Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
Once again we have the privilege of previewing some new Vampire: The Eternal Struggle art above, this time by Krasen Maximov. Cool huh?! Previously behind illustrations for Priority Contract, Spoils of War and Suspension of Disbelief, he has a very nice style that we are delighted to see more of in the upcoming sets. Thanks Krasen!
FINALLY! VAMPIRE: THE ETERNAL STRUGGLE ON PRINT-ON-DEMAND IN EUROPE!
While Drivethrucards has been an excellent place to produce cards, Black Chantry Productions has since its start been looking for a print-on-demand partner also in Europe. Many of the most vibrant VTES communities are located in that part of the world, and shipping from the United States is expensive. And now it´s finally in place!
Gamepod produce cards in Spain and use a quality that is similar to Drivethrucards and Carta Mundi (who print VTES for normal store distribution). The “pick and mix freely” model is in place, so you can chose any cards to print for EUR 0.45 per card. So far 895 different cards are available, but more will be added in “batches”, just as at Drivethrucards.
You find the webshop at Gamepod.es, and you can browse VTESdecks.com for some extra filter possibilities when choosing cards.
WELCOME TO THE IBERIAN GRAND PRIX 2024!
The registration for Grand Prix Iberia 2024 is open. The tournament will be played at the VIP Executive Zurique Hotel in Lisbon, Portugal on March 9 – hope to see you there!
Link: Event page on Facebook
Link: VEKN Forum thread
WHO WILL BE THE ATLANTIC CUP CHAMPION 2024?
Words by organiser Martin Weinmayer:
We are happy to announce the prizes for the Atlantic Cup 2024 online tournament!
• Day 2 qualification for EC in Warsaw
• Free SAC entry
• Origins weekend pass for NAC
• 50 Euro for the winner, and 20 Euro for each finalist on Drivethrucards
• Huge bunch of promo cards sponsored by Black Chantry
Register now on the tournament discord channel.
The Atlantic Cup is an international online tournament designed to give players from both sides of the Atlantic a chance to play together and compete for the crown of Atlantic Champion. It is a single-deck 3R+F standard constructed tournament, played on the LackeyCCG online platform over the VTES Discord server. Preliminary rounds will occur on March 2nd at 16:00, 18:30, and 21:00 CET (Central European Time). Finals will be played the next day, March 3rd, at 17:00 CET. Rounds (preliminaries and finals) will have a 2-hour time limit.
The Atlantic Cup is sponsored by Black Chantry Productions and Midnight Sun VTES Store.
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THIS GULF COAST ROAST 2024 TRAILER IS FANTASTIC!
As we told earlier, the southeast USA tournament series Gulf Coast Roast will be played throughout 2024 in Lafayette, Dallas, Gulfport, New Orleans and Vidor, with finals also in Vidor in December. Now we also know that organiser Kelly is a great musician - you MUST check out the trailer above, for it might be the best piece of VTES related content ever!
More information is on the official Gulf Coast Roast Facebook page and other places!
THE KING OF THE DEAD - A MANAUS STORYLINE EVENT
Words by Eduardo Simões, Baron of Manaus:
On January 13, Manaus played a single game with 8 players and experimented with a game system created by me, Eduardo, with the great support of Daniel Simões. The game lasted for 3 hours and 30 minutes. The player positions in the game were as follows:
1st Daniel Simões (Malkavian Dementation)
2nd Izael Beckman (Banu Haqim V5 Rush & Block)
3rd Tiago Sant'Ana (Gangrel V5 Camera Phone & Block) 2 VPs
4th Oliver Barbosa (Ministry Power Bleed) 1 VP
5th Eliomar (Toreador V5 Grand Ball)
6th R. B. (Lasombra Bleed & Vote)
7th Giuseppe "Kela" (Lutz Vote) 4 VPs - GW
8th Eduardo "Baron de Manaus" (Giovanni Zombies Hordes) 1 VP
The storyline followed, essentially, the effects of the cards Archenemy and Defiance:
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They had a deck for the Archenemy, which tells a story before the game, 3 alternative endings, and a trophy for the champion (who finishes with GW). Whoever holds the GW has to survive until the end to receive the best ending of the story; if any Methuselah who left the game has the GW, then they would have a divided ending; and if the main archenemy survives in the game, with or without GW, he wins the storyline, and the others receive the worst ending.
Giuseppe was the winner!
Here is Giuseppe's deck: “Lutz Vote”
Crypt (12 cards, min=36 max=44 avg=10.25)
3x Lutz von Hohenzollern 11 AUS DEM OBF PRE pot inner circle Malkavian:4
2x Adana de Sforza 11 CEL OBF POT PRE PRO aus inner circle Brujah:4
2x Rafael de Corazon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF PRE inner circle Toreador:4
2x Unmada 10 AUS DEM OBF VIC cel for justicar Malkavian:5
1x Tryphosa 10 AUS DEM DOM OBF POT prince Malkavian:4
1x Dmitra Ilyanova 9 CEL FOR POT PRE obf justicar Brujah:5
1x Stavros 7 AUS OBF PRE dem priscus Malkavian antitribu:4
Library (80 cards)
Master (21; 8 trifle)
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
1x Information Highway
1x Metro Underground
1x Monastery of Shadows
7x Villein
1x Wider View
7x Zillah's Valley
Political Action (17)
1x Anarchist Uprising
1x Ancient Influence
1x Ancilla Empowerment
2x Banishment
6x Kine Resources Contested
4x Parity Shift
1x Political Stranglehold
1x Reins of Power
Action Modifier (26)
1x Bewitching Oration
2x Elder Impersonation
1x Faceless Night
5x Forgotten Labyrinth
4x Into Thin Air
2x Lost in Crowds
3x Perfect Paragon
8x Voter Captivation
Action Modifier/Combat (4)
2x Force of Personality
2x Swallowed by the Night
Reaction (7)
4x Mental Maze
1x On the Qui Vive
2x Telepathic Misdirection
Combat (5)
4x Majesty
1x No Trace
The Story: Jurupari, the Shadow of Cadaverous Spirits, the King of the Dead
Prologue:
Manaus, where the shadows of the Amazon rainforest weave their enigmas, witnesses the sinister awakening of Jurupari. This Methuselah, feared as the incarnation of cadaverous spirits, emerges to cast a web of darkness over the city.
