Kelly Lyons wins Grand Prix New Orleans 2024!

This event was played on October 14. Reported by Devin Villegas, VEKN Prince of New Orleans, with comments from the winner:

We had a total of 19 methuselahs across three days in New Orleans attending tournaments, with a peak attendance of 18 folks on Saturday. There was also an incredible event Friday where someone's collection fell out of their car into a busy thoroughfare. A local bartender saw it happen, notified the game store, and a large group of gamers and bar patrons rallied to safely collect the cards from the street. Quite the display of hospitality and communities supporting each other.

Above: The place of the incident.

 

Standings after round 3:
1. Andy Smith 3 GW 11 VP
2. Mark Figuerola 2 GW 9 VP
3. Norm Brown 2 GW 8 VP
4. Brad Cashdollar 1 GW 5 VP
5. Kelly Lyons 1 GW 2,5 VP

Kelly Lyons comment:

First of all, it was a miracle just to get to the final table. I was ousted in Round 1 in about twenty minutes. Round 2 was just luck. I was sandwiched between two wall combat decks; Tremere predator and Brujah prey. My ally helped me out with a banishment on my Brujah prey. I followed it up with a banishment on him as well. All of sudden I had prey I could handle. Got my game win when the table timed out. Round 3 was like Round 1. I was the first one out. So, I was lucky to have a game win and be in 5th place after Round 3.

Second, the seating for the final was not in my favor. When I looked at it I felt I would be the first one out. Not to mention, I drew the short straw and played first.

Third, Brad and I were essentially playing the same deck. So, contesting was another hurdle.

Fourth, the only real chance for me to win was to back oust Norm. Easier said than done.

When it comes to a Tupdog Deck being my predator I have had plenty of experience over the last two years to develop a strategy. Don’t bring out vampires!!! They have to hunt someone else.

Now, in this tournament I did bring out a 2-capacity vampire, Mateo Garcia, just to have some sort of presence on the table. Norm topored him immediately. So, I spent the next four turns just influencing enough to bring out two vampires at the same time with another one ready to go. I also, set-up my hand to get ready for the onslaught.

Meanwhile, Norm was busy killing the board. He crippled Brad immediately when he burned Diana Iadanza. He then diablerized one of Mark’s vampires and got three Trophy Progenies into play. However, he was down to 10-pool and I had my board and hand set.

I influenced out Catalina Vega and Flavio Goncalves. Flavio has a built in dodge which will come into play. My hand was the following:
1X Majesty
1X Charismatic Aura
1X Resist Earth's Grasp
1X Forced March
1X Voter Captivation
1X Camarilla's Iron Fist
1X Kine Resources Contested

Norm sent three rushes at Flavio. Using the built-in dodge and my combat cards, Flavio, was still in the ready region. He didn’t have blood but he was still there. Flavio hunted, then Forced Marched. I hit Norm for 4-pool damage with Camarilla's Iron Fist. Then followed it up with 3-pool damage with Kine Resources Contested. Norm was left with 3-pool. I let Brad do the rest. Norm was gone and Brad was crippled.

Next, I ousted Mark pretty quick. But, it took over an hour to get rid of Andy. I got Victoria Ash and Mkhokheli into play. With the extra votes and Catalina’s and Victoria’s +1bleed ability I slowly whittled away at Andy. Andy had plenty of Delaying Tactics. I want to say he used four of them against me. He bounced most of my bleeds into Brad. But, over time I got him. Brad surrendered after that.

Andy is a really good player. He won the other two tournaments this weekend. He made all three final tables. I call him my arch-enemy. He says to me, ”How am I your arch-enemy?” He knows why. LOL. He’s always at the final table. I have played Andy at the final table more than any other player I have played against. Especially, all the tournaments and games over 30 years of casual play in Dallas. Andy is one of the best players in the game. He doesn’t get enough credit.

Thanks to Devin Villegas the Prince of New Orleans for hosting. Michelle (my wife) and I had great luncheon with Devin and his family. What a great host. Thanks to Go 4 Games. Great store. Wonderful atmosphere. Thanks for having us.

Final result: Kelly Lyons 4 VP, Brad Cashdollar 1 VP.

