Vampire: Elder Kindred Network Newsletter May 2021

Greetings fellow Methuselahs,

PRECONSTRUCTED DECKS BOX FRONTS REVEALED

After about a year of designing and playtesting, the four 2021 preconstructed decks are now soon ready for the printer. Featured clans are Banu Haqim (Camarilla), Brujah (Anarchs), Gangrel (Anarchs) and The Ministry (Anarchs). These decks will be available in English, French and Spanish and contain totally 42 new crypt cards and 16 new library cards mixed with reprints of previously published cards.

Distributors can preorder these soon, so please ask your favorite store to stock them. The recommended retail price is £18/€20/$22 and they will be in stores in October.

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ATLANTIC CUP THIS WEEKEND!

Now we look forward to what seems to become the largest online VTES tournament so far. Over 100 Methuselahs have registered to play Atlantic Cup 2021 on June 5th and 6th. The format will be 3 rounds Standard Constructed played over Lackey plus Discord. Many thanks to Lionel Panhaleux and everybody else involved in organizing this!

For registration, cool prizes, schedule and all other kinds of information, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/vtes-atlantic-cup-registration-149917819233

Above: Some of the skilled players already registered: Jay Kristoff (US), Fernanda Nunes (BR), Desso Alastor (BR), Delmar Sittoni (BR), Richard Cortés Zúñiga (CL), Rudolf Scholz (DE), Tomàs López Jiménez (ES), Martin Weinmayer (AT), Joab Rogerio Barbosa da Silva (BR) and Nikica Novakovic (RS).

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DECKS TO BEAT: MAY

A retrospect by Rudolf Scholz

The signs are right: The Kickstarter project is funded (yeah!), and the Atlantic Cup is about to take place (woohoo!). The monthly review on decks, this time from May, might give you an inspiration for your next tournament deck, since the tournaments with the most participants from May 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 saw winning decks which are a bit off nowadays’ mainstream. No, it’s not about Kali’s Fang, but neither about Liquidations, Tupdogs or Emerald Legionnaires.

Year 2000
“Sandwich of the month” by Matt Green
Deck type: Malkavian toolbox
Untitled tournament – Portsmouth, England – May 6 – 18 players

Notes from the organiser: Matthew Green won, with a quite EXTRAORDINARY toolbox Malky deck, including [blush, simper] out-of-turn rush/aggravated damage/Rotschreck combat. He only had 5.5 VP to get to the final but he engineered this quite BRILLIANTLY, ensuring, for example, in the third heat that none of the other players was going to get more VP than him, and that the biggest threats to him were stymied. He then played a total blinder in the final, starting off slow, blocking or voting down [with my help] Rob's votes, helping me to bring Rob down to 1 pool and then using a Madness network Dramatic Upheaval to swap places with me, so that he could bleed out Rob and then, via a deflection, me. A really AMAZING performance and one for the aficionados. Well done, Matt!

Notes from Matt: The deck could stand some improvement, it was the first time it had seen competitive play. The Bums Rushes were pretty bad, another hunter would have been better. The Legendary Vampire was great as were the My Enemy's-Enemies. Telepathic Vote Counting should be something different and the deck should have Sudden Reversals and maybe a DI [Direct Intervention]. Tribute to the Master effectively kept Rob T. in the game during round 1, I had no way to deal with it. Masters in this deck are at a premium really and adding still more OOT [out-of-turn] cards may be a bad idea. I'll try it and see.

Crypt (12)
2x Gilbert Duane 7 AUS DOM OBF prince Malkavian:1
2x Greger Anderssen 7 AUS OBF dom pro prince Malkavian:2
2x Victoria 5 AUS cel obf Malkavian:2
2x Zebulon 5 OBF aus dom pro Malkavian:1
1x Ozmo 6 AUS dom obf Malkavian:1
1x Aleph 4 AUS dom Malkavian:1
1x Watenda 3 obf Malkavian:2
1x Zöe 3 AUS cel obf Malkavian:2

Library (82)
2x Blood Doll
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
2x Elysium: The Arboretum
1x Legendary Vampire
5x Madness Network
2x Protean
4x Rötschreck
2x Vast Wealth

2x Bum's Rush
2x Graverobbing

1x Muddled Vampire Hunter

1x Ivory Bow
2x Leather Jacket
1x Sengir Dagger

2x Conservative Agitation
2x Dramatic Upheaval
1x Kindred Restructure
4x Kine Resources Contested
1x Malkavian Justicar
1x Parity Shift

2x Cloak the Gathering
2x Conditioning
1x Foreshadowing Destruction
3x Forgotten Labyrinth
6x Lost in Crowds
2x Telepathic Vote Counting

3x Behind You!
1x Body Flare
2x Bone Spur
3x Flesh of Marble

4x Deflection
2x Forced Awakening
3x Malkavian Rider Clause
6x My Enemy's Enemy
3x Wake with Evening's Freshness