Under a sky where the stars hush their murmurs and the moon retreats before the imminent threat, Manaus finds itself at the mercy of the looming shadow. The moans of the resurrected dead intertwine with the echoes of Amazonian spirits summoned by Jurupari to march in sinister harmony with his undead.
Development:
The Methuselahs, selfish by nature, realize that the only way to preserve their supremacy is to deal with the imminent threat of Jurupari. While attempting to unite forces to contain the invasion of the dead, their rivalries persist, and the city becomes a board of sanguinary intrigues.
Amidst the chaos, protagonists emerge as reluctant rivals forced to set aside their disputes amidst the chaos created by the King of the Dead, eager to eliminate Jurupari and claim the city for themselves. Internal disputes among the Methuselahs intensify, as death and betrayal become allies to each strategy.
Conclusion:
With the dissipation of Jurupari's influence and the other Methuselahs, Manaus remains divided but with a new order established by Methuselah Giuseppe. The city becomes fertile ground for incessant political battles, where vampires continue to vie for control, taking advantage of the instability left by the war against Jurupari while all remain subjects of the new sovereign Methuselah.
Commentary: To enhance the game, I created a vampire using artificial intelligence (all illustrations were done through this feature) and a new ally to help illustrate the scenario during the game. I consider it a success! We followed through with the storyline of the story, and we had a winner who suffered a lot to achieve the prize; in the end, it was 3 hours and 30 minutes of gameplay. During the event, Magic players stopped to check out what we were doing; I heard comments from people who were thinking of quitting Magic to play V:tES and also heard comments from a V:tES player who was watching us (volunteered to take our photos) and confessed not being so excited to face a competitive tournament but loved the idea and the way the storyline unfolded. She mentioned feeling like in an RPG, and all of this made me believe that we are heading in the right direction!
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VTES IN THE PHILIPPINES - THE RETURN OF THE GAME
We asked Joscar Malacaman, the Prince of Taguig, to tell us about the health of Philippine VTES. This is his report.
Embracing New Blood
With the Covid-19 pandemic putting the Philippine VTES scene on hold for more than three years, it proved to be quite the challenge to regain the momentum in the years leading up to it. Our main haven in Metro Manila closed down as well, which left us without a regular place to play in and most of our Methuselahs entered torpor following the strict lockdowns.
However, in September 2023, we received an invite to demo the game to a bunch of new players who were interested in finding a new game for their playgroup. One demo led to another and then another until we found ourselves meeting almost weekly for demos to prospective players and then some casual game nights. Soon enough we have enough new bloods to run tables on their own and introduce the game to even wider circles.
Waking the Elders
With the community facebook group abuzz with activity, it was bound to happen that our little neonate recruitment drive would attract the elders and wake them from torpor. By October 2023, our weekly demo and game days had blossomed into regular community events frequented by new players and veterans alike. The community chat is active 24-7 and requests for game nights are a regular occurence. Our National Coordinator even paid us a visit in early November and the Metro Manila community welcomed him with a game night in his honor.
New Havens, New Princes
A huge part of the VTES revival in the Philippines is the discovery of two new Havens who welcomed the community with open arms: 89 Panay and The Office by Rollplay. These two venues would cater to our larger events in North and Central Metro Manila respectively.
We also welcomed two new Princes to help keep the community engaged and organize events regularly. These two are Joscar Malacaman, the Prince of Taguig, and Micon Garcia, the Prince of Manila. Micon would take care of the community in the South of Metro Manila, while Joscar would take care of the community in the North and Center.
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Barnett's Birthday Basagan ng Bungo
It was time to put the community to the test with our first Sanctioned Event in the post-pandemic era. This event took place in 89 Panay on November 25, 2023. As fate would have it, it was also the birthday of one of the pillars of our community, Richard Barnett. We had 17 players vying for packs of Twilight Rebellion, Black Chantry promos, and other prizes. Richard Barnett, a lifelong Brujah combat Methuselah, also gave our special prizes for the Methuselahs with the most number of burns and torpors during the day.
While Haig Bobis took home the title of King of Combat, it was Joscar Malacaman who would take the day with his Banu Haqim Anathema deck with 2 GW, 6 VP and 4 VP in the Final.
The other finalists were:
Paul Castillo: Palla Grande 2 GW 7 VP with 1 VP in the final
Paul Tio: Gangrel Anarchs 1 GW 4 VP
Richard Barnett: Brujah Amaranth/Lay Low 1 GW 3 VP
Mara Narciso: Nosferatu Animalism 1 GW 3 VP
December Danse Macabre
The second sanctioned tournament took place in the Office by Rollplay on December 16, 2023 and we had 19 players vying for League promos, Anarch Converts, and Direct Intervention sketch promos. We also gave away special prizes for the King of Combat (most burns and torpors), Prince of Politics (highest votes for a successful referendum), and the Baron of Bleed (highest successful bleed on one's prey).
Joscar Malacaman takes home his second tournament win with his Unforgiven Stanislava stealth multi-Act/MMPA (2 GW 7 VP, 4 VP in the final).
The other finalists were:
Ernest Andew Ellis: Ministry Platinum Protocol 1 GW 6 VP
Hesed Samuel Ramos: Anu Procurer bleed 1 GW 4 VP with 1 VP in the final
Haig Bobis: Potence rush 1 GW 3 VP
Kevin Michael Cabrera: Ministry stealth-bleed 0 GW 2VP
Kevin replaced Troy Espiritu in the final as Troy had to bow out from the tournament.
January's Jocular Jawbreaking Jamboree
With the new year comes a new tournament season and we kicked it off with an 11 player tournament last January 27, 2024. Our prize for this tournament was a sealed copy of the Berlin Anthology gifted to us by the Prince of Taipei, James Lin. Despite the smaller turnout due to the flu season, this tournament marks the first time we've used the 3 rounds + finals format in order to accommodate the awkward number of participants. Players who were sitting out the first round also introduced the game to two curious onlookers who played their first game of VTES as the tournament was happening. Participants were also treated to some pizza and drinks courtesy of the Prince of Taguig as he opted to celebrate his birthday with the community.
