Preview art by Christian Byrne from Fall of London, the
next expansion for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle.
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2022 SUMMARY
FINALLY, after three years of waiting, Helsinki was able to host the EC on July 28-31. The weather was lovely, the organisers excellent and the community of players behaved lovely the whole event. Pure delight!
Above you see the event special promo card awarded to all attendants, with art by Noora Hirvonen of Helsinki, both VTES artist and skilled player.
As usual, everything started out with a “Week of Nightmares” series of smaller tournaments – these were won by Jyri Puhakka, Tommi Hakomaa and Tero Aalto.
On Thursday there was a very nice welcome party at a downtown venue close to the Finnish parliament, with drinks, food, quiz, The Fall of London previews, Black Chantry CEO Hugh Angseesing Q & A and a spectacular, vampire-themed burlesque dance show.
Welcome party.
Welcome party dance show.
Hugh Angseesing, CEO of Black Chantry Productions.
Art by Noora Hirvonen.
Thanks to Marko Saari for most of the photos here. More can be found at vtes.orava.org.
The Friday “Last Chance Qualifier” tournament had 82 players. Nowadays this is not an actual qualifier for EC Day 1, but the five finalists qualify for EC Day 2. Standings after three preliminary rounds:
1. Kim Nilsson 2 GW 8 VP
2. Richard Stefan Utner 2 GW 8 VP
3. Otso Saariluoma 2 GW 7,5 VP
4. Andreas Stjernfelt 2 GW 7 VP
5. Emiliano Imeroni 2 GW 6 VP
Richard, Kim, Otso, Andreas and Emiliano.
Congratulations Otso Saariluma, who took 4 victory points in the final, Andreas took 1. You find the stream at vtes.orava.org, including a winner interview at the end. Yes, Otso also won the Day 2 tournament – he is a great player, and obviously was in top form this weekend.
Otso´s tournament winning deck:
Crypt (12)
3x Enkidu, The Noah 11 for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO Gangrel antitribu:4
3x Matasuntha 10 ANI AUS CEL FOR PRO Gangrel:5
1x Andre LeRoux 3 aus Toreador:5
1x New Blood 2 san Blood Brother:ANY
4x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY
Library (90)
Master (27)
9x Ashur Tablets
1x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fame
1x Giant's Blood
1x Guardian Angel
1x Monster
2x Parthenon, The
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Montreal
5x Villein
1x Wash
1x Wider View
Event (1)
1x Dragonbound
Retainer (9)
1x Mr. Winthrop
8x Raven Spy
Action Modifier (5)
1x Enkil Cog
2x Forced March
2x Instantaneous Transformation
Combat (30)
1x Claws of the Dead
8x Diversion
4x Drawing Out the Beast
2x Earth Meld
2x Hell-for-Leather
2x Infernal Pursuit
2x Pack Alpha
2x Psyche!
1x Pursuit
6x Taste of Vitae
Reaction (18)
3x Cats' Guidance
4x Forced Awakening
4x On the Qui Vive
7x Sense the Savage Way
EC Day 1 had 99 players, which is a very nice turnout considering everything. The general feeling was that the average skill of players was high, even though the EC is an open tournament these days. Standings after three preliminary rounds:
1. Kari Hyll 2 GW 8,5 VP
2. Randal Rudstam 2 GW 8 VP
3. Bram Van Stappen 2 GW 7,5 VP
4. Kalle Blomgren 1 GW 8 VP
5. Antti Penttilä 1 GW 6,5 VP
Kalle, Randal, Kari, Bran and Antti.
Congratulations Antti Penttilä, winner with 4 victory points in the final (Kalle got 1). Watch the stream via vtes.orava.org.
