Vampire: Elder Kindred Network Newsletter May 2024
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF VAMPIRE: THE ETERNAL STRUGGLE CONTINUES
Great news: The release date for this 120 card set is moved from September (what a lousy idea!) to mid/late July! Here are some previews:
• Ian Carfax is another Tremere Justicar from the Vampire: The Masquerade lore, and also a previous Archon of notorious Karl Schrekt. The design team gave him a really interesting discipline spread as well as very strong special abilities, don´t you think? Art by Ginés Quiñonero.
• Reinforcement is not new, but a reprint of a card that first appeared in the Final Nights set. Only playable by titled vampires and removed from game when resolved, it is debated what decks this really is suited for. The original art by Steve Ellis is used.
• Lasombra Justicar is the a way for "The Night Clan" to get a Justicar, now that they officially joined the Camarilla sect. Art by Riccardo Fabiani.
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More previews coming soon - follow Black Chantry Productions in social media.
NAC 2024 COMING UP
Very welcome to the North American Championship, played at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio on June 22. As usual, the main event is surrounded by a plethora of side events, this year no less than 12 of them. The tournaments are:
June 16: Week of Nightmares - Event 1
June 17: Week of Nightmares - Event 2
June 17: Week of Nightmares - Event 3
June 18: Week of Nightmares - Event 4
June 18: Week of Nightmares - Event 5
June 19: Week of Nightmares - Event 6
June 19: 30th Anniversary Jyhad Draft (<---- How cool is this?!)
June 20: Origins - Thursday 1
June 20: Origins - Thursday 2
June 21: Origins - Friday 1
June 21: Origins - Friday 2
June 22: Origins NAC 2024
June 23: Origins - Sunday
Organisers are Jay Kristoff and Ben Peal. Please, check the VEKN Event Calendar for details.
ANOTHER WAY TO ASK RULES QUESTIONS + RULING OF THE MONTH
Have you seen that there´s now a dedicated section at the VTES Discord to ask rules questions? Check it out!
Question of the month goes to "Th3lonius" who asked:
Q: Is it legal to search for a card that I know I don't have just to shuffle my library? For example: Magic of the Smith with no equipment cards left in my library.
A: Yes, you are allowed to search and not find a card. Extra shuffling might come in handy if you think cards are clumped due to poor shuffling, or use of another card like the Heart of Nizchetus. But some care must be taken with regards to if you only search to "waste time" - that would be stalling (see Slow Play in the tournament rules). As always, please be respectful of others when you play!
MARCIN ZAKRZEWSKI IS THE 2024 CHAMPION OF POLAND!
38 players wanted to battle for the title in Lublin on May 18.
Read the full report: Polish National Championship 2024
SEBASTIAN FREDENBERG WINS GRAND PRIX AARHUS 2024!
25 players played this event in Denmark on May 19:
Read the full report: Grand Prix Aarhus 2024
The European VTES Grand Prix circuit moves on to Helsiniki on July 20. The final with the top 5 players will be played in Warsaw during the EC weekend. More information about that when we have it!
JOSCAR MALACAMAN IS THE 2024 CHAMPION OF THE PHILIPPINES!
This event was played with 25 Methuselahs on May 25.
Read the full report: The Philippines National Championship 2024
MILOS KRSTIĆ IS THE 2024 CHAMPION OF SERBIA!
14 players turned up for this tournament in Belgrade on May 4.
Read the full report: Serbian National Championship 2024
DO YOU WANT TO HOST EC 2025?
The application period is now open for the 2025 Vampire: The Eternal Struggle European Championship.