2021 comments:
– Malkavians with Dominate looking for Madness Network fun: acting out-of-turn (all Malkavians have their own Enkil Cog) – with the option to play out-of-turn Master cards while acting. Like: “Does your deck have a viable defence against aggravated damage and Rotschreck? No? Oh, sorry … Do you mind me playing Graverobbing on your now useless vampire in torpor?”
– The vote angle of this deck allowed exchanging seats with another Methuselah, which usually resulted in VP-sniping (as described in the comment above). Dramatic Upheaval and Kindred Restructure were added to the Banned List in 2005. If you wished to achieve a similar effect nowadays, you had to build a deck around Life Boon and a way to deliver “friendly fire”, e. g. with (mass) damage votes (or the Dementation action card Kindred Spirits).
– How to make this deck work in 2021 and retain parts of the originality? Crypt-wise, in order to make sure the Protean combat module works more safely, I would triple Greger Andersen (drop Watenda) and maybe Zebulon (as 13th vampire?) and add 1 or 2 Wider Views. Hint: It is probably the safer bet to focus on Obfuscate cards (like Disguised Weapon) and Equipment (.44 Magnum is a very common option) when choosing groups 1 and 2. When going for Protean, change to group 2-3 and go for Rachel Brandywine with superior PRO (first printed in Camarilla Edition in 2002) as a fearsome star of the deck.
– More pool gain is needed since the VP-sniping option is lost. Poolgain could be 3x Villein (instead of 2x Blood Doll) and replacing all seat-changing votes and the copies of Conservative Agitation by Parity Shift. The 3 copies of Malkavian Rider Clause (maybe even add a copy of Cryptic Rider) will help you to get the pool you need (additionally, raise your sweet-talking skills).
– Master cards: Drop Elysium (usually there are too many non-Camarilla combat decks around) for another Dreams and maybe a Papillon (its cost-gain ratio is brilliant). Even though Direct Intervention and/or Sudden Reversal/Wash would be nice, I would go for Rötschreck only – you cannot chase two rabbits at the same time.
– Turn Bum’s Rush into Nose of the Hound. Forced Awakening should be On the Qui Vive, WwEF be Eyes of Agus, and you will wish to add copies of Second Tradition: Domain as well (or drop bounces for them, it´s a metagame decision). If you wish to exert more table control, add copies of Eagle’s Sight and probably a Bowl of Convergence.
– Vote-wise, I would stick to the 2 copies of Telepathic Vote Counting. If you want to get more bargain out of the Protean angle and Madness Network, you could instead take in 2 copies of Homunculus. Foreshadowing Destruction has to be another Conditioning, since only Gilbert has DOM. 1 copy each of Lost in Crowds and Forgotten Labyrinth should be Elder Impersonations, since “block fails” is so strong (and needed every now and then).
– The combat module is a small one (even if you go up to 90 cards), so choose your troubles wisely. Flesh of Marble is a nice way to take away the threat of huge amounts of damage. Bone Spur (and probably Body of Sun) could be Claws of the Dead (and maybe add two more copies of that). I would go all Protean, turning Behind You! into Form of the Ghost and/or Earth Meld.
– Fun note: If you up for funky stuff, add a Ghoul Retainer. When it uses the Ivory Bow or the Sengir Dagger, the damage is technically “environmental”.

Year 2005
“Ahrimanes gone wild” by François Déziel
Deck type: Ahrimane Anarch vote
NAC Qualifier - Watchtower: Chosen are Called – Montreal, Quebec, Canada – May 1 – 26 players

Crypt (12)
4x Howler 8 ANI PRE SPI obf Ahrimane:2
4x Siamese, The 7 PRE SPI ani pro Ahrimane:2
2x Cynthia Ingold 6 SPI ani for pre Ahrimane:2
2x Nettie Hale 5 ani cel pre pro spi Ahrimane:2

Library (90)
1x Anarch Free Press, The
1x Anarch Railroad
3x Anarch Revolt
3x Blood Doll
2x Powerbase: Los Angeles
2x Seattle Committee
2x Sudden Reversal

4x Engling Fury
2x Entrancement
1x Fee Stake: Boston
1x Fee Stake: Corte
1x Fee Stake: Los Angeles
1x Fee Stake: New York
1x Fee Stake: Perth
1x Fee Stake: Seattle
2x Muricia's Call

4x Conservative Agitation
2x Domain Challenge
4x Firebrand
4x Kine Resources Contested
2x Reinforcements

