Vampire: Elder Kindred Network Newsletter June 2025
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
Time for another card preview! This time we want to spotlight Věnceslava, The Implacable, with magnificent artwork by Raquel Cornejo. We also want to show Absolute Tyranny, a card that Věnceslava without a doubt will make good use of. Both these cards will appear in the Path of Power and the Inner Voice Sabbat preconstructed deck that will be in stores later this year. The Absolute Tyranny art is by Cos Koniotis.
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Martin Weinmayer is the 2025 North American champion!
After a whole week of other events, this tournament was (as normal) held in Columbus, Ohio, this year with 62 players.
Read the full report: North American championship 2025 (including extensive interview with the winner)
Marc Álvarez is the 2025 Spanish champion! 123 players!
This impressively big event was played in Manresa on June 28.
Read the full report: Spanish National championship 2025
Joab Rogério is the 2025 champion of Brazil – best of 114 players!
This huge event was played on June 7 in Rio de Janeiro.
Read the full report: Brazilian National championship 2025
Roy Caamud is the 2025 Philippine National champion!
This event was played in Manila on June 7 with 25 Methuselahs.
Read the full report:Philippines National championship 2025
Ke Carlton wins Grand Prix Brisbane 2025!
This part of the Oceania Grand Prix circuit was played on June 21 in the store Comics Plus, attended by 22 Methuselahs. Now only one event remains, Auckland August 30.
Read the full report: Grand Prix Brisbane 2025
Alexandre Bustos wins Grand Prix Monreal 2025!
This event was played on April 26 in The Abyss - yes, it´s true, that´s the name of the place. 22 players attended.
Read the full report: Grand Prix Montreal 2025
Kyle Fabre wins Grand Prix Lafayette 2025!
This tournament was attended by 16 beautiful players on May 24.
Read the full report: Grand Prix Lafayette 2025
Reminder: Register to the EC 2025 before July 31 - get a bonus gift!
If you are going to the European Championship in Aarhus in October, PLEASE register before July 31. It helps the organisation a lot, AND you get one copy each of The Unaligned 1 and The Unaligned 2, out of print products from the Unleashed crowdfunding.
Register at vtes-ec2025.org
Again: The early bird deadline is July 31!
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Sabbat preview: Alex Romano tries Path of Caine - and wins!
On June 18 a VERY special tournament was played at the R Bar Arena in Columbus Ohio, as part of the Week of Nightmares events leading up to the North American championship. Black Chantry Productions had produced a 48 piece preview set of the four preconstructed Sabbat decks that will be in stores later this year. The new Sabbat rules are published at Blackchantry.com. Some words from winner Alex Romano:
“I was really hoping I would get the Path of Caine deck before decks were given out so was very happy when I got it at seating. In both of my preliminary games I got Crossbreaker in my opening crypt and an Unholy Sacrament in my hand which allowed me to get him out very quickly and have his aggravated hand damage used as a deterrent to block me doing anything early. Just about every single one of the new cards saw use in a positive way, but to me the biggest highlights were Augury of Doom, Hunting the Quarry, Pillars Fall, Wall of Filth and Sentry Signal.
Augury of Doom could be very powerful in a deck built around it and even in this prerelease setting I was able to do a lot of damage with it.
Hunting the Quarry was essential in the final as I had Path of Power and Inner voice and Path of Cathari as predator/prey, respectively. The continuation of the combat is such a great effect when you have Rage of Apedemak in play as you get to maintain your hand size and strength.
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Pillars Fall, in my opinion, may be the best card in the entire deck, as it gives rush combat that flexibility to gain bleed while doing what they want to do. If nothing else, it being at 0 stealth will always draw a block when able to, so it can be really powerful for multiple reasons.
Wall of Filth is also going to be insane, I even played it wrong for my entire first game and still got mileage out of it. The apply-now-use-later ability of it will allow combat decks to avoid the always threatening agg poke or ivory bow risk much easier than before.
Sentry Signal is the reason I was able to win my second game as I had a Path of Cathari predator, and that matchup isn’t ideal as they bleed heavily. The bleed reduction half of the card allowed to me not waste a ton of cards dealing with my predator and still being able to go forward, something combat has always struggled to balance.