Interested organisers are encouraged to submit their proposals for consideration between today and August 31st to
The proposals should include the following information (fields marked with an asterisk (*) are required.), in addition to any other information that the organisers deem relevant:
• Country:
• City:
• Approximate dates:
• Scheduled off season (Y/N):
• Organizer(s):
• Head judge:
VENUE
• All inclusive location (room, hotel, food, refreshments) (Y/N):
• Accommodations close to venue (Y/N):
• Snacks and meals on-site (or within 5 minutes) (Y/N):
• Distance to major hubs:
• Distance to major city:
• Non-smoking venue (Y/N):
• Air-conditioned venue (Y/N):
• Enough area suited for mass registration (Y/N):
• Free WiFi available (Y/N):
• Microphone/loudspeaker announcements (sound system) (Y/N):
• Video projection system (remaining time) (Y/N):
• Opening hours:
ROOM(S)
• Enough room for 200 players (Y/N):
• Separate rooms for side events (Y/N):
• Comfortable chairs (Y/N):
• Table cloths (Y/N):
• Round tables for 5 players (Y/N):
• Are toilets close to reduce game delays? (Y/N):
ORGANIZATION
• On-site registration on multiple computers (number of players/30) (Y/N):
• On time registration, breaks and events (Y/N):
• Using armbands to indicate registration type (Y/N):
• FAQ (handout at registration) (Y/N):
• Lunch breaks (Y/N):
• Two head organisers (side events/main tournament) (Y/N):
• Organizers and judges properly identified (Y/N):
• Assistants (non VTES players) (Y/N):
• Documentation/archiving person (traceability) (Y/N):
• Spouse info/events (Y/N):
• Seating print-outs on multiple spots (Y/N):
SCHEDULE
• Last Chance Qualifier:
• EC Day 1:
• EC Day 2:
• Side events:
COVERAGE
• Live webcam as weekend documentation (Y/N):
• Detailed final round(s) report (Y/N):
• Final round video recording/streaming (Y/N):
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: MAY 2024
• From the 31st of May to the 2nd of June the Black Chantry team of Ben, Beth, James, Mikey, Hugh and Owein attended UK Games Expo in Birmingham, England (not Birmingham, Alabama like the prince Alexander Silverson!) and had a lot of fun demoing over the three days.
The team also gave out copies of new "business cards" which include legal playable full art cards on one side with key contact notes on the other. These are a test to see if we can produce something useable as a flyer rather than something that just gets binned post an event.
These cards have also been used by our team in Italy and can be requested for free via your national coordinator for conventions and other demo events.
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• Hugh was also lucky enough to attend the Aarhus Grand Prix to help with judging decisions. Nothing too onerous came up to trick him with.
• As mentioned above, the 30th Anniversary will be out earlier than first expected, official premiere date July 20. The box is manufactured in Germany and should be able to contain the fully sleeved deck.
• The Lasombra and Hecata preconstructed decks are in late pre-production stages, as are New Blood packs for Hecata, Lasombra, Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce. Pre-playtesting design of four Sabbat preconstructed decks is in progress. The two-player VTES variant is on hold for now.
Currently these Black Chantry products are available through Gamepod, 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 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)
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.
RECENT NEWS IN THE WORLD OF DARKNESS
We once again want to give special attention to the book "Crimson Gutter" for Vampire: The Masquerade. It is not a setting book in itself, but more of a toolbox for the Storyteller. If you are the slightest interested, please have a look at this "deep dive" presentation video with designers Juhana Petterson, José Garcia and Andrew Peregrine. It is a VERY worthwhile watch about a very well-thought-out book, created by people that really know what they are doing. If you are new to Vampire: The Masquerade Fifth Edition, you also get key concepts of the game explained. All in all, an inspiring presentation of a helpful book!
Other news of the month that past:
• "Alma Maters" for Hunter: The Reckoning is available for preorder.
• Developer diary #12 for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, about the Ventrue.
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York is now also available on Android and iOS.
• "Scent of Decay", the first chronicle book for Werewolf: The Apocalypse Fifth Edition, is now available in PDF for physical pre-orders.
• Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Purgatory from Different Tales was announced, available on Steam later this year.
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Austria
Brazil x13
Chile
Czech Republic
Germany
Finland x3
France
Hungary x2
Italy
Mexico
Netherlands
Online
Poland x3
Portugal
South Africa
Spain x9
USA x13
For details about these events, see the VEKN Event Calendar.
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.
Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.
Joscar Malacaman is the 2024 champion of The Philippines!
Report by Joscar Gamaliel Malacaman, VEKN Prince of Taguig:
On May 25, 2024, 25 players gathered to culminate the revival of the Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Competitive Scene in the Philippines with Kagatanfest '24, our first Philippine National Championships in more than a decade and the first premiere competitive event in the country since ACC 2018. The tournament was held at The Office by Rollplay in Estancia Mall, Pasig City. We played 3 rounds and a final from 10am until 9pm. There was a really good mix of old and new players with representatives sired by each of the 4 active princes in the country and even players who predate the prince system. In attendance was also our National Coordinator, Johann Ong who flew in from Iloilo City, and Christopher Choy who joined us from the Lion City, Singapore.