The tournament winning deck: “Water Dog - Flower Power”
Creators: Kelly Lyons and Randal Rudstam

This is the same deck I ran in Mississippi and got to the Final Table. I did make a few modifications from that deck to suit the current meta I was seeing. You can see the original deck on my Youtube Channel Reading Between the Lyons episode "RBTL - VTES - Episode 0044 - 30th Anniversary Toreador (TWEAKED)". Here are the modifications:
Dropped the following MASTERS:
1 X Anarch Troublemaker
1 X Camarilla Conclave
1 X Dreams of the Sphinx
1 X Elysium: The Palace of Versailles
Added the following MASTERS:
1 X Protected Resources (3 Copies)
1 X Secret Passage
2 X Secure Haven
Dropped the following POLITICAL ACTIONS:
1 X Anarchist Uprising
1 X Ancilla Empowerment
Added the following POLITICAL ACTIONS:
1 X Camarilla's Iron Fist (7 Copies)
1 X Kine Resources Contested (3 Copies)

Crypt (12 cards)
2x Diana Iadanza 9 AUS CEL FOR PRE justicar Toreador:7
2x 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
1x Victoria Ash 6 PRE aus cel dom Toreador:7
1x Kazuki Hanabira 2 aus Toreador:7
1x Mateo García 2 pre Toreador:6

Library (90 cards)
Master (20; 4 trifle)
1x Art Museum
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
3x Protected Resources
1x Secret Passage
2x Secure Haven
6x Toreador Grand Ball
3x Villein
1x Wider View

Action (8)
2x Embrace, The
2x Entrancement
2x Heart of the City
2x Third Tradition: Progeny

Political Action (15)
2x Banishment
7x Camarilla's Iron Fist
3x Kine Resources Contested
3x Parity Shift

Action Modifier (25)
2x Aire of Elation
4x Awe
2x Bewitching Oration
4x Forced March
3x Freak Drive
2x Loup
2x Perfect Paragon
6x Voter Captivation

Action Modifier/Combat (2)
2x Resist Earth's Grasp

Action Modifier/Reaction (2)
2x Scalpel Tongue

Combat (8)
2x Charismatic Aura
4x Majesty
2x Torrent

Reaction (10)
2x Eyes of Argus
2x On the Qui Vive
2x Second Tradition: Domain
4x Telepathic Misdirection

Thanks to Devin, Kelly, sponsors and participants! If you are interested in the other two events, check out the VEKN forum: Abandoning the Flesh New Orleans 2024 and Redeem the Lost Soul New Orleans 2024

Current top 10 standings Gulf Coast Roast Grand Prix (Rank – Name – Points)
1 Kelly Lyons 90
2 Brad Cashdollar 50
3 Dean Garrison 40
3 S. Andy Smith 40
5 Sidney Conklin 31
5 Matthew Hatch 31
7 Darby Keeney 28
8 Norm Brown 26
9 Chance Thebeau 24
10 Mark Figuerola 21

Find out more about the Gulf Coast Roast and its next installment at the Facebook page or at official web site.

Vampire: Elder Kindred Network Newsletter September 2024

Danilo Torrisi, European Champion 2024.

Greetings fellow Methuselahs,

THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF VAMPIRE: THE ETERNAL STRUGGLE CONTINUES

… and the EC 2024 was one of the peaks in the celebration! We would love to return to you within shortly with details about how these events played out, but for now we can say this:

Week of Nightmares 1: Winner Jorge Delgado (Spain)
Week of Nightmares 2: Winner Tommi Hakomaa (Finland)
Week of Nightmares 3: Winner Tero Aalto (Finland)
EC Friday tournament: Winner Marius Iscru (France)
EC Day 1: Winner Simone Parmeggiani (Italy)
European Grand Prix 2023-2024 final: Winner Sebastian Fredenberg (Sweden)
EC Sunday tournament: Winner Michał Kochanowski (Poland)
EC Day 2: Winner Danilo Torrisi (Italy) – congratulations Danilo, the new and returning European champion!

We hope to return with a winner interview in the next newsletter, and more photos by Marko Saari!

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WELCOME TO EC 2025 IN DENMARK!