2x Owl Companion
2x Raven Spy

2x Aire of Elation
4x Bewitching Oration
4x Voter Captivation

8x Swiftness of the Stag

4x Chameleon's Colors
6x Majesty

4x Cats' Guidance
4x Falcon's Eye
2x Forced Awakening
4x Speak with Spirits

2021 comments:
– Votes powered by Presence and Fee Stakes together with some table control with Spiritus reaction and combat cards. It is important to recall that only the Anarch cards of the sets Anarchs, Gehenna and Kindred Most Wanted were available (so no Anarch Convert) AND that Anarch Revolt affected all Methuselahs in the game until the rewording released with Twilight Rebellion (TR) in 2008.
– Today, you want to make use of Anarch Convert in order to reliably control different ready Anarchs as soon as possible (which is needed to get the Fee Stakes work). As Karl Schaefer describes in his very useful article “Advanced Crypt Construction (and Math!)”, you want to go for 5 copies of Anarch Convert in a Crypt composed of 12 vampires (maybe 3x Howler, 2x The Siamese, 1x each Cynthia Ingold and Nettie Hale).
– The Master section is already nicely shaped, however consider using Trifle cards, so Vessels or Villeins instead of Blood Dolls, Wash instead of Sudden Reversal. I like Seattle Committee, but one copy could now be a Twilight Camp. Garibaldi-Meucci Museum and Carfax Abbey are strong cards you might want to add, maybe in exchange for 1 Owl Companion and 1 Reinforcements.
– I like the action section, too, yet including Field Training to enhance Cynthia Ingold or Nettie Hale is very tempting. Political actions should be diversified, exchanging some copies of Conservative Agitation (and/or KRC) for Eat the Rich and Reckless Agitation. 1 Domain Challenge could be Anarchist Uprising or Ancilla Empowerment.
– 1 or 2 copies of Bewitching Oration could be Perfect Paragon, and 1 or 2 copies of Majesty could be Force of Personality, to gain more flexibility.
– Regarding Reaction cards, again change Forced Awakening into On the Qui Vive. You want to make room for at least 1 Delaying Tactics and maybe 1 Detect Authority (as protection against a desperate D-action), but choosing 2x Direct Intervention (I heard there is a reprint available on Drivethrucards.com) would, of course, give you a lot more options against the various threats VTES offers. Because of card-flow issues, I would try to keep the total of Master cards at 16, maybe 17 highest.

Year 2010
“Viking Invasion” by Gonzalo García
Deck type: Gangrel feat. Torvus Bloodbeard toolbox
Fanfare for Elysium – Móstoles, Madrid, Spain – May 1 – 16 players

Crypt (12)
4x Torvus Bloodbeard 9 ANI FOR OBF PRO pot Gangrel:3
1x Xaviar 10 ANI FOR PRO aus cel pot 2 votes Gangrel:3
1x Brunhilde 8 ANI FOR PRO pre Gangrel:3
1x Danielle Diron 7 ANI PRO chi for 1 vote Gangrel:3
1x Sophia Watson 6 ANI FOR obf pro Gangrel:3
1x Lord Ashton 5 ANI for pro Gangrel:3
1x Bobby Lemon 4 ANI pro Gangrel:3
1x Ramona 4 for pro Gangrel:2
1x Bothwell 3 ani for Gangrel:3

Library (90)
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Ecoterrorists
1x Gangrel Revel
1x Giant's Blood
1x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Rack, The
4x Vessel
4x Villein
1x Zoo Hunting Ground

3x Deep Song
1x Gather
1x Shadow of the Beast

1x Camera Phone
1x Heart of Nizchetus
1x Ivory Bow

1x J. S. Simmons, Esq.
8x Raven Spy
1x Tasha Morgan

3x Canine Horde
7x Carrion Crows
4x Claws of the Dead
1x Earth Meld
3x Hidden Strength
5x Pack Alpha
4x Rolling with the Punches
1x Scorpion Sting
1x Skin of Steel
1x Soak
2x Target Vitals
4x Taste of Vitae
2x Unflinching Persistence

4x Cats' Guidance
1x Eyes of the Beast
2x Forced Awakening
1x Guard Dogs
4x On the Qui Vive
4x Sense the Savage Way

2021 comments:
– Torvus is all about (bleeding and) tooling-up with permanents and winning in the endgame.
– Regarding the crypt, Xaviar is a bit too big as a secondary vampire for my taste, and it is not needed to rely on members of Clan Gangrel only. There are quite a few alternatives when going group 3-4 (okay, Ramona has to leave the crew then) and looking e. g. for ANI for+PRO. Doyle Fincher is interesting because of his +1 bleed, though his special makes him double-edged, plus Brunhilde, Danielle Diron and Beckett offer interesting advanced versions. Be on guard to keep enough vampires with capacity 7+ because of Sense the Savage Way.
– Masters: I would take out 2 Vessels and put in 1 Wider View and 1 Ennoia’s Theatre. Gangrel Revel could be Archon Investigation, of course doubling Heidelberg Castle would be a good idea as well.
– Actions and retainers: Alternatives for Gather and Shadow of the Beast are Army of Rats and Rewilding. In addition, if you reduced the combat package, you would gain some space for a few copies of Thing. Exchange 1 Raven Spy for a third bleed retainer, Robert Carter, and another one could simply be Mr. Winthrop, because it costs no blood.
– Forced Awakenings and probably Guard Dogs should be On the Qui Vive, and two combat cards should become Delaying Tactics. A further reduction or reshaping of the combat package would allow to include some Protean action modifiers to provide stealth every now and then. Especially when switching to an all Protean combat module, it should be quite easy to trim this deck down to 80 or even 75 library cards.

