Smiles after the battle! From left to right: Ivan, Riccardo, champion Filippo, Simone and Martin.
Reported by Miro Albertazzi, VEKN National Coordinator of Italy:
On April 12th, 45 Methuselahs gathered in Pordenone and battled for the Italian Championship title! In the gorgeous estate of Gelindo dei Magredi, Filippo Mengoli eventually triumphed as the 2025 Italian Champion.
Here’s the standings after 3 rounds:
1. Simone Zanni 8 VP 2 GW
2. Ivan Candioli 5,5 VP 2 GW
3. Filippo Mengoli 5,5 VP 2 GW
4. Martin Weinmeyer 6,5 VP 1 GW
5. Riccardo Fabiani 6 VP 1 GW
The first part of the game was quiet and a bit stuck, with the three attrition decks building their forces. Meanwhile Simone and Riccardo started to call some political action, just to find out that Filippo, with his princes and primogen was the needle on the scale for every referendum. Everyone waited for the Tupdogs assault on the Banus but luck was not on the side of Martin, with one bad draw after the other and also the pressure of the Ravnos swarm on his back forced him to a defensive position. Ivan’s walking dead legion smashed Simone’s minions but took the pressure away from Filippo who was able to put the guns out. So the game sped up, Riccardo with the votes from Fil’s vampires ousted Martin, and as a part of the deal gave Filippo the time to oust Ivan, as by tradition zombies can’t stand against guns :D :D :D
With all of his minions in torpor or out of blood, Simone could only watch Filippo taking his second point. Riccardo had no time nor forces enough to assault the Banu mountain of pool, and so the game came to its end. Filippo won with his balanced and diligent playstyle, and most of all with his beloved clan!
Here’s his deck: "Haqim's Law: Protection"
Crypt (12 cards, min=22 max=33 avg=6.92)
1x Kasim Bayar 9 CEL OBF THA aus pot justicar Banu Haqim:6
4x Oluwafunmilayo 8 AUS CEL OBF THA prince Banu Haqim:6
2x Farah Sarroub 7 CEL THA aus obf prince Banu Haqim:6
2x Kassandra Tassaki 6 CEL THA obf prince Banu Haqim:6
1x Khadija Al-Kindi 6 CEL OBF THA primogen Banu Haqim:6
2x Warmaksan 5 THA cel obf prince Banu Haqim:6
Library (90 cards)
Master (17; 8 trifle)
2x Archon Investigation
3x Haqim's Law: Retribution
1x Market Square
1x Papillon
1x Powerbase: Montreal
3x Priority Contract
1x Rack, The
5x Villein
Action (10)
4x Hunter's Mark
6x Magic of the Smith
Equipment (6)
2x .44 Magnum
1x Assault Rifle
1x Bowl of Convergence
1x Heart of Nizchetus
1x Kevlar Vest
Combat (42)
4x Blur
10x Hunger of Marduk
12x Psyche!
10x Pursuit
4x Rego Motum
2x Side Strike
Reaction (15)
15x Second Tradition: Domain
Filippo awarded by the event organizer, Danny.
It was a really great day, as Italy National Coordinator i would like to thank Black Chantry and Ultra Pro for the gifts and the support they always give in our big events; our national distributor, Mistlore, who has been helping us since the start of this year, with all kinds of materials and many new ideas; our fabulous host Danny, who found a marvelous place where we spent a really great weekend. And, of course, I would like to thank all the players, you’re the ones to make these tournaments real, and the reason why building such events is really funny and satisfying!
The third part of the North America Cup Grand Prix circuit was played in Dallas on March 23 with 15 Methuselahs. Report by Chris Franklin, VEKN Prince of Dallas:
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Standings before the final:
1. Andy Smith 2 GW 6.5VP
2. Clint Jordan 2 GW 4.5VP
3. Mark Figuerola 1 GW 5.5VP
4. Matt Hodsdon 1 GW 5VP
5. Matt Hatch 1 GW 3.5VP
Final Standings: Matt Hodsdon 5 VP. Congratulations!