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The only card I didn’t really use much was Dance With the Devil but that’s only because there weren’t very many maneuvers out there at this tournament. Also how did it take VTES until 2025 to name a card this LOL?
The final was actually pretty bad seating for me all things considered: Death and the Soul -> Power and the Inner Voice -> Caine -> Cathari ->
I probably get vaporized if I don’t get exceptionally lucky and draw a Yawp Court in my opening hand. So, I had to make a decision to let the Cathari go wild on the Death and the Soul deck, so it couldn’t get as set up with allies. With Yawp Court I effectively made it, so the deck´s game went like this. Call a vote = lose a vampire before it resolves. In the end, I just had too many rushes and combat for the Cathari deck to keep up in the heads up as he was low on blood from working to oust his prey.
Thanks for this report Alex!
In memoriam: Lauri Salmi
Lauri "Cerion" Salmi, a VTES tournament veteran and a dear friend to many in the VEKN community, has passed away after a long illness - far too soon, of course. He was a generous and kind person, as well as a cunning and entertaining adversary at the table. To help us remember him, the art above will appear on a VTES card awarded to participants of the Helsinki Ropecon tournament in July. Artwork by Noora Hirvonen.
Black Chantry Summary: June 2025
• The preview season for the upcoming Sabbat cards made a real burst just before the Ohio preview tournament hosted by Ben Peal (see Alex Romanos report above), and now most cards are floating around the interwebs in one form or another. As soon as the print dates have been nailed, the official product pages will turn up on Blackchantry.com with decklists, and a release date can be decided.
• Please, join the playtest of VTES 1v1! All rules are at the dedicated playtest site, now updated with Hecata cards. Many thanks for any feedback. So far most seem positive to the format!
• Currently these Black Chantry products are available through Gamepod, Drivethrucard
Lost Kindred bundle (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 1 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Keepers of Tradition Reprint Bundle 2 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 1 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Heirs of the Blood Reprint Bundle 2 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Den of Fiends Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Libertine Ball Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Pact with Nephandi Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Parliament of Shadows Preconstructed Deck (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Anthology I bundle
VTES Card Creator (Drivethrucards only)
25th Anniversary
First Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
First Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French) (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
VTES Legacy Card Singles (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Promo Pack 1 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Promo Pack 2 (Drivethrucards and Gamepod only)
Promo Pack 3 (For promotion only)
Promo Pack 4 (For promotion only)
VTES "Parity Shift" playmat
VTES card sleeves
Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition (Stores only)
Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition Latin (Drivethrucards only)
Fifth Edition: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Toreador (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Tremere (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Promo Pack 3 (Event promos only)
Fifth Edition: Banu Haqim (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Brujah (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: Gangrel (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Fifth Edition: The Ministry (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
New Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
The Fall of London (Also Spanish, French, Latin)
Echoes of Gehenna
Shadows of Berlin (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Banu Haqim (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Brujah (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Gangrel (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: The Ministry (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Ravnos (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Salubri (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Tzimisce (Also Spanish, French)
30th Anniversary (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Lasombra (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Hecata (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Hecata (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Lasombra (Also Spanish, French)
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
Recent news in the World of Darkness
The World of Darkness News show is back on a regular basis, with new host and also new Community Developer Debbie Lane, as Martyna "Outstar" Zych has moved on to a Creative Producer role. Among the things mentioned in the first episode is Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, In Memoriam for Vampire: The Masquerade and Tattered Facade, also for VTM. That will be a sourcebook about horror. Imagine that, for a game about vampires :) It will have additional archetypes for each clan as well as new discipline powers, rituals, loresheets, terror-themed new rules and new threats to the characters, including the return of Baali!