With a little bit of birthday luck, The Prince of Taguig makes it 3 for 3 in the post-pandemic tournament series as he bags another tournament win with his Matasuntha Guardian Vigil wall (2GW 7VP with 3 VP in the final).
Other finalists:
Richard Barnett: Bell and Barons 2 GW 7 VP
Ernest Ellis: Ministry Platinum Protocol 1 GW 4 VP with 1 VP in the final
Adrian Nuyda: Tremere V5 toolbox 1 GW 3 VP
Hesed Ramos: Baali Blood Storm 1 VP
Forward unto 2024
With the momentum from the community's effort to continuously embrace new players and create a welcoming environment for the game to thrive, it is about time to bring back the Philippine National Championships which will take place on May 25, 2024. Before that there will be monthly tournaments to keep the competitive scene growing in order to reach our goal of breaking 30 participants (for the 30th anniversary of the game) come Nationals.
We are currently commissioning a local artist for a customized playmat reserved for finalists of the event. Constructed rating will also matter as our participation prize for nationals will be a set of player seating order cards representing the top 5 players of the country. We are very excited for this year and we have so much more in store for the community.
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: JANUARY 2024
• The Spanish print-on-demand service Gamepod now makes VTES! See above.
• There´s a revised edition of the Fifth Edition VTES rulebook that soon will be revealed, it maybe even by the time you read this. Have a look at www.blackchantry.com/utilities.
• The Ravnos, Salubri, and Tzimisce preconstructed decks are now in stores everywhere, and the reviews are great! If you can´t find these decks in your favorite store, please show them the list of distributors and maybe they can get them. If you need some strategy tips, make sure to check out the Fifth Edition helpsheets and look for videos about the decks online, for example Lies From The Tabletop (not all lies!)
• The second rounds of playtest of both the Hecata/Lasombra, the Ravnos/Salubri/Tzimisce New Blood and the 30th Anniversary preconstructed decks ended on January 31, and playtest coordinator Norman Brown compiled a 131 pages long report of the results that are now being digested by the design team. Big thanks to him and all the playtesters!
• Playtest of the two-player variant of VTES is also going on, we look forward to telling you more about that later.
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 and Gamepod 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 (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
The long-awaited Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Extended Gameplay Reveal video is OUT. Check it out, or start with the shortened, spoiler-free trailer!
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Brazil x10
Chile x2
Deutschland
Finland
France
Hungary
Italy x2
Lithuania
Online x2
Serbia
Spain x12
USA x2
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.
“Every now and then a man's mind is stretched by a new idea or sensation, and never shrinks back to its former dimensions.”.
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
Traditionally, we take a look at the Vampire: The Eternal Struggle year that passed. As usual tournaments are a big part of the VEKN activities, and now we really left the pandemic behind us. 2023 was truly a year of tournaments, both big and small. Everywhere, but Spain and Brasil stand out. Yearly tournament statistics from the VEKN Event Calendar:
2019: 292
2020: 133
2021: 218
2022: 328
2023: 700!
This means we are not only back to pre-pandemic numbers, but we are growing A LOT! The VEKN now has about 2 200 active tournament players all over the world!
Let's have a look at the highlights of the year, with the big tournaments in focus:
March: Arnau Díez Sans wins the Spanish championship with an old school, but group 6, Malkavian stealth-bleed deck. 146 players!
April: Rafael Barbosa wins is the 2023 Brazil championship with a Banu Haqim Anathema rush deck.
The first official VEKN judges are certified.
May: Nina Nilsson wins Grand Prix Liverpool 2023 with a Ministry Dabbler stealth-bleed deck.
Bram van Stappen becomes the 2023 Belgian champion with a Tzimisce wall with 19 bleed-bounce cards!
June: Kelly Schultz is the 2023 North American champion after getting 3 victory points in the final with a Lutz & Undele stealth-voter without any reaction cards.
July: Bram Van Stappen (again!) wins Grand Prix Brussels 2023 playing another Auspex-based wall, this time Omaya-centered.
Marius Iscru becomes the 2023 Swiss champion with a Tremere Carna equipment-wall. Congratulations!
Eduardo Mateus takes home the Portugal championship piloting a group 2-3 Inner Circle stealth-vote deck.
August: The first ever VTES cards in German, a couple of promos, are published.
Joab Rogerio wins Grand Prix Campina Grande in Brazil with a Gangrel Anarch Thing-heavy toolbox.
Jon Grønset is the 2023 Norwegian champion, playing a Babalawo Emerald Legionnarie deck.
Irish champion is Lotte Siebert, playing a G5-6 Malkavian stealth-bleeder. 16 Govern the Unaligned and 8 Conditioning is underrated!
September: Jeroen Van Oort wins Grand Prix Germany 2023 with Ministry Dabbler stealth-bleed. 18 The Platinum Protocol and 15 Revelation of the Serpent, who knew that could work?
Keith Lim is the 2023 Australia/New Zealand continental champion, also with a Ministry Dabbler deck. Only 16 The Platinum Protocol and 10 Revelation of the Serpent also work.
Daniel Gargulák smashes the opposition in the Czech Republic championship with an Emerald Legionnaire & Shampling Hordes deck.
Bram Van Stappen (remember him from twice above?) is the 2023 Netherlands champion, with a Banu Haqim Kasim Bayar deck. Politics and combat is the trickiest combination in deck design, but Bram can handle it.
October: Time for a fabulous European Championship in sunny Barcelona. Jonas Ståhle (Sweden) is the VTES 2023 European Champion – Ministry Dabbler stealth-bleed strikes again! Other winners this weekend is Milan Matthes (221 players “Last Chance”), Otso Saariluoma (269 players Day 1), Bartosz Kalinczuk Grand Prix final and Martin Weinmeyer (140 players “Redemption”).
Nerijus Mikalajunas becomes the 2023 VTES Champion of Poland playing a Harbingers & Giotto Verducci Emerald Legionnaire deck.
November: Hernán Rodríguez is the 2023 South American champion! He also played a Harbingers & Giotto Verducci Emerald Legionnaire deck.
Jens Johansson, back in VTES after a long absence, is the 2023 champion of Sweden, playing a Malkavian Petra Resonance stealth-vote deck.