Antti´s tournament winning deck: Khursidwall
Crypt (12)
3x Khurshid 8 AUS FOR NEC POT Harbinger of Skulls:6
2x Mordechai Ben-Nun 8 ANI AUS FOR NEC Harbinger of Skulls:5
2x Anu Diptinatpa 7 aus vic DOM NEC Nagaraja:6
5x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY
Library (90)
Master (21)
3x Direct Intervention
1x Fragment of the Book of Nod
1x Haven Uncovered
6x Liquidation
5x Piper
4x Villein
1x Wider View
Event (3)
1x FBI Special Affairs Division
2x Unmasking, The
Action (6)
4x Gear Up
2x Soul Feasting
Ally (10)
10x Emerald Legionnaire
Retainer (2)
2x Vengeful Spirit
Action Modifier (2)
2x Trochomancy
Combat (19)
3x Aura Reading
6x Hidden Strength
2x Rolling with the Punches
6x Target Vitals
2x Taste of Vitae
Reaction (27)
3x Eluding the Arms of Morpheus
9x Eyes of Argus
5x Guardian Vigil
3x My Enemy's Enemy
7x Telepathic Misdirection
 |
 |
The Grand Prix trophy and ring.
Later on Saturday, after the Day 1 final was over, the European Grand Prix final was played by these beautiful people, the five available GP players with the highest ranking:
1. Tommi Hakomaa: 30 points
2. Noora Hirvonen 28 points
3. Sebastian Fredenberg: 25 points
4. Magnus Söder: 23 points
5. Esa-Matti Smolander: 18 points
Tommi, Magnus, Noora, Esa-Matti and Sebastian.
Congratulations Sebastian Fredenberg, Grand Prix grand champion 2022! He got 1,5 VP in the final (streamable via vtes.orava.org), before it timed out.
Sebastian´s tournament winning deck:
Crypt (12)
1x Farah Sarroub 7 aus obf CEL THA prince Banu Haqim:6
2x Kassandra Tassaki 6 obf CEL THA prince Banu Haqim:6
1x Kalinda 6 tha CEL OBF primogen Banu Haqim:6
1x Khadija Al-Kindi 6 CEL OBF THA primogen Banu Haqim:6
2x Warmaksan 5 cel obf THA prince Banu Haqim:6
1x Asmin Kobane 5 dom obf tha CEL Banu Haqim:6
1x Greg Mazouni 4 cel obf tha Banu Haqim:6
1x Nayarana 4 cel THA Banu Haqim:6
1x Bijou 3 cel tha Banu Haqim:6
1x Alu 2 obf Banu Haqim:5
Library (90)
Master (19)
2x Alamut
4x Haqim's Law: Retribution
2x Khabar: Community, The
1x Market Square
4x Priority Contract
1x Underworld Hunting Ground
5x Villein
Event (1)
1x Narrow Minds
Action (14)
1x Aranthebes, The Immortal
7x Haqim's Law: Leadership
1x Third Tradition: Progeny
5x Web of Knives Recruit
Equipment (1)
1x Ivory Bow
Action Modifier/Combat (11)
3x Resist Earth's Grasp
8x Swallowed by the Night
Combat (35)
3x Blur
3x Flash
6x Hunger of Marduk
4x Psyche!
4x Pursuit
3x Quickness
4x Taste of Vitae
8x Weighted Walking Stick
Reaction (9)
2x Delaying Tactics
7x Second Tradition: Domain
On Sunday two tournaments were played, EC Day 2 and “The best of the rest”. For EC Day 2 the top 40 players from EC Day 1 were qualified, together with the 5 finalists from Friday´s LCQ and the winners of each European Grand Prix tournament this season.
The Best of the rest tournament that was played at the same time as EC Day 2 had 41 players. The top five after three rounds were:
1. Filippo Mengoli 3 GW 9,5 VP
2. Erik Wallgren 2 GW 8 VP
3. Niko Vanhatalo 2 GW 8 VP
4. Zsolt Cziráki 1 GW 6 VP
5. Lasse Pöyry 1 GW 6 VP
Niko, Lasse, Zsolt, Filippo and Erik.
Congratulations Zsolt Cziráki, coming out on top with 2 VP after an unusually violent final with a heads-up against Lasse´s Samedi, who also had 2 VP but lower seed. Filippo got 1 VP. This final was not streamed.