Year 2015
“Horda Psicopata” by Bruno Pontes
Deck type: Giovanni ally rush
Campeonato Extra 02 – Fortaleza, Brazil – May 2 – 13 players

Crypt (12)
3x Regina Giovanni, The Right Hand of Augustus 10 DOM NEC POT aus for 2 votes Giovanni:2
3x Lisandro Giovanni 9 DOM FOR NEC POT THN Giovanni:3
2x Andrea Giovanni 7 DOM NEC pot vic Giovanni:2
1x Carlotta Giovanni 7 NEC POT dom obf Giovanni:2
1x Isabel Giovanni 5 DOM NEC pot Giovanni:2
1x Vittorio Giovanni 5 dom for nec pot Giovanni:2
1x Rudolfo Giovanni 3 NEC Giovanni:2

Library (90)
1x Archon Investigation
1x Barrens, The
2x Charisma
2x Fortschritt Library
2x Golconda: Inner Peace
2x Path of Bone, The
4x Perfectionist
1x Tower of London
4x Vessel
1x Wall Street Night, Financial Newspaper
2x Wash

1x FBI Special Affairs Division
1x Unmasking, The

1x Ambrosius, The Ferryman
1x Carlton Van Wyk
3x Gianna di Canneto
2x Mylan Horseed
2x Neighborhood Watch Commander
1x Ossian
5x Procurer
17x Shambling Hordes
1x Tye Cooper

2x Unlicensed Taxicab

3x Call of the Hungry Dead
6x Freak Drive

3x Spectral Divination

6x Glancing Blow

6x Deflection
7x On the Qui Vive

2021 comments:
– It is somehow unusual to see a bigcap crypt in the “Shambler” archetype, and in his next TWDA version a few months later, Bruno had taken out Regina completely in exchange for more smaller vampires.
– For the other changes he considered afterwards, please have a look at his next version (http://www.vekn.fr/decks/twd.htm#2015pcsb) and be on the lookout for his previous 3 tournament-winning Shambler decks (kudos!) as well.
– A lot depends on metagame and personal style, especially in a 90 card deck (that could be reduced to 80 cards when accepting less variety). Combat-wise, Trap and Fake Out are usually friends with Shambling Hordes. I would exchange 2 or 3 On the Qui Vive for Funeral Wakes and include at least 2 more “card cyclers” (Dreams of the Sphinx, Fragment of the Book of Nod), maybe in exchange for Tower of London and 1 Golconda. If I had not proclaimed that this “Decks to beat” article is not about Liquidation, I would have to mention the Liquidation & Sudario Refraction module. “Dare not think about a pink elephant …” ;-)

That’s it for this time. Thank you for reading!

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BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: MAY 2021

• Time flies, and we are now in the last week of the Unleashed Kickstarter! Make sure to join, and tell friends who have been curious of the game. Some add-ons and new pledge levels have been added along the way - for example, the Temptation of Greater Power level - possibly a great, discounted way to get into the game, or maybe split it up in your playgroup?

• Upon requests, a "one-of-each" bundle of the Latin Fifth Edition cards has been added to Drivethrucards.com. More smart bundlings and of course more cards are being prepared for print-on-demand!

• Finishing touches are laid on both Promo Pack 3 and the above mentioned preconstructed deck. In stores and at events this fall.

• The Fall of London set has been sent to playtest groups for its second round of testing.

• Currently these Black Chantry products are available through Drivethrucards.com and other stores:
- Lost Kindred bundle
- Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 1
- Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 2
- Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 1
- Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 2
- Den of Fiends Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
- Libertine Ball Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
- Pact with Nephandi Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
- Parliament of Shadows Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
- Anthology I bundle
- VTES Card Creator (Drivethrucards only)
- 25th Anniversary
- First Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French)
- VTES Legacy Card Singles (Drivethrucards only)
- Promo Pack 1 (Drivethrucards only)
- Promo Pack 2 (Event promos only)
- VTES "Parity Shift" playmat
- VTES card sleeves
- Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition (Currently stores only)
- Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition Latin (Drivethrucards only)

Do you have opinions or questions for Black Chantry? Start a topic on the VEKN forum, or contact the company by e-mail, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

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RECENT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

The most exciting World of Darkness news for VTES fans this month is the announcement of "Sabbat: The Black Hand", the official Sabbat sect sourcebook for Vampire: The Masquerade. It is now available for pre-order and planned for an August release. The official description:

An antagonists’ guide to the cultic fanatics of the Sabbat, this book contains:
• Descriptions of the Paths of Enlightenment, the foundations of Sabbat identity
• Information on the Gehenna War, and how the Sabbat opposes the dread Antediluvians
• New tools to expand your chronicles, including Discipline powers, versatile antagonists, and the horrifying Ritae of the Black Hand

This means lots of new design space for future VTES cards - we look forward to see what the Black Chantry design team make of it!