Akseli Jalava wins the Finnish national championship with a True Brujah Shalmath Summon History Emerald Legionnaire deck.
Mikey Ferguson is the United Kingdom champion, playing a classic Gangrel Stanislava stealth-bleed/vote deck.
Milos Krstic becomes the 2023 Austrian champion, playing a Giotto Verducci & Maris Streck deck with Emerald Legionnaires and 12 Ashur Tablets.
Rodinei Teixeira de Camargo manages to get the full table sweep in the German championship finals with a Thing-heavy Gangrel Anarch toolbox. Quite an accomplishment!
Eduardo García is the 2023 champion of Mexico, playing a Lasombra Nocturn stealth-bleed deck (no Kiasyd!).
Also in December, the VEKN issued a couple of since long expected, debated and tested errata for Ashur Tablets and Emerald Legionnaire.
More information about all these events, the finals and the winning decks can be found in the newsletter archive.
The VEKN wants to thank all tournament organisers for your efforts this past year – you rock!
In addition to this, we saw many demo events all over the world this year, heroic efforts to welcome new players to VTES – we will continue to spotlight these deeds more often in these newsletters and elsewhere.
Happy new year, and never forget: Prey is to your left!
THREE NEW PRECONSTRUCTED DECKS IN STORES
We have been blessed with a huge bunch of new Vampire: The Eternal Struggle cards again! Three new Fifth Edition preconstructed decks are now in stores: Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce, packed with both brand new cards and needed reprints of old gems. The official legality date for tournaments is February 1, 2024, but don´t miss organising some fun release events too! The deck lists and all previews are available here:
DANILO TORRISI WINS GRAND PRIX MILAN 2023!
60 players turned up for this spectacular event in Italy on December 9.
Read the full report: Grand Prix Milan 2023
LUIS ESPEJO IS THE 2023 CHILEAN CHAMPION!
39 Methuselahs participated in this tournament in Santiago on December 8.
Read the full report: Chile National Championship 2023
Also, check out this video snippet for an extra look - looks like an AWESOME event!
PABLO ANDRADE WINS GRAND PRIX CEARENSE 2023!
55 players turned up for this one, in Fortaleza, Brazil on December 16.
Read the full report: Grand Prix Cearense 2023
While we´re at it, here´s some more Brazil GP info from Marcio Pinheiro, the Prince of Fortaleza:
Brazil is a continental country, we have 26 states and the federal district, distributed across 5 regions. Currently 13 states and the Federal District have VTES organizers, this makes us great enough to have our own Grand Prix. The National GP is made up of 14 states and 5 regional stages, each stage scores normally, similar to the European GP. Qualifying for the Final table of the National GP that takes place on the same weekend as the Brazilian Championship. Below are some images of the state and regional GPs that have already taken place.
GP state Stage - VI Torneio Paraibano - 06 August 2023 - Campina Grande - Paraiba - Brazil - 21 players.
Mailton made a 700 km drive to play with us.
GP Regional Stage - Nordestão 2023 - 09 September 2023 - Recife - Pernambuco - Brazil - 21 players.
Desso traveled 2 100 km to play with us.
GP state Stage - CariocAÇO - Estadual de VTES do Rio de Janeiro 2023 - 25 November 2023 - Rio de Janeiro - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil - 39 players.
Márcio traveled 2 600 km to play with us.
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ASHUR TABLETS AND EMERALD LEGIONNAIRE HAVE OFFICIAL ERRATA
Already mentioned above, but we don´t want anyone to miss this: official errata have been issued for the cards Ashur Tablets and Emerald Legionnaire. The full statement with explanations is found at www.blackchantry.com, but let's summarise them:
• Only one Ashur Tablets can be played each turn.
• You cannot use the Emerald Legionnaire’s ability during your unlock phase if you control as many or more copies of them as ready unique Harbingers of Skulls.
Black Chantry has made these changed cards available as print-on-demand at Drivethrucards.com with a special discount ($0.15 per card).
Also, in the same post you found an addition to the tournament rules: VEKN sanctioned tournaments MAY now be played with more than one deck. Note that this format is totally optional.
A NEW GRAND PRIX CIRCUIT REVEALED: THE GULF COAST ROAST 2024
This southeast USA tournament series will be played in:
• Lafayette: March 9
• Dallas: April 27
• Gulfport: August 24
• New Orleans: October 12
• Vidor: December 7
• Finals: Vidor: December 8
What a wonderful initiative! The VEKN wishes all the best to organisers and participants. More information will appear on the official Gulf Coast Roast Facebook page and other places!
RECRUITMENT EXERCISE: FRANCE
Words by Christophe Baltazar, National Coordinator of France:
A report from recent demos in France.
First demo, was held on November 18 at Trolls2Jeux in Paris, but unfortunately no photos.
Two persons were interested: Lucas has discovered the pleasure to play with Nosferatu vs Jorge (Ventrue) and Chris (Banu Haqim). Mathieu already knew the game before covid but has no playgroup in south of Versailles, where he's living. He has taught by Chris (Ventrue) and myself (Nosferatu) to play a constructed Brujah. I´m not sure Lucas will commit in VTES, but I try to find some players in Versailles area for Mathieu. Thanks for Chris and Jorge for helping!
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Second demo at Vitrolles, located near Marseilles, which was held on 25th November at the game festival Jeux Joue. A special thanks for Nathan and Laurent. In all, we taught the game to 8 persons, and gave out 7 New Blood packs from the Black Chantry support.
Third demo was on 9th December at Trolls2Jeux in Paris. Unfortunately, Jeremy met nobody for that demo. Bad advertising and also bad timing because of christmas approaching, people hurried. But thanks to Jeremy for trying!
The fourth demo was held at Repaire du Dragon in Paris on 16th December. We've met another Mathieu from south of Paris, near Fontainebleau. He knows the game for a long time, but had no real opportunity to play where he live. We did two games: one with New Blood decks and one with normal decks. Mathieu is very interested in the game and will join us regularly for weekly games.
We'v also met two other guys, Antoine and Damien. Antoine is living Paris, near le Repaire Du Dragon, and Damien comes from north of France, no real playgroup over there but I will ask around for him and send him the Discord link.
Each of these three guys received one New Blood pack. Again, special thanks to Jeremy!