Zsolt´s tournament winning deck: Alab+baron v2
Crypt (12)
4x Alabastrom 7 aus cel for POT VIS Gargoyle:6
4x Handsome Dan 5 aus cel for pot vis Gargoyle:6
4x Leumeah 6 cel for pot PRE Brujah:6
Library: 90
Master (16)
1x Fame
1x Flames of Insurrection
1x Anarch Railroad
1x Garibaldi-Meucci Museum
1x Giant's Blood
1x Rack, The
1x Smiling Jack, The Anarch
5x Vessel
1x Carfax Abbey
1x Club Illusion
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
Action (10)
1x Fee Stake: Boston
1x Fee Stake: Los Angeles
1x Heroic Might
2x Armor of Terra
1x Open War
2x Preternatural Strength
2x Line Brawl
Retainer (1)
1x Razor Bat
Equipment (2)
1x Heart of Nizchetus
1x Sniper Rifle
Action Modifier (8)
2x Forced March
2x Monkey Wrench
2x As the Crow
2x Skin of the Chameleon
Combat (23)
2x Lam Into
3x Raking Talons
2x Roll
3x Taste of Vitae
2x Bond with the Mountain
8x Diversion
3x Dust Up
Reaction (30)
6x Guardian Vigil
4x On the Qui Vive
8x Bait and Switch
10x Organized Resistance
2x Delaying Tactics
EC Day 2 is thereby the very best players battling for the most prestigious title of the year. After three preliminary rounds the standings were:
1. Otso Saariluoma 2 GW 7 VP
2. Antti Penttilä 2 GW 6,5 VP
3. Esa-Matti Smolander 2 GW 5,5 VP
4. Matias Frosterus 1 GW 6 VP
5. Héctor Javier Ordóñez 1 GW 5,5 VP
Héctor, Otso, Matias, Esa-Matti and Antti.
Congratulations Otso Saariluoma, for the third time European champion! Stream the game, and read the winner interview below.
Otso’s champion deck: Finnish Politics
Crypt (12)
1x Enkidu, The Noah 11 for ANI CEL OBF POT PRO Gangrel antitribu:4
2x Nangila Were 9 obf ser ANI POT PRE Guruhi:4
1x Black Annis 9 ani pro OBF POT Nosferatu antitribu:4
3x Nana Buruku 8 ANI POT PRE Guruhi:4
1x Andre LeRoux 3 aus Toreador:5
4x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY
Library (65)
Master (25)
4x Anarch Revolt
1x Archon Investigation
6x Ashur Tablets
1x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fame
1x Giant's Blood
1x Information Highway
1x Mbare Market, Harare
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Luanda
1x Powerbase: Montreal
5x Villein
1x Wider View
Event (1)
1x Dragonbound
Action (5)
3x Deep Song
1x Entrancement
1x Well-Marked
Combat (28)
1x Canine Horde
5x Carrion Crows
1x Glancing Blow
6x Immortal Grapple
3x Roundhouse
1x Slam
1x Stunt Cycle
4x Taste of Vitae
2x Thrown Sewer Lid
4x Torn Signpost
Reaction (6)
1x Cats' Guidance
1x Delaying Tactics
2x On the Qui Vive
2x Sense the Savage Way
This was one of the most well organised big VTES events ever - there were barely any delays or other mishaps during the weekend, which was important, because the schedule was tight. The VEKN wants to thank the organisers, judges and all their helpers for their efforts, as well as the sponsors and, of course, the players - hope to see everyone again next year in Barcelona!
INTERVIEW OF THE MONTH: OTSO SAARILUOMA, EUROPEAN CHAMPION 2022
Congratulations Otso! As many might know you won the last EC (2019) too, with a very similar deck (see deck list above). Is it in fact the exact same deck? And why did you go with it again this time?
- I have played basically the same deck on Day 2 of EC in 2018 and 2019 and it has overperformed both times, netting one spot in the finals and one win. I also enjoy playing the deck as it gives a lot of options for the player and it fits well in the grindy meta of EC Day 2. I think I decided quite early on not to change the winning team, maybe even in 2020. Once the Guruhi get their asses handed to them they get to retire.
I made some small adjustments from 2019, mainly removing one Pentex Subversion due to the new wording of the card and making room for the newly released Roundhouses. I also did cut Mr. Winthrop, which rarely saw play. I considered dropping Glancing Blow, which has really never been super useful, but left it in as a silver bullet anticipating some aggro poke from Protean barons, but I didn’t need it this time either and the card should probably go.