Creative Lead Justin Achilli was guest in the World of Darkness News show and answered many questions about the book:

 

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CALENDAR

Upcoming events:
VEKN still refrain from generally encouraging physical tournaments. Follow local regulations on what events are possible. Notice that online tournaments are possible - just note "ONLINE" in the event name when you add the event to the calendar!

For more information on upcoming events see the VEKN Event Calendar.

"Die with memories, not dreams."

Vampire: Elder Kindred Network Newsletter April 2021

Preview art by Samuel Araya from the Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Unleashed Kickstarter campaign.

Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
 

VEKN SETS ON KICKSTARTER IN MAY!

This is a long awaited release from Black Chantry. We wait until the actual launch with details, but the four “VEKN created” VTES sets – Danse Macabre, The Unaligned and Anarchs Unbound – will be made into physical cards, funded with a Kickstarter campaign called “Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Unleashed”. Expected launch is early May.

Note: There will be some high pledge levels for big orders. These are open to everyone, but it is, for example, good if you are a VEKN National Coordinator or Prince and would like to help your local community by organizing a bulk order. There will be a discount on these high levels, and you also save on shipping costs.

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GREAT CONTENT SPOTLIGHT: LA MAZMORRA DE PACHERO

More nice VTES content turns up every day, more than we can mention here. Thanks to everyone that makes the effort to spread the word of our lovely game, be it in text, video or otherwise! 

This time we want do a special mention of the high-reach Spanish Youtube channel La Mazmorra de Pacheco. Recently they aired both a tutorial:

… and a demo game:

Many thanks to those guys, and to anyone who put in similar efforts for VTES. Don’t hesitate to spread these videos to all your Spanish speaking friends!

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DECKS TO BEAT: APRIL

A retrospect by Rudolf Scholz

Again, it is time for the monthly review on decks, this time from April. The tournaments with the most participants from April 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015 saw winning decks that at least in 3 out of 4 cases are still regular guests at tournaments and tournament finals.

Year 2000
“I’ll be your dog” by Rob Treasure
Deck type: Tzimisce Wall
Untitled tournament – Portsmouth, England – April 1 – Unknown no. of players

Notes from Rob: Block and slaughter, fixed bleed, lots of nasty surprises. Does not like S:CE, but can block regularly enough to give it huge problems. An interesting and fun deck to play, [you] have to take a few risks, too easy to sit tight and remain reactive.

Crypt (12)
2x Meshenka 8 ANI AUS VIC priscus Tzimisce:2
2x Dragos 7 ANI AUS vic Tzimisce:2
1x Lambach 10 ANI AUS DOM VIC pre cardinal Tzimisce:2
1x Corine Marcón 6 AUS VIC ani Tzimisce:2
1x Devin Bisley 5 ANI AUS vic Tzimisce:2
1x Lolita Houston 4 VIC aus Tzimisce:2
1x Isabel de Leon 3 AUS Toreador:2
1x Wendy Wade 3 ani aus Tzimisce:2
1x Horatio 2 vic Tzimisce:2
1x Franciscus 1 aus Caitiff:2

Library (90)
3x Blood Doll
1x Direct Intervention
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fame
1x Giant's Blood
1x Hungry Coyote, The
1x Legendary Vampire
1x Minion Tap
1x Mob Connections
1x Rack, The
1x Rumor Mill, Tabloid Newspaper, The
1x Sudden Reversal
2x Vicissitude

1x Army of Rats
1x Fire Dance
1x Revelations
1x War Ghoul
1x Femur of Toomler
2x Leather Jacket
1x J. S. Simmons, Esq.
1x Mr. Winthrop
1x Owl Companion
2x Revenant
1x Tasha Morgan

5x Changeling

4x Aid from Bats
5x Blood of Acid
6x Carrion Crows
6x Drawing Out the Beast
4x Horrid Form
5x Taste of Vitae
4x Trap

2x Cats' Guidance
3x Eagle's Sight
2x Enhanced Senses
9x Forced Awakening
2x My Enemy's Enemy
2x Precognition
2x Telepathic Misdirection

2021 comments:
– This still looks like an almost viable close-combat wall deck. Because Blood of Acid was chosen over Chiropteran Marauder and because of Drawing Out the Beast, it looks like one of the deck’s intentions was to burn opposing vampires outright (“block and slaughter”).
– The crypt could be modified and diversified, there were no group 3 vampires back then, and many cards which are considered standard nowadays did not exist, e. g. Abbot, Bowl of Convergence, Channel 10, Deep Song (see Black Chantry’s “Den of Fiends” deck for reference).
– The action card Fire Dance is a unique appearance in the TWDA, kudos. Blood Dolls could be Vessels; Smiling Jack (and maybe Dragonbound) should be in for additional ousting power.
– The combat package is impressive, but it takes away space today’s walls need for more wakes (and bounces; only 4 in 90 cards usually is way too few). Forced Awakenings should generously be turned into copies of Eyes of Argus and On the Qui Vive.