For promotion before each of this event we asked local players post on Facebook, as well as posts the VTES France and VTES Marseille groups. There was also information posters in nearby shops and game bars.
Are you interested in doing demo games? Reach out to !
EVENT POSTERS FOR DOWNLOAD!
Black Chantry has made some nice VTES-themed posters with a blank lower part that are now available for free download, perfect for event organisers. So far there are six variants:
Anarch (Branimira by Mark Kelly and Theo Bell by Carmen Cornet)
Parity Shift (Art by Mark Kelly)
Fall of London (Art by Amy Wilkins)
Camarilla (Art by Carmen Cornet)
Enchant Kindred (Art by Carmen Cornet)
Faceless Night (Art by Samuel Araya)
Do you have ideas for more of this kind of material that would be useful for you as an organiser? Reach out to the VEKN or Black Chantry directly!
IN MEMORIAM: JULIUS STONIS
"I‘ll give this one a try" said Julius Stonis after watching a few VTES games at his friend´s apartment in Vilnius, Lithuania back in 1996. He chose from a very limited selection of primarily Ventrue vampires and their assets, won 4 games in a row that evening, and has been the dominating force of the Lithuanian VTES until his untimely death in January 2022. Since then, the Lithuanian VTES Nationals ("Vilnius by Night") are held in his memory, on the Saturday closest to Julius‘ birthday – the 26th of February. This year they will take place in Vilnius, on the 24th of February, at the Wargamer club.
Black Chantry Productions and the VEKN will honour the memory of Julius with a special Anarch Convert promo card (see above).
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: DECEMBER 2023
• As mentioned above, the Ravnos, Salubri, and Tzimisce decks are now out in the wild. The distribution has been uneven, but by the time you read this, you have probably already had the opportunity to get your hands on them.
• There was a last-minute name change on a crypt card. This 6-cap powerhouse got renamed:
• Black Chantry partner Conclave has a new batch of VTES cards in Brazilian Portuguese ready for you!
• The second round of playtest of the Hecata and Lasombra preconstructed decks is now ongoing and will end January 31.
• Playtest coordinator Norman Brown has compiled a first 63-page playtest report on the two-player variant of VTES. 42 playgroups sent in their views, now for the design team to analyse and more forward on. Big thanks to all participants!
• A first draft of the 30th Anniversary preconstructed deck has been sent to playtesters. Yes, this will contain powerful group 6 and 7 Camarilla vampires of capacity above 8. First playtest reactions are positive!
• At the same time, the first draft of five new New Blood packs were sent to playtest - clans Ravnos, Salubri, Tzimisce, Hecata and Lasombra. Yes, there will be lots of work for the testers now, but it´s good to start early with testing to be able to do as many testrounds as possible.
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 (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
Some highlights from December:
• The Vampire: The Masquerade actual play New York by Night will return in 2024, it was disclosed in the World of Darkness News show.
• Another development diary for Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 was published, this time about the upgrade from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5.
• The "Blood-Stained Love" sourcebook for Vampire: The Masquerade is now available in PDF for all that made pre-orders of the physical book. This one includes various tools on how to play vampires in romantic stories, how maximize or minimize romance as a Storyteller, new Merits, Flaws and Disciplines, as well as advice for safety and healthy boundaries at your roleplaying.
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Brazil x15
Chile
Czech Republic
Deutschland
France
Hungary
Italy
Online x2
Poland x2
Portugal
Serbia
Slovakia
Spain x9
Sweden
UK
USA x8
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 and the official VEKN Twitter account @VEKN_VTES
The man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.
Sérgio, Ivan, Jens, Anttii and Michael.
On November 25, 40 players gathered at Dragon´s Lair in Stockholm, Sweden to find out who is the most powerful Methuselah.
Stockholm has been suffering for a very Baron-infested enviroment this year, so it was a bit surprising to see no less than four (or was it five?) Lutz von Hohenzollern-decks showing up – and one was especially successful!
Standings after 3 rounds:
1. Michael Holmström 2 gw, 8 vp
2. Jens Johansson 2 gw, 7 vp
3. Ivan Marin Rivas 2 gw, 6 vp
4. Anttii Penttilä 2 gw, 5.5 vp
5. Sérgio Martins 1 gw, 8 vp
This was a very interesting final, with Jens and Ivan playing decks that both want Lutz in play, and Sérgio speeding to a fast oust by quickly equipping Hesha Ruhadze with 20+ equipment and Antti not drawing into his bleed-bounce. Then Sérgio hit into Ivans Protected Resources, and himself getting ousted by Michael, who then almost manages to grind down Ivan with many 2-bleeds. But Jens instead gets the oust, and is then heads up with Ivan, and is finally victorious. Over the game he earned 9+ pool with Petra Resonance, which made a big difference. Congratulations Jens! So 3 victory points for him, with Sérgio and Michael on 1 each.
Jens tournament winning deck: “Petra Spirits”
Crypt (12)
3x Lutz von Hohenzollern 11 AUS DEM OBF PRE pot inner circle Malkavian:4
2x Josef von Bauren 11 ANI DEM OBF POT cel inner circle Nosferatu:4
5x Unmada 10 AUS DEM OBF VIC cel for justicar Malkavian:5
2x Alonso Petrodon 10 ANI DOM OBF POT for tha justicar Nosferatu:5
Library (88)
Master (23)
1x Giant's Blood
1x Information Highway
1x Metro Underground
1x Monastery of Shadows
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
5x Villein
1x Warsaw Station
1x Wider View
8x Zillah's Valley
2x Direct Intervention
1x The Coven
Action (10)
2x Judgment: Camarilla Segregation
7x Petra Resonance
1x Dark Mirror of the Mind
Political Action (12)
1x Anarchist Uprising
1x Ancient Influence
1x Ancilla Empowerment
2x Banishment
2x Kine Resources Contested
4x Parity Shift
1x Reins of Power
Equipment (2)
1x The Signet of King Saul
1x Heart of Nizchetus
Action Modifier (29)
3x Closed Session
2x Elder Impersonation
2x Enkil Cog
4x Faceless Night
5x Forced March
2x Forgotten Labyrinth
5x Freak Drive
5x Lost in Crowds
1x Daring the Dawn
Combat (5)
5x No Trace
Reaction (7)
1x Eyes of Argus
2x On the Qui Vive
3x Telepathic Misdirection
1x My Enemy’s Enemy
Thanks to all players, organisers and sponsors! Extra thanks to the venue Dragon´s Lair for hosting with very short notice.