How were your preliminary rounds on Day 2? Any particular problematic tables, or just smooth sailing?
- I can’t say that any of the games were smooth sailing: First round I lost the heads-up to Antti’s fully setup Emerald Legionnaires and got 1 VP from the round. Second round I made a table-split deal with Kamel’s Animalism barons as my predator for GW and 3 VPs. Third round I had already mentally resigned to get 0 VPs, but I did get my Animalism prey to 1 pool, at which point he self-ousted as his prey refused to give him 0,5 VPs had he stayed on the table, and with the luck of the draw I managed to win the heads-up against Sebastian’s Banu Haqim, getting GW and 3 VPs.
About the final, what were your thoughts for the seating? (See table layout in the EC summary above.)
- I ended up being the top seed with my 2 GW 7 VPs. Preparing to choose my seat, I was most of all concerned of Antti’s Legionnaires as I felt I couldn’t handle them should the game go long. My plan was to try to oust Antti or cripple the deck early on. I would have preferred to be Antti’s predator, because ousting people other than your prey is really risky business, especially in the finals. But as Antti chose to be hunted by Matias’ Kiasyd I felt I couldn’t sit between them. I might be able to shut down Antti and prevent the Kiasyd from ousting me, but then Matias’ predator Esku (Esa-Matti, editors note) would probably steamroll over both Matias and me.
So I ended up sitting between Hector and Esku. I didn’t know the aggressive nature of Hector’s deck and anticipated the more common Gangrel barons wall. I was also hopeful that I would be able to oust Esku as he was playing titled high-cap vampires without any hitback, which is pretty much perfect for me. Sitting down I was pretty happy with my spot and thought the most likely way of me winning would be with 1,5 VPs.
How were you feeling about how the game evolved?
- My initial crypt was horrendous – three copies of Nana Buruku and one Anarch Convert. The next vampires were another Anarch Convert and Andre Leroux. The first vampire with built-in rush was Enkidu as crypt card number seven and he came out with 30 minutes left on the clock. I couldn’t really play my normal game, but chose to try to cripple the Legionnaires early on nevertheless with a cross-table rush.
I was still hopeful I might be able to oust Esku at some point as his crypt draw was almost as bad as mine. However, when he got the first Villein and a bit later a Secure Haven on Stanislava, I knew I couldn’t oust him anymore. At that point it was only about surviving and trying to help players stay in the game. It’s a boring way to win, but it was the only path available to me at that point. I did have a game plan to win throughout the game, but had to adjust as the game progressed.
I was pretty sure I had won the game when I survived the lunge turn by Hector thanks to Antti’s interference. My next turn I got to pull back out of ousting range with Villein and also drew my Delaying Tactics for an additional safety measure and meanwhile Hector still had just enough pool and blockers to withstand Antti’s lunge.
What are your thoughts on the future of VTES tournament play? For example, many have ideas about changing MMPA and/or Emerald Legionnaires, both maybe a bit too dominant – how do you feel about that?
- It seemed to me that the newest batch of V5 starters are rather strong. During the weekend we got to see all kinds of Anarch and Banu Haqim decks performing quite well. I believe we will see lots of them in the tournaments and the racking up tournament wins also.
As for the old boogeyman decks you mention, I think that Emerald Legionnaires are prevalent enough to have already shifted the meta toward playing more pool damage per minion-votes as well as .44 Magnums. The “Girls Will Find” decks are harder to tech against as the archetype is still really robust. The strength of these decks relies on the absence of decent counters to ash heap strategies. I probably wouldn’t mind seeing something that would create a bit more of a battle over ash heaps as a resource as long as it’s somehow dynamic in nature and creates more interplay. Maybe a master that you need to defend until your unlock phase to get to remove cards from an ash heap and gain some benefit?
But I have to say that I don’t think these decks are necessarily too strong or prevalent for my enjoyment of the game even as is. I think that in this game there will always be decks that require coordination from the other players to prevent them from steamrolling the table, be it Ravnos Clown Car, Legacy of Pander or Madness Network+Reversal of Fortunes decks.