Check out the episode on the World of Darkness Youtube channel
Calendar
Major events coming up:
July 5: Grand Prix Warsaw
July 6: National Championship Poland
July 12: National Championship Switzerland
July 20: National Championship Belgium
August 9: National Championship Norway
August 16: Grand Prix Herne
August 23: Grand Prix Biloxi/Gulfport, Mississippi
August 30: Grand Prix Auckland
September 6: Asian Championship, Mandaluyong, Philippines
September 6: Grand Prix Sul Americano (Campina Grande, Brazil)
September 6: National Championship Czech Republic
September 13: Grand Prix Harmelen
October 4: Grand Prix New Orleans, Louisiana
October 13-16: Week of Nightmares Aarhus
October 17: European Championship Aarhus
October 25: Oceania Championship, Melbourne, Australia
December 6: Grand Prix Vidor, Texas
December 14: Grand Prix Cearense
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Austria
Belgium x2
Brazil x8
Chile x2
Finland x5
Hungary
Italy
Online
Poland x4
Portugal
Russia
Spain x8
Sweden
Switzerland x2
UK
USA x2
For details about these events, see the VEKN Event Calendar. Also, check out the World of Darkness Community Map.
Remember: Online tournaments are possible - just check the box "Online tournament" when you add the event to the calendar!
Contact VEKN
You can contact the VEKN Inner Circle members using contact forms at VEKN.net. Also follow the official VTES Facebook page Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, the official VEKN X (Twitter) account @VEKN_VTES and the official VTES Discord server.
The quieter you become, the more you can hear.
Ke Carlton wins Grand Prix Brisbane 2025!
The finalists: Duncan Kemp, Nick Miller, Ke Carlton (champion), Richard Aumann and Nathan Budd.
Reported by Steve Harris, VEKN National Coordinator of Australia:
The Oceania Grand Prix Brisbane 2025 took place on June 21 in Comics Plus. 22 players attended.
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Standings after three rounds:
1. Ke Carlton 2 GW, 10 VP
2. Richard Aumann 2 GW, 7.5 VP
3. Nick Miller 1 GW, 7 VP
4. Nathan Budd 1 GW, 3 VP, 106 TP
5. Duncan Kemp 1 GW, 3 VP, 96 TP
I only saw a bit of this finals. From what I saw, the 2 Banu Haqims battled each other but didn't achieve much against each other Stanislava never really got going, as his prey could hurt him backwards, and his predator put Stani into torpor a few times. The other BH deck had to rescue a few times, iirc. The Hecata deck slowly built up moved forward, ousting 2 preys in the last half hour or so of the game.
Ke got the game win with 2.5 VP, and Nick 0.5 and Duncan 0.5. Congratulatiosn Ke!
Tournament winning deck: "Powerbase Decay" by Ke
Comment: “Focused Shroud of Decay and Family Gathering Abuse. Powerbase Zürich allows for both crypt acceleration and survival. House of Sorrow with Dreams / Coven allows for lunge turns (especially if you have Anu in play). Only change after the New Blood release was adding Powerbase Munich. Would drop 1x Tommaso for 1x Alek to lower average capacity. Added Unmasking + FBI last minute with minimal impact.”
Crypt (12 cards)
1x Anu Diptinatpa 7 aus vic DOM NEC Nagaraja:6
1x Alek Konig 3 OBL Hecata:6
1x Gebeyehu Abdu 5 for AUS OBL Hecata:6
1x Hiromitsu Asano 4 aus for obl Hecata:6
1x Holliday "Burgundy" Hall 5 aus FOR OBL Hecata:6
1x Lenelle, Mambo of Birmingham 6 aus FOR OBL Hecata:6
1x Monica Giovanni 6 AUS FOR OBL Hecata:6
2x Mora, the Death Seer 7 ani AUS FOR OBL Hecata:6
1x Parijat, the Dark Oracle 7 AUS DOM FOR OBL Hecata:6
1x Peter St. John 2 obl Hecata:6
1x Tommaso Sforza 7 dom for AUS OBL THA Hecata:6
Library: 84 cards
Master (24 cards)
1x House of Sorrow
1x Coven, The
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
11x Family Gathering
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Powerbase: Munich
1x Powerbase: Zürich
1x Tribute to the Master
4x Villein
1x Wider View
1x Direct Intervention
Event (2 cards)
1x FBI Special Affairs Division
1x Unmasking, The
Action (14 cards)
14x Shroud of Decay
Ally (6 cards)
6x Spectral Servitor
Action Modifier (23 cards)
3x Freak Drive
3x Shadow Cast
2x Shadow Cloak
4x Stygian Shroud
10x Where the Veil Thins
1x Daring the Dawn
Combat (3 cards)
3x Pass Through Shadow
Reaction (12 cards)
2x Eyes of Argus
2x My Enemy's Enemy
4x Telepathic Misdirection
2x Shadow Sentinel
2x Delaying Tactics
Thanks to all organisers, sponsors and players! Only Auckland remains:
Marc Álvarez is the 2025 Spanish champion! 123 players!