New art for KRCG News Radio by Ginés Quiñonero.
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
As the last touches are done on this newsletter, the Grand Prix Milano tournament is ongoing (image from pre-event below). This tournament is the first in the 2023-2024 European Grand Prix circuit that we hope many of you will be able to join at least a part of. The list of event cities and dates are not complete - we will tell more as soon as we know! This time the official circuit promo is Sense the Savage Way, with new artwork by Noora Hirvonen.
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HERNÁN RODRÍGUEZ IS THE 2023 SOUTH AMERICAN CHAMPION!
On October 27th, 39 Methuselahs participated in the 2023 South American Championship, held at the Victorian theater Teatro Parque Cousiño in Santiago, Chile.
Read the full report: SAC 2023
JENS JOHANSSON IS THE 2023 CHAMPION OF SWEDEN!
On November 25, 40 players gathered at Dragon´s Lair in Stockholm, Sweden to find out who is the most powerful Methuselah in Sweden.
Read the full report: Swedish National Championship 2023
AKSELI JALAVA IS THE 2023 CHAMPION OF FINLAND!
This was played on November 4 with 33 players – a number of players lower than the previous two years but still quite decent.
Read the full report: National Championship of Finland 2023
MIKEY FERGUSON IS THE 2023 UNITED KINGDOM CHAMPION!
27 players turned up at Patriot Games in Leeds to determine who is the best VTES player in the UK.
Read the full report: UK National Championship 2023
MILOS KRSTIC IS THE 2023 AUSTRIAN CHAMPION!
The Austrian National Championship 2023, also known as “Middle European Cup” was played with 24 players at Salim’s Cocktailbar Vienna on November 25.
Read the full report: Austria National Championship 2023
RODINEI TEIXEIRA DE CAMARGO IS THE 2023 GERMAN CHAMPION!
The German National Championship 2023 was played in Bochum on November 25 with 23 players.
Read the full report: National Championship of Germany 2023
EDUARDO GARCÍA IS THE 2023 CHAMPION OF MEXICO!
20 players gathered in El Club Juegos de Mesa, Mexico City on November 26.
Read the full report: Mexico National Championship 2023
GREAT VOLUNTEERING, GREAT CONTENT AND OTHER GREAT THINGS GOING ON
There is A LOT of other VTES and VEKN things going on right now - just like it should be with a thriving game! Here are some especially noteworthy things recently:
• Christophe B and some other friendly French players have run demo games at the stores Trolls2jeux and Repaire du Dragon in Paris, with New Blood support material from Black Chantry. Big thanks! (Any others want to do demo games? Let your local VEKN Prince or National Coordinator know!)
• Bobby Edo run the first ever VTES tournament in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, on November 3, at the FALL IN gaming convention (see below). 10 players turned up, always a start! Prizes were supported by Black Chantry through Karl Schaefer at KGS Cards.
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• Speaking of Karl Schaefer, he is not only supplying VTES products to North America, but also puts out some great content at the KGS Cards blog, lately a "How variants improve skill"-series and an article about his personal watchlist.
• If your French is alright we recommend you to check out the unboxing videos over at Diableriste.com - always high quality content at that place!
• If possible, start following Martin Weinmayer on Facebook. The longtime Hall of Fame Methuselah has recently been posting some really good stuff that all players should read, both veterans and newbies.
• Codex of the Damned continues to be an awesome resource for VTES, lately for example a long guide to VTES especially aimed at Magic: The Gathering players.
• As usual, Brazil is bustling with activity - we could easily do a whole newsletter only about Brazilian events! Although we try to limit ourselves to reporting events on National Championship or higher level here, we need to tell you that especially Mozart Gomes has been doing great work for the game recently, last with the 43 player Gehenna Store Championship in Belo Horizonte. Guilherme "Kreig" Machado won with a Brujah Anarch toolbox - the decklist looks solid! Video of the final is at Garagem do Nerd TV. Some images:
Do you have tips of great VTES-related stuff to mention in this newsletter? Contact the editor at !
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: NOVEMBER 2023
• Yet more event promo cards are out! This time it´s not only full art versions of Kasim Bayar, Victoria Ash and Andi Liu, but also the classic cards KRCG News Radio and Tribute to the Master, both with new art by Ginés Quiñonero. These cards are available for order by VEKN National Coordinators from Drivethrucards.com using special links provided from upon request.
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• The long “spoiler season” is over for the next batch of Fifth Edition preconstructed decks (Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce), and the decks are expected to ship from printers in mid December. And exact release date and the corresponding tournament legality date will be set as soon as more details are known. If you missed some previews, check out
• While the second round of playtest of the Hecata and Lasombra preconstructed decks is prepared, the playtesters are trying out the first draft of a two-player variant of VTES. This is very exciting, for it is one of the most sought-after things according to Black Chantry customer service.
• For anyone interested in VTES product plans, if you haven't already read it, please have a look at Ben Peal's road map 2023-2024 article on www.blackchantry.com – it gives a lot of answers.
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 (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) Coming soon!
Fifth Edition: Salubri (Also Spanish, French) Coming soon!
Fifth Edition: Tzimisce (Also Spanish, French) Coming soon!
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
In the darker seasons, the World of Darkness team seems to become more active. Some highlights (dark-highs?) the last month:
• Players of Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse and Hunter: The Reckoning got some very useful mechanics sheets in printable formats.
• A couple of previews of the upcoming “Blood-Stained Love” for Vampire: The Masquerade were issued – a sourcebook about romance in the RPG. Pre-order is ongoing.
• There was a Discord interview with Jason Carl, among other things Brand Marketing Manager in the World of Darkness team at Paradox Interactive and storyteller of Vampire: The Masquerade actual plays L.A. by Night, Seattle By Night and N.Y. by Night, answering tons of fan questions.
• There were several previews of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, including continued development diary and playable clan presentations.