Year 2005
“Tempting” by Andreas Nusser
Deck type: Followers of Set with Dominate Temptation toolbox
German ECQ – Bochum, Germany – April 30 – 51 players

Notes by Andreas: The main goals of this deck are to generate pool, survive bleeds with Deflections and Archon Investigations, and do clever tactical maneuvering with the Temptations. Looking back, including a third Archon Investigation might be a good idea. All in all, the deck did well, and the card-flow was okay.

Crypt (12)
2x Kephamos, High Priest of Marrakech 8 SER dom obf pre 2 votes Follower of Set:2
2x Hesha Ruhadze 6 SER ani obf pre Follower of Set:2
2x Count Ormonde 5 OBF dom pre ser Follower of Set:2
1x Ezekiel, Lord of Montreal 6 PRE SER obf pot Follower of Set:3
1x Sir Marriot D'Urban 5 PRE aus obf ser Follower of Set:2
1x Hadrian Garrick 4 obf pre Follower of Set:2
1x Nepata 4 obf pre ser Follower of Set:2
1x Celine Chevalier 3 obf ser Follower of Set:2
1x Khalil Anvari 3 pre ser Follower of Set:2

Library (90)
2x Archon Investigation
4x Blood Doll
3x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
1x Heidelberg Castle, Germany
1x Khobar Towers, Al-Khubar
2x Opium Den
1x Path of Typhon, The
2x Serpentis
1x Sudden Reversal

1x Arson
2x Enchant Kindred
4x Enticement
2x Entrancement
3x Form of Corruption
3x Rave
1x Social Charm
13x Temptation
1x Sport Bike
1x Mr. Winthrop

4x Cloak the Gathering
1x Faceless Night
4x Forgotten Labyrinth
5x Form of the Serpent
3x Lost in Crowds
3x Swallowed by the Night

9x Majesty

5x Deflection
1x Delaying Tactics
6x Wake with Evening's Freshness

2021 comments:
– Wow, 13 Temptations, this looks like fun to play and an expert training module in awareness (remember to place a counter on every Temptation in every Master Phase) and diplomacy/sweet-talking (“We Ssetitesss are friendly, ssss”).
– Bear in mind that you can play Temptation on your own minions as well to make them multi-act when low on blood, and that you can burn the counters on a vampire attempting to block in order to make her block fail.
– Many cards that might help to improve the deck were printed or designed after 2005: First to mention Mokolé Blood (to find/recover needed Serpentis cards) and the inherently toolboxy Saatet-ta, then of course Serpent’s Numbing Kiss (could be targeted with Mokolé Blood) and Ophidian Gaze (for additional bleed defence). There is even a new crypt card that fits perfectly: 4-cap Elizabeth Dimitros.
– The Wakes should generously be turned into copies of On The Qui Vive and maybe Fillip (I really don’t like the “Do not replace” clause on Wake with Evening's Freshness). Blood Dolls could be replaced by Villeins. Gregory Winter would help to trigger the Temptations. The Uncoiling should be in, since an Unmasking probably ruins the day for a deck like this.
– Only 3 TWDs feature Rave, and this is the one with the most copies of that card. I like the versatility it adds to the Temptation shenanigans, even though it is not considered being worth a card-slot nowadays.
– I wonder if the announced Anarch set by Black Chantry will allow players to build an Anarch version of this deck.

Year 2010
“Girls!” by Erik Torstensson
Deck type: Bigcap MMPA stealth-bleed
GothCon 2010 – Gothenburg, Sweden – April 3 – 37 players

Crypt (12)
4x Cybele 10 ANI DAI OBF PRE SER THA Baali:4
4x Aksinya Daclau 9 ANI FOR PRE PRO cel tha Gangrel antitribu:4
1x Adana de Sforza 11 CEL OBF POT PRE PRO aus inner circle Brujah:4
1x Lutz von Hohenzollern 11 AUS DEM OBF PRE pot inner circle Malkavian:4
1x Mistress Fanchon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF THA VIC inner circle Tremere:4
1x Rafael de Corazon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF PRE inner circle Toreador:4

Library (82)
1x Anarch Troublemaker
9x Ashur Tablets
1x Blind Spot
1x Coven, The
1x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fortschritt Library
1x Giant's Blood
2x Golconda: Inner Peace
1x House of Sorrow
2x Information Highway
1x Jake Washington
7x Liquidation
1x Metro Underground
1x Misdirection
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Parthenon, The
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
7x Villein
1x Wash
5x Zillah's Valley