Thanks for the interview Otso, and once again congratulations. Winning with that horrible crypt draw is a really strong achievement!
EC 2023 WILL BE IN BARCELONA, SPAIN
The VEKN are happy to inform you that next year´s European Championship will be held in beautiful Barcelona, Spain! We have to return to you about the exact date, but it will be some time during the autumn, possibly October or November. So we avoid the worst heat and heaviest tourism season. Hope to see you there!
David, Lasse, Sebastian, Tommi and Esa-Matti.
SEBASTIAN FREDENBERG WINS GRAND PRIX MALMÖ!
39 Methuselahs turned up for the last installment in the looong 2019-2022 European Grand Prix circuit. The location was sunny Malmö in southern Sweden, at a big game event called Malmö Game Week which also hosted some huge Magic: The Gathering tournaments.
Standings after three preliminaries:
1. Lasse Agaard 2 GW 8 VP
2. Sebastian Fredenberg 2 GW 7 VP
3. David Luhaæær 2 GW 7 VP
4. Esa-Matti Smolander 2 GW 7 VP
5. Tommi Hakomaa 2 GW 7 VP
Congratulations Sebastian Fredenberg, raking in 4 VP in the final with a rather original deck (Esa-Matti got 1 VP). Are Assamites/Banu Haqim finally a solid winning clan? :)
Sebastians tournament winning deck: “Haqim's Lawmen”
Comment: “Bring out vampires, bloat and put knifes into training to begin with. Then start bleeding once there are 1-2 Haqim Law: Retribution and 4+ vampires out. Don't focus too much on combat, the cards are there to bleed with too. Khabar Commuity is expensive but should be used when there are several vampires that can bleed for a lot each to oust.”
Crypt (12)
2 Kassandra Tassaki
2 Warmaksan
1 Farah Sarroub
1 Kalinda (G6)
1 Khadija Al-Kindi
1 Asmin Kobane
1 Greg Mazouni
1 Nayarana
1 Bijou
1 Alu
Library (84)
Master (18)
5 Villein
4 Haqim's Law: Retribution
3 Priority Contract
2 Alamut
2 Khabar: Community, The
1 Market Square
1 Underworld Hunting Ground
Event (1)
1 Narrow Minds
Action (18)
7 Haqim's Law: Leadership
5 Web of Knives Recruit
3 Hunter's Mark
1 Aranthebes, The Immortal
1 Khabar: Glory
1 Third Tradition: Progeny
9 Action Modifier/Combat
6 Swallowed by the Night
3 Resist Earth's Grasp
Combat (29)
7 Weighted Walking Stick
7 Hunger of Marduk
3 Blur
3 Psyche!
3 Pursuit
2 Fast Hands
2 Flash
2 Quickness
Reaction (9)
7 Second Tradition: Domain
2 Delaying Tactics
Thanks to the organisers Henrik Roos, Samir Arabi-Eter and Marcus Andreasson, other helpers, sponsors Ultra Pro and Black Chantry, and of course the players!
BRAM VAN STAPPEN IS THE 2022 BELGIAN CHAMPION!
This was a 33 player event in Brussels on July 10. Head organiser Emiliano Imeroni wrote a report at the VEKN.net forum, check out that for more details!
Standings before the final:
1. Bram Van Stappen 3 GW 10 VP
2. Axel Huet 3 GW 9 VP
3. Vincent Ripoll 2 GW 7 VP
4. Serge Cirri 2 GW 6.5 VP
5. Marius Iscru 2 GW 5.5 VP
Congratulations Bram Van Stappen, now approaching 15 tournament wins, not counting online results. For some of his thoughts, check out this interview from last year, made after he won the Atlantic Cup with a somewhat similar deck.