The finalists: Fréderic, Perrine, Marc (champion), Iván and Alberto.
This event was played in the Wow Club in Manresa on June 28 with 123 players in attendance. Reported by Ginés Quiñonero.
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The top seed was Alberto Lozano with 3 GW, 13 VP
Second seed = Frédéric Pin 3 GW, 11 VP
Third seed = Marc Álvarez 3 GW, 10 VP
Fourth seed = Perrine Ketlas 2 GW, 10 VP
Fifth seed = Iván Bernal 2 GW, 9 VP
Final score: Marc 4 VP, Iván 1 VP. Congratulations Marc!
Marc's tournament winning deck: "Gangrel Montecristo" by KRCG
Crypt (12 cards)
4x Matasuntha 10 ANI AUS CEL FOR PRO Gangrel:5
2x André the Manipulator 6 FOR PRO Gangrel:5
1x Andre LeRoux 3 aus Toreador:5
1x T.J. 3 cel for Gangrel:4
4x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY
Library (90 cards)
Master (12; 5 trifle)
1x Carver's Meat Packing and Storage
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
2x Fame
1x Secure Haven
1x Tension in the Ranks
5x Villein
Event (1)
1x Dragonbound
Action (18)
2x Ambush
2x Big Game
2x Bum's Rush
3x Deep Song
2x Fleetness
2x Make the Misere
2x Nose of the Hound
3x Taunt the Caged Beast
Action Modifier (14)
3x Forced March
8x Freak Drive
3x Instantaneous Transformation
Combat (45)
2x Claws of the Dead
12x Diversion
4x Drawing Out the Beast
4x Flesh of Marble
10x Psyche!
6x Pursuit
7x Taste of Vitae
Ivan´s finalist deck: "New Tzimi" by Woodytron
Crypt (12 cards)
3x Adrino Manauara 8 ANI DOM PRO pot baron Tzimisce:6
3x Ángel Guerrero 7 ANI DOM PRO baron Tzimisce:6
1x Branimira 6 ANI dom pre pro baron Tzimisce:6
1x Kuyén 6 ANI PRO baron Gangrel:6
1x Clara Hjortshøj 5 PRO ani aus dom Tzimisce:6
1x Kamile Paukstys 5 PRO ani for Gangrel:6
1x Marialena 5 DOM PRO ani Tzimisce:6
1x Whisper 5 ANI DOM pro Tzimisce:6
Library (90 cards)
Master (10)
1x Anarch Railroad
1x Anarch Troublemaker
1x Carfax Abbey
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
1x Jake Washington
1x Libertas
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Perfectionist
Action (22)
8x Deep Song
14x Govern the Unaligned
Political Action (2)
2x Eat the Rich
Equipment (1)
1x Heart of Nizchetus
Retainer (1)
1x Crypt's Sons
Action Modifier (10)
4x Conditioning
4x Earth Control
2x Foreshadowing Destruction
Action Modifier/Reaction (6)
4x Form of the Bat
2x Murmur of the False Will
Combat (20)
14x Earth Meld
6x Form of Mist
Reaction (18)
4x Bait and Switch
4x Deflection
2x Guard Dogs
2x On the Qui Vive
4x Organized Resistance
2x Redirection
Alberto's finalist deck: "Hecata Spectral Bleed" by Vere
Crypt (12 cards)
2x Tommaso Sforza 7 AUS OBL THA dom for Hecata:6
1x Mora, the Death Seer 7 AUS FOR OBL ani Hecata:6
1x Parijat, the Dark Oracle 7 AUS DOM FOR OBL Hecata:6
1x Lenelle, Mambo of Birmingham 6 FOR OBL aus Hecata:6
1x Monica Giovanni 6 AUS FOR OBL Hecata:6
2x Gebeyehu Abdu 5 AUS OBL for Hecata:6