A message from Jesper Bøje, VEKN National Coordinator of Denmark:

Dear Methuselahs,

I am excited to announce that Aarhus, Denmark, has been chosen to host the European Championship (EC) in 2025! Preparations are already underway, with scouting for locations, gathering volunteers, planning a thrilling week of events, and seeking sponsors.

With this year’s EC reaching full capacity, I am confident we can make 2025 an even greater success.

In the coming months, I’ll be reaching out to players, Princes, National Coordinators, and stores to explore what it will take to bring players to Denmark. While not every idea may be feasible, I want to hear them all. What would it take for you and your playgroup to attend EC2025?

The Championship is scheduled for October 17th-19th, 2025. For now, you can visit vtes-ec2025.org, where you’ll find the most basic information. The website will be updated with registration, information and more as we get to spring 2025.

I hope to see you all in 2025 – whether at the EC itself or at the tournaments leading up to it!

Best regards,
Jesper Bøje

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JOSÉ ROBERIO BARBOSA DA SILVA IS THE SOUTH AMERICAN CHAMPION 2024!

This event was played on September 7 in Campina Grande, Brazil with 41 players.

Read the full report: SAC 2024

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ALEXANDER TÜSCHEN IS THE 2024 GERMAN CHAMPION!

The German championship gathered 32 Methuselahs in Darmstadt-Arheilgen on September 7.

Read the full report: German Championship 2024

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RECRUITMENT EXERCISE: THESSALONIKI

Some words from Babis Giannios, VEKN National Coordinator of Greece:

Dear reader! Our demo event is over and as an organiser I'm more than elated with how things went in a city where the VTES scene was dead. Twelve people showed up – 11 of them new to the game and 1 of them a veteran. Due to personal reasons, 6 people cancelled their attendance beforehand.

We had an awesome time going on with 2 preliminary rounds and a final. The entire event took us roughly 7 hours, and we all felt excited in the end, wishing for more!

We have established our VTES gaming nights, and the store has pledged to offer us a “Gaming Saturday” each month for a local tournament -as well as a hanging place to play VTES.

Needless to say that the store almost sold out every item they had, as the players excitedly proceeded in purchasing precon decks and other VTES packs.

In a nutshell, it was a blast, marking this as my first successful organised event! Thanks to VEKN and Black Chantry so much for everything! Looking forward for more games!

Kind regards,
Babis Giannios

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WALBERT IBARRA WINS TWILIGHT CAMP 2!

This tournament was played in El Tabo, Chile on August 31 with 40 players. It is not a national or continental championship, but it had high attendance, so we are happy to highlight it here!

Read the full report: Twilight Camp 2

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RECRUITMENT EXERCISE: GIJÓN

Words by Daniel Méndez Carreño, VEKN Prince of Gijón:

CometCon 2024: Breaking the Masquerade in Gijón

CometCon 2024, held on September 6, 7 and 8 at the Luis Adaro Fairgrounds in Gijón, was an event that attracted thousands of enthusiasts of alternative culture and leisure. Although an exact number of attendees is not available, it is estimated that participation was massive, consolidating CometCon as one of the most important events of its kind in Spain.

However, among the shadows of the pavilions and the echoes of laughter and conversations, something darker was brewing. The breaking of the Masquerade was underway, and the Kindred of the night gathered in secret, hidden in plain sight among mortals.

One of the highlights of the event was the area dedicated to board games. The AsturMeeple association managed to gather 2 050 players, a number that resonated like a whisper in the night, attracting those who seek power and intrigue. This success was possible thanks to the support of numerous publishers who provided materials for the games, enriching the experience for attendees. Black Chantry played a crucial role in ensuring the presence of VTES, a reflection of the power struggles between the vampire clans.

Throughout the event, tournaments, raffles, demonstrations, and game activities were held, attracting a large number of players and curious onlookers. The younger Kindred, still learning to handle their disciplines, mingled with the elders, sharing strategies and secrets in an atmosphere charged with tension and mystery. The Methuselahs, ever watchful, sought among the mortals for potential candidates to strengthen their clans, carefully evaluating those who showed potential and cunning. In every glance and every gesture, the Eternal Struggle for power and survival was palpable.

