bow

Retainer (3)
1x Mr. Winthrop
2x Raven Spy

Combat (34)
12x Aid from Bats
12x Carrion Crows
2x Drawing Out the Beast
4x Taste of Vitae
4x Terror Frenzy

Reaction (19)
6x Bait and Switch
3x Deep Ecology
1x Delaying Tactics
9x Organized Resistance

VTES Czech Republic 2025

The troph made by Pavel Matoušek, with pedestal that works as a cards box made by Markéta Munduchová.

VTES Czech Republic 2025

Thanks and looking ahead

A huge thank-you goes to all the players who came and helped create such an amazing atmosphere. Without you, Pulled Fang wouldn’t be what it is – not just a tournament, but also a gathering of friends and enthusiasts of Vampire: The Eternal Struggle. We look forward to seeing you next year at PF#15, or perhaps even earlier at one of the Roadsto Pulled Fang #15 league events.

Thanks for the great report, and thanks to all organisers, sponsor Stanislaw Szczepaniak and participants!