1x Holliday "Burgundy" Hall 5 FOR OBL aus Hecata:6
2x Alek König 3 OBL Hecata:6
1x Peter St. John 2 obl Hecata:6
Library (90 cards)
Master (8; 1 trifle)
1x Anarch Troublemaker
1x Cappadocian Crypt
1x Charisma
1x Coven, The
1x Dark Influences
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
2x Perfectionist
Event (1)
1x Bitter and Sweet Story, The
Action (22)
18x Computer Hacking
4x Shroud of Decay
Ally (14)
14x Spectral Servitor
Action Modifier (33)
4x Leverage
10x Shadow Cast
8x Shadow Cloak
5x Stygian Shroud
6x Where the Veil Thins
Reaction (12)
2x Delaying Tactics
2x On the Qui Vive
2x Shadow Sentinel
6x Telepathic Misdirection
Fréderics finalist deck: "ALASTOR"
Crypt (12 cards)
3x Gwendolyn 11 CEL FOR POT PRE aus tha inner circle Brujah:2
3x Jaroslav Pascek 10 CEL POT PRE for obf justicar Brujah:3
2x Lucinde, Alastor 10 DOM FOR PRE obf pot tha justicar Ventrue:3
2x Madame Guil 10 AUS CEL PRE for pot ser justicar Toreador:3
1x Mark Decker 8 CEL PRO ani for obf pot prince Gangrel:3
1x Volker, The Puppet Prince 5 CEL pot prince Brujah:2
Library (75 cards)
Master (19; 4 trifle)
1x Camarilla Conclave
1x Giant's Blood
3x Information Highway
1x New Carthage
1x Rack, The
4x Villein
8x Zillah's Valley
Political Action (12)
3x Alastor
1x Ancient Influence
2x Banishment
4x Parity Shift
1x Political Stranglehold
1x Reins of Power
Equipment (5)
4x Assault Rifle
1x Flamethrower
Action Modifier (10)
4x Forced March
5x Freak Drive
1x Voter Captivation
Combat (16)
3x Acrobatics
3x Disarm
3x Disguised Weapon
2x Pursuit
4x Skin of Steel
1x Taste of Vitae
Reaction (13)
2x Lost in Translation
11x Second Tradition: Domain
Perrine´s finalist deck: "Alonso" by Niniel
Crypt (12 cards)
4x Alonso Petrodon 10 ANI DOM OBF POT for tha justicar Nosferatu:5
2x Nikolaus Vermeulen 7 ANI POT for obf prince Nosferatu:6
2x Belinde 6 OBF ani aus pot prince Nosferatu:6
2x Benedito, a Lanterna 6 POT ani aus obf baron Nosferatu:6
2x Jacques Rouge 6 OBF ani pot pre baron Nosferatu:6
Library (75 cards)
Master (16; 3 trifle)
1x Dominate
3x Dreams of the Sphinx
5x Information Highway
1x Labyrinth, The
1x Secure Haven
2x Warsaw Station
1x Wash
2x Wider View
Action (5)
4x Govern the Unaligned
1x SchreckNET
Political Action (16)
1x Anarchist Uprising
3x Camarilla's Iron Fist
4x Kine Resources Contested
1x Neonate Breach
4x Parity Shift
3x Reckless Agitation
Action Modifier (21)
2x Cloak the Gathering
4x Elder Impersonation
1x Enkil Cog
1x Faceless Night
1x Foreshadowing Destruction
3x Forgotten Labyrinth
5x Freak Drive
3x Lost in Crowds
1x Spying Mission
Action Modifier/Combat (3)
3x Swallowed by the Night
Action Modifier/Reaction (2)
2x Murmur of the False Will
Reaction (12)
3x Bait and Switch
5x Deflection
3x On the Qui Vive
1x Wake with Evening's Freshness
Thanks to all organisers, sponsors and players!
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