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The meta was diverse with 13 unique clans represented while 5 players played a mixed crypt. Tremere was the most represented clan with 4 players, followed by Ventrue, Ministry. and Brujah with 2, while the other clans had a single representative. Here are the clan distribution as well as the decks the players used during the tournament.
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For our prizes, we gave out the usual promo cards available to us from the Black Chantry Productions but to add a bit of uniqueness, we also had a custom playmat and player seating cards commissioned from Jeremiah Faustino who also happens to be a member of the Philippine VTES community. The player seating cards depicted the top 5 highest ranking players leading into the National Championships. Our National Coordinator also added some prizes to literally sweeten the pot with the Finalists also receiving some Butterscotch snacks from his region as well as a pack of Twilight Rebellion.
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After 3 grueling rounds, our finalists emerged from the chaos and we were:
1. Joscar Gamaliel Malacaman - 3 GW - 8.5 VP - 180 TP
2. Christopher Choy 2 GW - 7 VP - 144 TP
3. Micon Garcia - 1 GW - 8 VP - 156 TP
4. Jeremiah Faustino (yes, our artist) - 1 GW - 6 VP - 120 TP
5. Justine Peralta - 1 GW - 5 VP - 114 TP
In the end, Joscar Malacaman pulled ahead of the pack with 3 VP in the final to become the Philippine National Champion and celebrate his 7th consecutive win in 7 months. Micon Garcia and Christopher Choy both scored 1 VP as well in the final. Another story of note here is that it is only Justine Peralta's second tournament after learning the game recently.
The tournament winning decklist: ”Matasuntha Makes It Look Easy”
Comment: ”This third iteration of the Matasuntha deck was geared towards having the ability to rush and torpor multiple vampires in the same turn while keeping the same defensive energy that has won me a couple of tournaments this competitive season. I was expecting a lot of weenie or stealth bleed decks together with the usual combat heavy meta in the Philippines and so I wanted to take a more proactive approach in taking control of the table. The decision to add more rush cards and diversify them was made specifically to handle both. It's not easy but Matasuntha makes it look easy. Check the individual pictures for round by round reports.”
Crypt (13)
5x Matasuntha 10 ANI AUS CEL FOR PRO Gangrel:5
4x Anarch Convert 1 -none- Caitiff:ANY
2x Casey Snyder 6 ani cel for PRO Gangrel:6
1x Massimiliano 7 pro ANI FOR Gangrel:6
1x Mickey Wheeler 5 ani cel for pro Gangrel:6
Library: 90 cards
Master (16 cards)
3x Vessel
2x Villein
1x Anarch Free Press, The
1x Carfax Abbey
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Gangrel Revel
1x Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Los Angeles
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Rack, The
1x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
1x Wider View
Action (9 cards)
4x Deep Song
2x Harass
2x Nose of the Hound
1x Taunt the Caged Beast
Retainer (4 cards)
2x Dog Pack
2x Raven Spy
Equipment (1 cards)
1x Heart of Nizchetus
Action Modifier (7 cards)
3x Forced March
3x Instantaneous Transformation
1x Enkil Cog
Combat (31 cards)
9x Diversion
6x Hell-for-Leather
5x Drawing Out the Beast
5x Taste of Vitae
4x Trap
2x Voracious Vermin
Reaction (22 cards)
6x Guardian Vigil
4x Bait and Switch
4x Deep Ecology
4x Organized Resistance
2x On the Qui Vive
2x Eyes of the Wild
We'd like to extend our thanks to the Office by Rollplay for allowing us to host our nationals at their venue as well as our supportive havens in Metro Manila: 89 Panay and Hobbies & Sheets. We would also like to recognize the efforts of our princes: Joscar, Micon, Paul, and Johann in continuously growing the community and expanding the reach of the game.
Marcin Zakrzewski is the 2024 champion of Poland!
A report by Maciej Kozłowski, VEKN Prince of Lublin:
18 of May turned out to be a beautiful day, especially since as many as 38 players from most distant corners of Poland, as well as Lithuania and Belarus, came to compete for the title of the Polish VTES Champion of 2024.