Crypt (12)
1x Anarch Convert 1 -none- Caitiff:ANY
1x Homa 6 AUS CEL POT Osebo:4
1x Idrissa 4 aus CEL Osebo:4
3x Massassi 9 obf AUS CEL POT QUI Osebo:4
1x Neighbor John 5 dom for AUS Ventrue antitribu:4
2x Bakr 8 dem pro CEL OBF QUI Assamite:5
1x Titi Camara 5 pot AUS CEL Osebo:5
1x Guggenheim 6 AUS CEL PRE Toreador antitribu:5
1x Dominique Santo Paulo 6 pot pre AUS CEL Toreador antitribu:4
Library: 90
Master (17)
1x Erciyes Fragments, The
1x Giant's Blood
1x Haven Uncovered
6x Ashur Tablets
1x Powerbase: Luanda
1x Powerbase: Montreal
5x Villein
1x Wider View
Equipment (8)
7x .44 Magnum
1x Bowl of Convergence
Event (1)
1x Dragonbound
Combat (35)
5x Infernal Pursuit
5x Psyche!
6x Pursuit
1x Side Strike
2x Sideslip
5x Taste of Vitae
4x Blur
7x Concealed Weapon
Reaction (29)
1x Enhanced Senses
8x Eyes of Argus
3x My Enemy's Enemy
5x On the Qui Vive
2x Quicken Sight
7x Telepathic Misdirection
3x Eagle's Sight
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: JULY 2022
• The Fall of London 54-card expansion is at the printer, but some last minute changes mean there is a slight delay. There´s a product page and the preview season is ongoing. Below you see a new Gangrel with art by Christian Byrne. As soon as there´s a shipping date a release date will be set.
• Ginés, Henrik, Hugh and Vincent were present at the EC in Helsinki. Hugh acted as judge at some of the tournaments, and the four were able to have one of those very rare physical company meetings. The wonderful VTES players had a lot of questions (some could be answered!) and opinions that will be taken into account for the future of VTES. A great weekend!
• One current concern is the absence of a playtest coordinator, as Darby Keeney has stepped down after many years of splendid duty. Several candidates have been spoken to, and hopefully one or more of them will meet the requirements and be able to commence work immediately. First, that would be the first round of testing for the next preconstructed decks, and also some testing of an exciting rule change and the nerf of a problematic card.
• Both the German and the Italian translation of the Fifth Edition box contents are completed. Now there´s the question about exactly how and when to publish these.
- 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)
Fifth Edition: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French)
Promo Pack 3 (Event promos only)
Fifth Edition: Banu Haqim (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Brujah (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Gangrel (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: The Ministry (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French)
The Fall of London (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
There´s a brand new Vampire: The Masquerade actual play show! After a long run of "LA by Night", Jason Carl now storytells "New York by Night" with characters of the Gangrel, Ravnos, Tzimisce and Ventrue clans. Well worth a look, and also don´t miss the "Club Auspex" follow-up talk show.
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Brazil x8
Czech Republic
Chile
Germany
Italy
Mexico
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Spain x6
Sweden
United Kingdom
USA x5
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 V:EKN
You can contact the V:EKN Inner Circle members using contact forms at V:EKN.net. Also follow the official V:TES Facebook page Vampire: The Eternal Struggle and the official V:EKN Twitter account @VEKN_VTES
That mountain you've been carrying, you were only suppose to climb.
Preview art by Carmen Cornet from Fall of London, the
next expansion for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle.
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
DON´T FORGET TO PRE-REGISTER FOR THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP!
Please pre-register if you plan to attend the EC, it helps a lot. Just fill in your name at the registration page at the official site vtes.orava.org, thanks!
The schedule:
25 July: Week of Nightmares Helsinki 2022 Monday
26 July: Week of Nightmares Helsinki 2022 Tuesday
27 July: Week of Nightmares Helsinki 2022 Wednesday
28 July: Helsinki tour and welcome event
29 July: Last Chance Qualifier (Top 5 to EC 2022 Day Two)
30 July: EC 2022 Day One (Top 40 to EC 2022 Day Two)
31 July: Best of the Rest
31 July: EC 2022 Day Two
Follow the EC in social media:
• Facebook: Vampire: the Eternal Struggle European Championship 2022
• Twitter: 2022Ec
• Instagram: vtesec2022
BILL TROXEL IS THE 2022 NORTH AMERICAN CHAMPION!
Didn´t we have an image of an happy Bill Troxel in the last newsletter too? Yes we did! But there´s nothing stopping this man.