2x Anthelios, The Red Star
1x Scourge of the Enochians

1x Entrancement
2x Intimidation

1x Ancient Influence
1x Banishment
1x Political Stranglehold
1x Reins of Power

2x Aire of Elation
1x Approximation of Loyalty
1x Cloak the Gathering
2x Elder Impersonation
1x Enkil Cog
2x Faceless Night
1x Into Thin Air
2x Lost in Crowds
2x Mirror Walk
2x Perfect Paragon

4x Majesty

1x Guard Dogs
2x Lost in Translation
1x Rat's Warning

2021 comments:
– Here we have the coming-out of one of the nightmares of modern VTES: The “Girls (will find xxx)” archetype, with which Erik celebrated overwhelming success at that year’s EC in Paris. Nevertheless, the original idea goes back to the Finnish player Teemu Sainomaa, and the modern concept was a brew by the whole playgroup of Örebro, Sweden.
– Of course, it was hit hard by the ban of Anthelios and the nerf of Villein, but a cure was found which lead to the “Black Jack” and the “Girls will find Liquidity” versions that include even more Ashur Tablets and a bit more combat defence (e. g. by adding Unleash Hell’s Fury) and omit the vote angle.
– What more to say to this overpowered monster? It is a bigcap stealth-bleed deck by concept, it generates pool rigorously, it thins out the library by Liquidation and it gets back only the needed stuff via Ashur Tablets. It is a goose that lays golden eggs and a table-spread-yourself in one.

Year 2015
“Malkavian Antitribu S&B” by Norbert Bróda
Deck type: Midcap Malkavian antitribu stealth-bleed
Négykapu Liga III. – Budapest, Hungary – April 12 – 26 players

Notes from Norbert: Classic Dementation S&B.

Crypt (12)
2x Rodolfo 8 AUS DEM OBF pro bishop Malkavian antitribu:3
2x Korah 7 AUS DEM OBF ani priscus Malkavian antitribu:2
1x Quentin King III 7 AUS DEM obf pre prince Malkavian:3
1x Quentin King III (ADV) 7 AUS DEM OBF cel pre Malkavian:3
2x Artemis 6 DEM OBF aus cel for Malkavian antitribu:2
2x Dolphin Black 6 AUS DEM OBF Malkavian antitribu:2
1x Kite 7 AUS DEM obf pre bishop Malkavian antitribu:2
1x Tony 6 AUS DEM dom obf Malkavian:3

Library (90)
1x Archon Investigation
3x Blood Doll
1x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
2x Information Highway
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
3x Sudden Reversal
2x Wash

3x Call, The
16x Kindred Spirits

10x Confusion
4x Elder Impersonation
4x Eyes of Chaos
4x Faceless Night
4x Lost in Crowds
4x Spying Mission
4x Swallowed by the Night
1x Walk through Arcadia

1x Coma
4x No Trace

6x On the Qui Vive
6x Telepathic Misdirection
4x Wrong and Crosswise

2021 comments:
– Yes, a 90 cards bleed deck, but with Dementation stealth-bleed this is quite common, probably to make up for the bleeds for 4 instead of the bleeds for 6 delivered by their Dominate counterparts.
– The crypt could be a bit more diversified, e. g. with Persia and notorious Midget.
– 7 out-of-turn master cards might cause card-flow problems, thus a Bleeding the Vine could replace a Wash or Sudden Reversal. Regarding the reaction package, it could be considered to turn some of the cards into copies of Eyes of Argus, My Enemy’s Enemy and Delaying Tactics.
– The library is nicely streamlined. Walk through Arcadia and Coma are the only silver bullets (of course, there are plenty other options, e. g. Sibyl’s Tongue and Restructure), and there is also some combat defence with No Trace and Swallowed by the Night, making this a reliable deck for a beginner to train with and work on their first victory points and game wins.
 

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VTES STRATEGIES: STEALTH-BLEEDING

Some thoughts from Mexico again – this time about a specific deck archetype:

This time I want to do an article primarily aimed at new players about one of the different strategies that exist in our favorite game, Vampire: The Eternal Struggle (VTES). As every old Methuselah knows, there is more than one way to execute our evil plans, and it is a process that takes planning and practice.

I see three main types of VTES deck builds: direct damage, minion control, and reactive. Of these, the stealth-bleed strategy stands out among the direct damage decks as one of the most powerful and recurring. “Stealth-bleed” means that we design our deck with the idea of eliminating our prey through bleeding actions with our minions, which use various disciplines that grant stealth to prevent these actions from being blocked, causing great damage to the blood pool of our prey. The Malkavian clan deck in the Fifth Edition set is a clear example of this strategy, but there are many others.