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Brazil x15
Chile x2
Czech Republic
Finland x2
France x2
Italy x2
Philippines
Poland
Portugal x2
Spain x8
UK
USA x4
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 and the official VEKN Twitter account @VEKN_VTES
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
Preview art by Ginés Quiñonero from Fifth Edition: Tzimisce.
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
Our worldwide network of active Vampire: The Eternal Struggle tournament players is now 2 182. That means 2 182 unique persons have played a tournament in the last 18 months. Wow!
JONAS STÅHLE IS THE VTES 2023 EUROPEAN CHAMPION!
The European Championship took place in Barcelona, Spain on October 13-15, and it had a record attendance: 269 players!
As usual, the main tournament was preceded by a series of "Week of Nightmares" tournaments, which were won by these nice folks:
• Monday: Jesper Bøje of Denmark
• Tuesday: Márcia Mota of Portugal
• Wednesday: Sergio Bolsico Silverio of Spain
• Thursday: David Luhaæær of Denmark
Then the real fun began. This year's special promo card was Piper with new art by Ginés Quiñonero. It was awarded in both English and Spanish versions to all participants.
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Hugh Angseesing and the rest of the Black Chantry ghouls honoured the event with their presence, as did Chico and Lalo all the way from Mexico, and some other wonderful long way travelers - extra thanks to you for attending!
Also worthy of praise are all those that took the test to become sanctioned VTES judges - you are all heroes!
As we have grown accustomed to, Marko Saari of Finland took some extra nice pictures of this EC too:
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Check out the details about each EC event in these separate VEKN.net articles:
LINK: Friday "Last Chance" tournament: 221 players
LINK: Saturday EC 2023 Day 1: 269 players
LINK: Saturday European Grand Prix final
LINK: Sunday EC 2023 Redemption: 140 players
LINK: Sunday EC 2023 Day 2: 85 players
Thanks to all players, organisers and sponsors - hope to see many of you in Warsaw next year!
PLAYER INTERVIEW: JONAS STÅHLE, 2023 EUROPEAN CHAMPION
Interview by Henrik Klippström. Full transparence: I play with this guy almost every week. Strangely, he doesn´t win that much when I´m around :) For more about this tournament, check out the full report.
OK, lets start from the beginning … How long have you played VTES?
- I started back in 2003-2004, I think. Anarchs had been released recently and Kindred Most Wanted was one of the first new releases for me. One of my friends, Randal Rudstam, introduced the game to me by playing 1-on-1 and rushing my vampires, or at least that's how I remember it, but I still got hooked. In the beginning we were just a small group of highschool friends, but after a few years I migrated to play more with the rest of the current Stockholm group.
What do you enjoy most about the game?
- I primarily enjoy the social aspect, sharing stuff that happens on the table and just general blabbering. I also have a soft spot for deck building and exploring less used card interactions.
How do you generally behave at the table?
- I think I can take on a bit of an agitator role against whoever I perceive as my main threat, regardless of table positions. I'm no stranger to passing on a victory point to get an easier game win. I do think I have more success when I actually keep a low profile, however. You (Klippström) play with me every Wednesday so you probably have a more objective view than I do, so feel free to fill in. (Yes, he can be an agitator, but yes, I don´t always think that role suits him :))
Do you prefer a certain type of deck?
- I do like decks that are active and focused on ousting, so bleed decks are probably the closest to my heart. I think it's important to try out all kinds of archetypes to understand how they function, though. For less competitive play I love trying out underplayed cards, or new card interactions, as mentioned.
The European Championships Day 2 is the 85 best players around. You played Ministry Dabbler stealth-bleed. Why did you choose that deck?
- Most of all it's a deck I'm very comfortable with, I played it a lot and it has performed well before. I also expected a lot of the new Fifth Edition decks, e.g. Gangrel, Banu Haqim and Brujah, and I think that Ministry has a quite favorable matchup against those. There's also a lot more intercept in it compared to other popular stealth bleeders, which allows you to block key actions – like Raven Spy, Bowl of Convergence – and dictate the game more. It is quite weak to aggressive bleeding, but that tends to be less represented on Day 2, although I'm not sure how true that was this year with so many players, thus requiring more victory points for finals.
Are there any special prey and predators you like or don´t like when playing this deck?
- As mentioned, an aggressive bleeder, especially a stealth-bleeder, can be rough since the deck doesn't pack all that much defense. Like with most decks a prey with very dedicated minion-rush is always a problem, since even if you could oust it, you'll do so crippled.
How were your preliminary rounds on Day 2?
- I managed to snag two game wins ending in very close heads-up situations. In the first my Gangrel opponent got roughed up too much the round before the heads up by Sniper Rifle wielding predator, giving me too much of an edge. A shared Club Illusion also worked well in my favor. In the third table, second game win, a very timely Pentex Subversion removed the star blocker from the Akunanse player – sporting Jubal with extra intercept against Ministry! – giving the oust from a mandatory pool to Smiling Jack.
Watch this final at Youtube: BCNcrisis.
About the final, what were your thoughts for the seating?
- I did not really know what Javi played, but assumed it was more control-focused than aggressive forward. Banu Haqim is also a pretty decent prey for ministry, hence my choice of seating. I think Otso got the impression that Kari played a more traditional voting Arika deck and wanted to sit close enough to control. At the time, I also saw his positioning as a way of letting me and Tomasz go at each other and then just delete however emerged from that.
As the game begun and evolved, how did you feel about it?
- Things mostly went my way to be honest, and my main job was to not fumble it away. I did try to not throw everything at Tomasz but rather try to build a board first, but not sure how others perceived it. The game overall was suprisingly relaxed though, and even when it went well I never really counted anyone out. I never had the energy to overthink the situation, and expected more resistance with Direct Interventions and dealing to get me off the table. Sometime after my second victory point it looked too good to ignore, but then it felt more like a matter of time when I'd get the last oust since my board was so strong.
So, now you are the best player in Europe, maybe on planet Earth. What are your thoughts on the future of VTES tournament play?
- Not sure if I feel like the best player, but I'm very happy with my performance! I can't say I have too strong of an opinion on future tournaments, other than that I'll try to keep playing and enjoying the game.
What are your personal VTES goals right now?
- I'm really looking forward to future sets, in particular because Ravnos is a favorite clan of mine, and I want to find a way to make them work. There is going to be a lot of new stuff to explore. The current meta game is still evolving a lot and as things get shaken up there's old stuff suddenly being viable, which I think is exciting.
Thanks to Jonas for the interview, and we wish him good luck in the future!
NEW STRUCTURE FOR VEKN NEWSLETTERS
As you probably already have noticed, we are trying a new routine for official Vampire: The Eternal Struggle event reports. The reports will be published as separate articles on VEKN.net – only a short summary with a link to the full article will appear in the newsletter. In this way we lift some stress from the newsletter writing at the end of each month and get more room for other fun stuff in the newsletter.
But still, please remember: If you organise a tournament of National Championship level or higher, it is important that you send in the requested event information to the newsletter editor. Do it at the same time that you upload The Archon!
NERIJUS MIKALAJUNAS IS THE 2023 VTES CHAMPION OF POLAND!
45 players turned up in Warsaw. Read the full report: Polish National Championship 2023
ANOTHER ROAD TO PULLED FANG ENDS
Words by Lukáš Simandl:
On the eve of the Czech Nationals (reported in the last newsletter), the culmination of the Czech Road to Pulled Fang league also took place. This league consisted of a series of five tournaments, with the winners receiving unique playmats, and all players earning points for the overall ranking.
The first of these tournaments was held in Prague in November, and its winner was Tomáš Kubec. The second was in January, won by Jan Kočí in Ostrava. March saw another victory for Jan Kočí in Lichnov. The fourth tournament took place in Hradec Králové, and its winner was Jan Liška. The conclusion, as in the previous year, took place in Brno, with Lukáš Vrbický emerging as the victor.
Points from individual tournaments were added up for the overall ranking. This was done by summing up game wins and victory points (as a secondary scoring metric) from the three most successful tournaments of each participant. An interesting note this year was that two tournament winners did not make it to the top five due to their absence from other Road tournaments.
The final five players gathered on the evening before the Nationals to conclude this year's Road to Pulled Fang. An interesting situation occurred when two Carna met at the table, leading to a contest. This might lead to a slight change in deck selection for the final table in the future. Nevertheless, the players who made it to the final table were: Jan Kočí (5 GW; Gangrel anarch) -> Jiří Paska (4 GW; Carna) -> Lukáš Vrbický (6 GW; Carna) -> Lukáš Simandl (4 GW; Lasombra Animalism) -> Michal Faldyna (5 GW; !Tremere). The ultimate winner was Jan Kočí.
Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi! (The King is dead, long live the King!). We are already looking forward to the next series of Road to Pulled Fang, which will have one more tournament this time.
BRATISLAVA RISING
How do you grow a player community? Let´s take a look at an example. Earlier this year Radovan Vitek from Bratislava, Slovakia, was in contact with the VEKN regarding torpor rescue of the Bratislava community. Now we can tell how it is going!
What they have achieved in 9 months:
- They grew the community from 4-6 regulars to 8-10 regulars plus a few new players.
- They ran their first weekly league (similar to the one in Stockholm, based on an earlier German one) for 10 weeks with rating points and "crowning" of a champion.
- They established regular playing times: every Tuesday plus first Saturday in every month. That attracted the community from Vienna and the two groups regularly visit each other for tournaments and marathon sessions of VTES.
- They attended two tournaments with more experienced players in Vienna.
- They did a bundle order from the Polish Vtes.store and got some perks for it and are planning to do another one plus singles from Drivethrucards.com to tackle the shipping cost.
What they hope to do in the next 12 months:
- organize a first tournament of standard constructed to get feeling of what needs to be done and how to run things. The guys from Vienna will help with it as they have more experience.
- Continue with the league games, and this years league will award the top five participants with a storyline game with custom event cards.
- They would like to build cube limited environment for mostly “V5” (Fifth Edition) cards that will serve as a repeatable option for drafting and playing VTES. This will be explored and tested first. So far, the beta list and ratios with limited testing can be found here: the list and the ratios.
- There is also the option to do some sort of "prerelease" tournament with upcoming Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce decks.
If anyone has any questions or ideas for Radovan, contact him at .
The VEKN really appreciates initiatives like this, and will, together with Black Chantry Productions, do whatever possible to support similar ventures. Good luck to the Bratislava community!
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: OCTOBER 2023
• Yes, all the Black Chantry partners were once again gathered at the European Championship. A very rare occasion, when you have a Swede, an American, a Brit, a Frenchman and a Spaniard joining to form a card game company!
Henrik, Ben, Hugh, Vincent and Ginés.
• In Barcelona that weekend, Hugh and Ben held a presentation where the product roadmap was revealed and explained, and Ben then put it into writingover at www.blackchantry.com - a must-read if you are interested in the future of VTES.
• Believe it or not, the “preview season” for the next three Fifth Edition preconstructed decks is still ongoing. The clans are Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce. Release date is not set, but hopefully in December. All previews are collected at these product pages:
• Many have questions about what really is going on with all the VTES promo cards that Black Chantry put out, so now a promo card policy has been published.
• While the second round of playtest of the Hecata and Lasombra preconstructed decks is prepared, the playtesters are trying out the first draft of a two-player variant of VTES. This is very exciting, for it is one of the most sought-after things according to Black Chantry customer service.
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 (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)
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
This year's "Month of Darkness" has come to an end, as usual LOADED with exciting news and content for fans of Vampire: The Masquerade and the rest of the World of Darkness. We would like to highlight:
• the launch of Vampire Nexus, the official digital toolset for Vampire: The Masquerade
• the World of Darkness News show interview with the guys behind Clans of London, an upcoming mobile-first card game
• the global PDF release of Vampire: The Masquerade - Blood Sigils, a sourcebook devoted to blood sorcery and thin-blood alchemy
• the brand new Hunter: The Reckoning wiki over at Paradoxwikis.com
• a Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 - Narrative & RPG Stream reveal video.
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Austria
Belgium
Brazil x14
Chile
Czech Republic
Finland
France
Germany
Hungary
Italy x3
Mexico
Online x5
Philippines x2
Serbia
Spain x8
Sweden
Switzerland
UK
USA x3
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 and the official VEKN Twitter account @VEKN_VTES
Impossible is for the unwilling.
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