In summary, CometCon 2024 was not only a success in terms of attendance and organization but also significantly contributed to the growth of the VTES community. Although only 16 newblood formally joined the Bastion of the North, ”dozens have tasted the flavor of the foreign pool” and will return, drawn by the promise of power and the Eternal Struggle for dominance.

CometCon 2024 has once again proven to be an essential event for lovers of alternative culture and the perfect showcase for VTES, where the line between reality and fiction blurs, and the Masquerade threatens to break at any moment.

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RECRUITMENT EXERCISE: BRATISLAVA

Martin Dudik of Slovakia send us these pics from a recent demo he did in Bratislava. He created these beautiful rollup banners with the help of Black Chantry. He uses a rebuilt Fifth Edition box set for decks and components, handy to immediately recommend people to buy it if they like the game. Three games were run at this occation, but two more are planned in the near future. Great work Martin!

Do you also want to run demo games? Talk to !

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BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: SEPTEMBER 2024

• Four out of five Black Chantry ghouls attended the European Championship in Warsaw. Yes, you guessed correctly, it was the European ghouls Ginés, Hugh, Henrik and Vincent who spread their questionable celebrity presence in the Polish capital, and of course this was a pure delight, this 30th Anniversary year! Hugh helped judge tournaments while the others failed miserably to win games.

• The fifth ghoul, Ben Peal, instead attended the South American Championship in Campina Grande, Brazil, which you can read about above in this newsletter. He enjoyed this very much! Listen to his smooth voice in these two interviews: Garagem do Nerd TV and Blood Faca VTES

• When you read this you might already sunk your claws into the Fifth Edition Lasombra preconstructed deck – the official release date is October 31, so the official legality date for the new cards is November 30.

• In other printing news is that another batch of the Banu Haqim, Brujah, Gangrel and Ministry preconstructed decks is being printed, on the shelves in December.

• Promo Pack 3 and Shadows of Berlin are now totally out of stock and will not be printed for stores again, but appear for print on demand in the future.

• Draft is coming back to VTES! Black Chantry has given VEKN National Coordinators the chance of testing a print-on-demand draft kit for 8-10 players. Are you interested in testing this experience, talk to your National Coordinator.

• The first round of playtesting of four 2025 Fifth Edition Sabbat preconstructed decks has concluded. Thanks to all that tested and the playtest coordinators! Now the design team will analyse grades and comments and prepare the next round of testing.

• The last art and final text editing is being done for the Hecata preconstructed dec. Then it´s off to the printer - the aim is to have it in stores in January.

• The five 54-card New Blood packs for Hecata, Lasombra, Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce is also almost ready for print.

• More old legacy single cards for print-on-demand will hopefully be up before Christmas shopping is over – Dementation and Temporis stuff have priority.

• The 2-player VTES variant is still 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)
30th Anniversary (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Lasombra (Also Spanish, French) (UPCOMING!)

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

When this is written, the World of Darkness crew over at Paradox are almost through their annual "Month of Darkness" October reveal-and-content extravaganza. It´s one thing every day for a month, so you have to check out the whole thing at their site, but so far our favourite pick is In Memoriam for Vampire: The Masquerade. This sourcebook steps up the game a bit from the "street level" neonate style of the original setting, to ancillae level - that is the 100-200 year old almost-elders that have seized power in many cities in the absence of the true elders now whisked away by The Beckoning.

The official content blurb:
• Dive into and take part in Kindred history through flashback with expanded Memoriam rules.
• Craft Ancilla Characters with enriched rules designed for advanced play.
• Consolidated and Streamlined Memoriam Rules featuring new variations and advanced rules for deeper character development.
• New Lore, Resources & Plotlines surrounding 11 mortal eras and 8 pivotal Kindred events.
• Six New Loresheets that link characters to significant historical moments.
• Learn more about integrating Memoriam rules into your existing stories and how to tie your characters to older events

Sounds awesome, don´t you think?

Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!

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CALENDAR

Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Australia
Brazil x21
Croatia
Czech Republic
Finland
France
Germany
Great Britain
Greece x2
Hungary
Italy x2
Netherlands
Online x2
Philippines x2
Poland
Serbia
Spain x10
Sweden
USA x10

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!

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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.

Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers.