Smiles after the battle! From left to right: Ivan, Riccardo, champion Filippo, Simone and Martin.

Reported by Miro Albertazzi, VEKN National Coordinator of Italy:

On April 12th, 45 Methuselahs gathered in Pordenone and battled for the Italian Championship title! In the gorgeous estate of Gelindo dei Magredi, Filippo Mengoli eventually triumphed as the 2025 Italian Champion.

Here’s the standings after 3 rounds:
1. Simone Zanni 8 VP 2 GW
2. Ivan Candioli 5,5 VP 2 GW
3. Filippo Mengoli 5,5 VP 2 GW
4. Martin Weinmeyer 6,5 VP 1 GW
5. Riccardo Fabiani 6 VP 1 GW

The first part of the game was quiet and a bit stuck, with the three attrition decks building their forces. Meanwhile Simone and Riccardo started to call some political action, just to find out that Filippo, with his princes and primogen was the needle on the scale for every referendum. Everyone waited for the Tupdogs assault on the Banus but luck was not on the side of Martin, with one bad draw after the other and also the pressure of the Ravnos swarm on his back forced him to a defensive position. Ivan’s walking dead legion smashed Simone’s minions but took the pressure away from Filippo who was able to put the guns out. So the game sped up, Riccardo with the votes from Fil’s vampires ousted Martin, and as a part of the deal gave Filippo the time to oust Ivan, as by tradition zombies can’t stand against guns :D :D :D

With all of his minions in torpor or out of blood, Simone could only watch Filippo taking his second point. Riccardo had no time nor forces enough to assault the Banu mountain of pool, and so the game came to its end. Filippo won with his balanced and diligent playstyle, and most of all with his beloved clan!

Here’s his deck: "Haqim's Law: Protection"
Crypt (12 cards, min=22 max=33 avg=6.92)
1x Kasim Bayar  9 CEL OBF THA aus pot justicar Banu Haqim:6
4x Oluwafunmilayo 8 AUS CEL OBF THA prince Banu Haqim:6
2x Farah Sarroub 7 CEL THA aus obf prince Banu Haqim:6
2x Kassandra Tassaki 6 CEL THA obf  prince Banu Haqim:6
1x Khadija Al-Kindi 6 CEL OBF THA  primogen Banu Haqim:6
2x Warmaksan  5 THA cel obf  prince Banu Haqim:6

Library (90 cards)
Master (17; 8 trifle)
2x Archon Investigation
3x Haqim's Law: Retribution
1x Market Square
1x Papillon
1x Powerbase: Montreal
3x Priority Contract
1x Rack, The
5x Villein

Action (10)
4x Hunter's Mark
6x Magic of the Smith

Equipment (6)
2x .44 Magnum
1x Assault Rifle
1x Bowl of Convergence
1x Heart of Nizchetus
1x Kevlar Vest

Combat (42)
4x Blur
10x Hunger of Marduk
12x Psyche!
10x Pursuit
4x Rego Motum
2x Side Strike                        

Reaction (15)
15x Second Tradition: Domain

Filippo awarded by the event organizer, Danny.

It was a really great day, as Italy National Coordinator i would like to thank Black Chantry and Ultra Pro for the gifts and the support they always give in our big events; our national distributor, Mistlore, who has been helping us since the start of this year, with all kinds of materials and many new ideas; our fabulous host Danny, who found a marvelous place where we spent a really great weekend. And, of course, I would like to thank all the players, you’re the ones to make these tournaments real, and the reason why building such events is really funny and satisfying!

The first leg of the Gulf Coast Roast 2025 circuit was played in Dallas, Texas, on March 22 with 16 Methuselahs. Reported by Chris Franklin, VEKN Prince of Dallas:

Dallas Texas was the host to the second annual Gulf Coast Roast event hosted at J Gilligans Bar and Grill in Arlington Texas. Players from around the country came to battle in three days of fantastic competition. The skill level varied from newcomers to legends of the hobby that rank amongst the very best the world of VTES has to offer. The main event of the weekend was Saturday's Gulf Coast Roast Grand Prix which marked the first leg of the Gulf Coast Roast for this year's competition.

After three long rounds of fierce competition we had a final table which included the number 1 player in the world Darby Keeney as well as veterans Brad Cashdollar, Chris Franklin, and Dean Garrison as well as relative newcomer Destyn Bowers who is also a Dallas native. With a hard fought final in the end it came down to Chris Franklin and Destyn Bowers who after torporing all of Darby’s minions he finally ousted him and then set about torporing all of Chris’ minions before he conceded the win to Destyn.

Standings before the final round:
1st Dean Garrison 2 GW 7 VP
2nd Darby Keeney 2 GW 6 VP
3rd Chris Franklin 1 GW 5 VP
4th Brad Cashdollar 1 GW 4 VP
5th Destyn Bowers 1 GW 4 VP

Final Results: Destyn Bowers 3 VP, Darby Keeney 1 VP and Chris Franklin 1 VP. A massive congratulations to Destyn for his first tournament win!

The tournament winning deck: “Anamilism Fun!!” by Destyn Bowers

Crypt (12 cards, min=19 max=28 avg=5.92)
1x Keegan 8 ANI FOR PRO aus cel Gangrel:6
2x Massimiliano 7 ANI FOR pro baron Gangrel:6
2x Doc Martina 6 ANI OBF for pre Ravnos:7
1x Kuyén 6 ANI PRO baron Gangrel:6
1x Luciano Carvalho 6 ANI OBF pre Ravnos:7
1x Martina Srnankova 6 FOR PRO ani Gangrel:6
1x Roberto Rivamonte 6 ANI OBF PRE Ravnos:7
1x Gathii 5 ANI PRE obf Ravnos:7
1x Whisper 5 ANI DOM pro Tzimisce:6
1x Trung Chau Pham 3 ANI Ravnos:7

Library (90 cards)
Master (7; 4 trifle)
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Metro Underground
4x Villein

Action (23)
1x Army of Rats
20x Deep Song
2x Tier of Souls

Retainer (3)
3x Raven Spy

Action Modifier (15)
3x Adhocracy
12x Ni Dieu ni Maître

Combat (42)
19x Aid from Bats
9x Carrion Crows
2x Conquer the Beast
3x Drawing Out the Beast
4x Pack Alpha
5x Taste of Vitae

A fantastic tournament and a large thanks to both Kelly Lyons for organizing and Black Chantry for providing amazing prize support for the event! Next up for the Gulf Coast Roast II is Lafayette, Louisiana May 31st!

The third part of the North America Cup Grand Prix circuit was played in Dallas on March 23 with 15 Methuselahs. Report by Chris Franklin, VEKN Prince of Dallas:

Standings before the final:
1. Andy Smith 2 GW 6.5VP
2. Clint Jordan 2 GW 4.5VP
3. Mark Figuerola 1 GW 5.5VP
4. Matt Hodsdon 1 GW 5VP
5. Matt Hatch 1 GW 3.5VP

Final Standings: Matt Hodsdon 5 VP. Congratulations!

Matt’s tournament winning deck: “Haqim's Law: Bastardization”

Crypt (12 cards)
2x Adisa 3 cel obf Banu Haqim:6
2x Alu 2 obf Banu Haqim:5
2x Kalinda 6 CEL OBF tha primogen Banu Haqim:6
1x Arjun Shah 4 THA obf Banu Haqim:6
1x Asmin Kobane 5 CEL dom obf tha Banu Haqim:6
1x Flavia, Avenging Angel 6 CEL OBF QUI Banu Haqim:6
1x Greg Mazouni 4 cel obf tha Banu Haqim:6
1x Khadija Al-Kindi 6 CEL OBF THA primogen Banu Haqim:6
1x Wise Frog 5 OBF aus cel qui Banu Haqim:6

Library (90 cards)
Master (13; 1 trifle)
12x Haqim's Law: Retribution
1x Priority Contract

Action (8)
4x Computer Hacking
4x Khabar: Glory

Action Modifier (16)
3x Elder Impersonation
1x Leverage
5x Marked Path
2x Old Friends
5x Spying Mission

Action Modifier/Combat (47)
3x Hide the Mind
20x Resist Earth's Grasp
24x Swallowed by the Night

Combat (6)
3x Infernal Pursuit
2x No Trace
1x Twisting the Knife

The North America Cup events:
Gap, Pennsylvania - COMPLETED, Albert Presto wins
Los Angeles, California - COMPLETED, Mark Jasper wins
Dallas, Texas - Mar 22-23 - COMPLETED, Matt Hodsdon wins
Montreal, Canada - Apr 26-27
Madison, Wisconsin - May 17-18

Finalists and organisers, winner Frédéric Pin in light grey.

This tournament was played with 70 players on March 1 at Hotel Real Fini Baia del Re in Modena, Italy. Report by Simone Parmeggiani, VEKN Prince of Reggio Emilia:

Rings for top 10.

Standings before the final:
1. Frédéric Pin 3 GW 9.0 VP
2. Ruben Feldman 2 GW 10.0 VP
3. Federico Ferrarini 2 GW 9.5 VP
4. Nicola Pampaloni 2 GW 8.0 VP
5. Danilo Torrisi 2 GW 7.5 VP

The game evolved around balancing the table so that the Ravnos couldn't swarm and sweep the table alone. Frédéric had a quick start and torporized some Ravnos, slowing this process a lot. In the meanwhile the other players were studying themselves or building up their stuff.

On the other side of the table Danilo and Federico teamed up to keep the nephandus under control, without putting much pressure on the garou deck. The plan of Danilo was waiting for Ruben to call a massive consanguineous boon in order to vote it and be sure his predator doesn't die, so he could've killed the nephandus and bring the game to the time limit with no big risks. However, con boon didn't arrive and in the last couple of turns a dragonbound played by Frédéric killed Ruben and there wasn't enough time to do other things. So Frédéric 1.5 VP over 0.5 VP for Danilo, Nicola and Federico.

Congratulations Frédéric, a real strong and solid player who is having good results this year (6th at GP in Palma and 1st at GP in Modena).

The tournament winning deck: “GarOgarououou” by Frederic Pin

Crypt (12)
1x Massimiliano 7 ANI FOR pro baron Gangrel:6
2x Casey Snyder 6 PRO ani cel for baron Gangrel:6
2x Kuyén 6 ANI PRO baron Gangrel:6
1x Kamile Paukstys 5 PRO ani for Gangrel:6
1x Hanna Nokelainen 4 ani for pro Gangrel:6
1x Nathan Turner 4 PRO ani Gangrel:6
1x Indira 3 PRO Gangrel:6
1x Joaquín de Cádiz 3 for pro Gangrel:6
1x Malcolm 2 ani Gangrel:5
1x Ruslan Fedorenko 2 pro Gangrel:6

Library (72 cards)
Master (24; 4 trifle)
1x Anarch Free Press, The
6x Ashur Tablets
1x Carfax Abbey
1x Club Illusion
2x Direct Intervention
1x Ecoterrorists
1x Fame
2x Left for Dead
1x Parthenon, The
3x Piper
1x Powerbase: Montreal
4x Villein

Event (5)
1x Dragonbound
1x FBI Special Affairs Division
1x Slow Withering, The
2x Unmasking, The

Action (5)
1x Rewilding
4x Thing

Ally (10)
1x Carlton Van Wyk
1x Double Deuce
1x Ossian
7x Renegade Garou

Action Modifier/Reaction (2)
2x Form of the Bat

Combat (9)
2x Dodge
5x Glancing Blow
2x Pulled Fangs

Reaction (17)
5x Bait and Switch
3x Deep Ecology
3x Eyes of the Wild
1x On the Qui Vive
5x Organized Resistance

The organiser team.

Simones message to the community: "Hello everyone, I am completely out of energy but I still wanted to write a few lines about these two days that saw the Modena VTES community, born just over a year and a half ago, host an international event with 70 people, about fifteen of whom came from outside Italy. I thank the entire Alearum Mundus team that made this event possible, but above all I thank you players who participated even just with an idea or a suggestion: they were all essential building blocks for the (I believe) success of an event that leaves me with so much satisfaction. Your handshakes, compliments and pats on the back filled my heart. Thank you."

In general, we've been satisfied with the numbers of participants and how the event went. As a prince I'm more than happy that we've been able to setup a team of 8 people who gave a strong effort in the making of this tournament, which is the biggest tournament in Italy ever, as far as I know. And we know it was possible to do so only with a strong team play and we're proud of it. See you around!