Remember that in VTES, the object of the game is to accumulate the highest number of victory points by destroying the influence of the other Methuselahs. Stealth-bleed decks tend to be fast and effective in doing this, which is achieved by having a greater number of controlled vampires who will take actions as soon as possible, constantly weakening their prey.

For these decks I prefer a choice of mid-capacity vampires (between 5 and 8 capacity) that allow me to optimize the cards in the library through the disciplines or abilities each of them has. In the Fifth Edition Malkavian deck, half of the crypt has these characteristics.

Stealth-bleed decks have to be played with great restraint and coolness. It is very easy to fall into the charm of bleeding without caution, because of how powerful it is, but that attracts the attention of the table too early in the game, and generates an early wave of reactions against us.

As I have mentioned on other occasions, the help sheets that come in the Fifth Edition set are an excellent tool for first-time players (also available for download). These aids indicate that you should take out the largest number of vampires as quickly as possible and always go forward attacking your prey – that is “playing by the book”.

These decks are highly specialized and don't have much defense, especially not against direct combat decks. Our defense is set to redirect bleeds and end fights. And we should only enter combat if it is strictly necessary. If you follow the help sheet, in a short time you will understand the Malkavian deck, and in general the stealth-bleed deck archetype.

Here are some tips that won't hurt:
- Bleed consistently, but sparingly. Presenting yourself at the table with an early brutal bleed for 6 or more will turn all eyes on the table towards you, and it will make you susceptible to many of the horrors that are done in the game. Cards like Archon Investigation will target your minions, or they can be rushed by any Methuselah thinking that you look too strong.
- Play your cards. There is no worse card than an unplayed card. Do not keep cards waiting for “the best opportunity” – you may not have a chance to play it.
- Never forget to discard. One of the details of playing a stealth-bleed deck is that the cards are accumulated in your hand due to the conditions of the game. Sometimes your prey doesn't even try to block, but instead redirects your bleed actions, which means you will clog on stealth. Always discard at the end of your turn, and also try to find other ways to get rid of cards that you don't need.

Hopefully these recommendations help you in these first steps in The Eternal Struggle.

Eduardo García Ayala, @LaloVtes

Do you also want to contribute to this newsletter? Please contact . Hope to hear from you!

 

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BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: APRIL 2021

• Direct Intervention on Drivethrucards.com was a big hit. No numbers can be revealed, but one dares say that you should start asking “DI, anyone?” the next time you oust with a minion card!

• A decent amount of effort has gone into preparing the Unleashed Kickstarter campaign mentioned at the top of this newsletter. It will be ready sometime early May.

• Work is progressing with the four preconstructed decks for Banu Haqim, Brujah, Gangrel and The Ministry. Distributors will be able to preorder these in May, so its soon time to start nagging on your favorite game store to stock them. These will be available in English, French and Spanish, cost around £18/€20/$22 and be in stores in September.

• This year's annual 56 card promo pack has been decided and will be previewed soon. With the pandemic FINALLY leaving us, it will be distributed to encourage store and event play this fall, available in English, French and Spanish in September.

• Otherwise, work progress on various other projects, mainly brand new sets and readying old cards for print-on-demand. More on that when more can be said!

• Currently these Black Chantry products are available through Drivethrucards.com and other stores:
- Lost Kindred bundle
- Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 1
- Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 2
- Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 1
- Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 2
- Den of Fiends Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
- Libertine Ball Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
- Pact with Nephandi Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
- Parliament of Shadows Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French)
- Anthology I bundle
- VTES Card Creator (Drivethrucards only)
- 25th Anniversary
- First Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
- First Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French)
- VTES Legacy Card Singles (Drivethrucards only)
- Promo Pack 1 (Drivethrucards only)
- Promo Pack 2 (Event promos only)
- VTES "Parity Shift" playmat
- VTES card sleeves
- Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition (Currently stores only)
- Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition Latin (Drivethrucards only)

Do you have opinions or questions for Black Chantry? Start a topic on the VEKN forum, or contact the company by e-mail, Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

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RECENT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS

Ever since Paradox Interactive acquired the World of Darkness in 2015, they made clear that a part from the obvious (digital games, other games) they wanted to make movies and/or TV based on the various titles. Finally, this seems to be happening! We are excited to see that such great talent is in charge: writers will be Oscar nominee Eric Heisserer (“Arrival”, “Bird Box”, “Shadow and Bone”) and Christine Boylan (“The Punisher”, “Cloak and Dagger”, “Constantine”), and the production company will be Hivemind (“The Witcher,” “The Expanse”). Heisserer and Boylan are long time tabletop RPG fans! We wish them good luck with this project – if successful, it will broaden the audience for the World of Darkness in general and Vampire: The Eternal Struggle in particular!

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CALENDAR

Upcoming events:
Follow local regulations on what physical events are possible. Notice that online tournaments are possible - just note "ONLINE" in the event name when you add the event to the calendar!

For more information on upcoming events see the VEKN Event Calendar.

"We are our choices."