Owing to a great local School of English, Linguaton, we had a great venue at our disposal - I don't think I could have dreamed of a better place to hold such an event, with separate rooms for 1-2 tables, a secluded room for the final table (where believe me, you could hear EVERY rustle and whisper 😉), kitchen facilities, as well as a garden🙏.
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First of all, we had amazing prize support from Black Chantry Productions - Mythic Form & Mythic Form full-bleed promos, most recent promo pack no. 4 (awesome content, by the way! :) ) as well as the Kickstarter decks. Also, BCP shared with us the Anita Wainwright and Eyes of the Wild illustrations, which we used to create custom event card sleeves, playmats and bookholders. Thanks again to Hugh Angseesing and everyone else at BCP who made it happen!
The main championship trophy, a glass statue with an engraved 3D model of a hand with the trisnake logo, created by mongrel (available at Printables.com), was sponsored by Alis Games, our Polish VTES distributor and publisher of Polish translations of WoD sourcebooks and tabletop games, ran by one of our fellow Methuselahs, known to most under his nickname Szewski :) We also received a very generous package of their great products, such as the Music for the Polish Vampires CDs, and the tarot cards set for the Kult RPG.
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We also had some great individual contributions, from our NC Maciej Broniarz and Stanisław Szczepaniak, ranging from game accessories through precons, to WoD sourcebooks. Many thanks to all the sponsors!
Standings before final (top 5 players + their GWs and VPs from the first rounds)
1. Marcin Zakrzewski 3 GWs, 12 VPs
2. Alexander Roman 2 GWs, 10.5 VPs
3. Maciej Bernart 2 GWs, 8 VPs
4. Lech Ivanov 1 GW, 6 VPs
5. Michał Sokołowski 1 GW, 6VPs
After 3 rounds, the final turned out to be a clash of three nations - Lech from Vilnius playing Lutz, Alex from Minsk playing Nizzam, Marcin (playing The Unnamed) & Michał (playing Ravnos V5 bleed) from Warsaw and Maciek (playing a Relentlessly Reaping Mambo Jeanne). The final game was at the highest level, it did not end with a time limit, and yet its result was long weighed between Lech, Maciek, and Marcin – you could really feel the tension in the room.
If you didn't get a chance to see it streamed live, can watch the video:
Final result: Marcin Zakrzewski 3 VPs, Maciej Bernart 2 VPs.
The winning deck list: ”Do you deny the evil?”
Crypt (12)
5x unnamed, The 10 CEL DAI OBF PRE PRO Baali:6
1x Gathii 5 ANI PRE obf Ravnos:7
1x Phaibun 5 OBF PRE ani Ravnos:7
1x Jean-François 4 ani obf pre Ravnos:7
1x Zafira 4 PRE obf Ravnos:7
1x Oleg Kaprizov 3 obf pre Ravnos:7
2x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY
Library (90)
Master (14; 4 trifle)
1x Anarch Railroad
2x Dabbler
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
1x Golconda: Inner Peace
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
2x Rötschreck
1x Secure Haven
1x Villein
1x Week of Nightmares
1x Wider View
Event (1)
1x Narrow Minds
Action (14)
1x Contagion
1x Illegalism
9x Platinum Protocol, The
3x Unleash Hell's Fury
Ally (4)
3x Infernal Servitor
1x Veneficti
Retainer (2)
2x Homunculus
Action Modifier (39)
2x Aire of Elation
1x Cloak the Gathering
2x Elder Impersonation
1x Enchanting Gaze
4x Enkil Cog
4x Faceless Night
4x I am Legion
9x Instantaneous Transformation
4x Lost in Crowds
5x Memory Rift
2x Spying Mission
1x True Love's Face
Action Modifier/Combat (1)
1x Swallowed by the Night
Action Modifier/Reaction (3)
3x Sense the Sin
Combat (5)
3x Form of Mist
2x Majesty
Reaction (7)
6x Party Out Of Bounds
1x Visions of Zapathasura
The released decklists for all the decks in the finals and many others can be found here.
Thank you to everyone who graced the event with their presence, in many cases traveling adventurously several hundred kilometers - without you, nothing would have come out of it, and it was the tournament with the highest turnout in Lublin so far, also you set the bar high for future ones. It's awesome that we have such an amazing community, and I hope that it will grow, bringing so much fun to play and meet more players 🙂 See you at the next one!
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