Matt’s tournament winning deck: “Haqim's Law: Bastardization”
Crypt (12 cards)
2x Adisa 3 cel obf Banu Haqim:6
2x Alu 2 obf Banu Haqim:5
2x Kalinda 6 CEL OBF tha primogen Banu Haqim:6
1x Arjun Shah 4 THA obf Banu Haqim:6
1x Asmin Kobane 5 CEL dom obf tha Banu Haqim:6
1x Flavia, Avenging Angel 6 CEL OBF QUI Banu Haqim:6
1x Greg Mazouni 4 cel obf tha Banu Haqim:6
1x Khadija Al-Kindi 6 CEL OBF THA primogen Banu Haqim:6
1x Wise Frog 5 OBF aus cel qui Banu Haqim:6
Library (90 cards)
Master (13; 1 trifle)
12x Haqim's Law: Retribution
1x Priority Contract
Action (8)
4x Computer Hacking
4x Khabar: Glory
Action Modifier (16)
3x Elder Impersonation
1x Leverage
5x Marked Path
2x Old Friends
5x Spying Mission
Action Modifier/Combat (47)
3x Hide the Mind
20x Resist Earth's Grasp
24x Swallowed by the Night
Combat (6)
3x Infernal Pursuit
2x No Trace
1x Twisting the Knife
The North America Cup events:
Gap, Pennsylvania - COMPLETED, Albert Presto wins
Los Angeles, California - COMPLETED, Mark Jasper wins
Dallas, Texas - Mar 22-23 - COMPLETED, Matt Hodsdon wins
Montreal, Canada - Apr 26-27
Madison, Wisconsin - May 17-18
The first leg of the Gulf Coast Roast 2025 circuit was played in Dallas, Texas, on March 22 with 16 Methuselahs. Reported by Chris Franklin, VEKN Prince of Dallas:
Dallas Texas was the host to the second annual Gulf Coast Roast event hosted at J Gilligans Bar and Grill in Arlington Texas. Players from around the country came to battle in three days of fantastic competition. The skill level varied from newcomers to legends of the hobby that rank amongst the very best the world of VTES has to offer. The main event of the weekend was Saturday's Gulf Coast Roast Grand Prix which marked the first leg of the Gulf Coast Roast for this year's competition.
After three long rounds of fierce competition we had a final table which included the number 1 player in the world Darby Keeney as well as veterans Brad Cashdollar, Chris Franklin, and Dean Garrison as well as relative newcomer Destyn Bowers who is also a Dallas native. With a hard fought final in the end it came down to Chris Franklin and Destyn Bowers who after torporing all of Darby’s minions he finally ousted him and then set about torporing all of Chris’ minions before he conceded the win to Destyn.
Standings before the final round:
1st Dean Garrison 2 GW 7 VP
2nd Darby Keeney 2 GW 6 VP
3rd Chris Franklin 1 GW 5 VP
4th Brad Cashdollar 1 GW 4 VP
5th Destyn Bowers 1 GW 4 VP
Final Results: Destyn Bowers 3 VP, Darby Keeney 1 VP and Chris Franklin 1 VP. A massive congratulations to Destyn for his first tournament win!
The tournament winning deck: “Anamilism Fun!!” by Destyn Bowers
Crypt (12 cards, min=19 max=28 avg=5.92)
1x Keegan 8 ANI FOR PRO aus cel Gangrel:6
2x Massimiliano 7 ANI FOR pro baron Gangrel:6
2x Doc Martina 6 ANI OBF for pre Ravnos:7
1x Kuyén 6 ANI PRO baron Gangrel:6
1x Luciano Carvalho 6 ANI OBF pre Ravnos:7
1x Martina Srnankova 6 FOR PRO ani Gangrel:6
1x Roberto Rivamonte 6 ANI OBF PRE Ravnos:7
1x Gathii 5 ANI PRE obf Ravnos:7
1x Whisper 5 ANI DOM pro Tzimisce:6
1x Trung Chau Pham 3 ANI Ravnos:7
Library (90 cards)
Master (7; 4 trifle)
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Metro Underground
4x Villein
Action (23)
1x Army of Rats
20x Deep Song
2x Tier of Souls
Retainer (3)
3x Raven Spy
Action Modifier (15)
3x Adhocracy
12x Ni Dieu ni Maître
Combat (42)
19x Aid from Bats
9x Carrion Crows
2x Conquer the Beast
3x Drawing Out the Beast
4x Pack Alpha
5x Taste of Vitae
A fantastic tournament and a large thanks to both Kelly Lyons for organizing and Black Chantry for providing amazing prize support for the event! Next up for the Gulf Coast Roast II is Lafayette, Louisiana May 31st!
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