After many tournaments (eleven to be exact) during the Week of Nightmares, the actual NAC gathered 25 Methuselahs at the Origins Game Fair in Columbus, Ohio on June 11.
Congratulations Bill Troxel, new North American champion, who took 4 victory points in the final, while Kelly Schultz got 1.
As for all sanctioned and reported events, the full list of participants and their results can be found in the VEKN Event Calendar. A discussion thread with some comments from Bill ("Killiam") is at the VEKN forum.
Bill´s tournament winning deck: “ABC-EL Daughters: A Chorus of Legionnaires” aka “Pentex Is Still Good”
Crypt (12 cards)
3x Scout Youngwood 8 for qui MEL OBF PRE 2 votes Daughter of Cacophony:6
2x Hillanvale 5 obf FOR MEL Daughter of Cacophony:6
4x La Viuda Blanca 6 for obf AUS NEC Harbinger of Skulls:6
1x Colette 5 dom AUS OBF Malkavian:6
1x Pearl 4 obf AUS Malkavian antitribu:5
1x New Blood 2 san Blood Brother:ANY
Library (90 cards)
Master (15)
2x Agent of Power
1x Fame
1x Frontal Assault
1x Giant's Blood
1x Jake Washington
5x Liquidation
2x Pentex(TM) Subversion
2x Wider View
Event (3)
2x FBI Special Affairs Division
1x Unmasking, The
Action (22)
2x Concert Tour
20x Shattering Crescendo
Ally (12)
12x Emerald Legionnaire
Action Modifier (18)
3x Cloak the Gathering
3x Faceless Night
7x Forgotten Labyrinth
4x Swallowed by the Night
1x Veil the Legions
Reaction (20)
2x Delaying Tactics
1x Enhanced Senses
4x Eyes of Argus
2x My Enemy's Enemy
4x On the Qui Vive
7x Telepathic Misdirection
Thanks to the organisers, sponsors and players!
NOORA HIRVONEN IS THE EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX HYVINKÄÄ CHAMPION!
25 brave Methuselahs turned up for this installment in the very, very long 2019-2022 European Grand Prix circuit. The location was sunny Hyvinkää, Finland, 50 kilometers north of the capital Helsinki. The event was hosted by the Hypecon convention.
Congratulations Noora Hirvonen, who stood victorious even though the final table depicted above had some hard to beat decks and great players. As many already know Noora is also one of the talents that provide art for VTES these days - for example Matasuntha,
Noora´s tournament winning deck: "Girls will find... Inner Circles"
"Mostly after Jorge Delgado's EC2019 Day 1 winning deck - added Archon Investigation, some differentiating stealth, swapped Lucian to Mistress Fanchon, and totally forgot to put in Information Highway (which would have been very nice)."
Crypt (12 cards)
4x Cybele 10 ANI DAI OBF PRE SER THA Baali:4
4x Aksinya Daclau 9 cel tha ANI FOR PRE PRO Gangrel antitribu:4
1x Adana de Sforza 11 aus CEL OBF POT PRE PRO inner circle Brujah:4
1x Lutz von Hohenzollern 11 pot AUS DEM OBF PRE inner circle Malkavian:4
1x Mistress Fanchon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF THA VIC inner circle Tremere:4
1x Rafael de Corazon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF PRE inner circle Toreador:4
Library (78 cards)
Master (50)
1x Archon Investigation
15x Ashur Tablets
1x Coven, The
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
2x Golconda: Inner Peace
1x Jake Washington
7x Liquidation
1x Metro Underground
1x Monastery of Shadows
2x Parthenon, The
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
6x Villein
2x Wider View
7x Zillah's Valley
Event (1)
1x Scourge of the Enochians
Action (4)
2x Entrancement
2x Unleash Hell's Fury
Action Modifier (16)
3x Aire of Elation
2x Elder Impersonation
1x Enkil Cog
2x Faceless Night
3x Into Thin Air
1x Lost in Crowds
2x Spying Mission
1x Swallowed by the Night
1x Veil the Legions
Combat (3)
3x Majesty
Reaction (4)
1x Guard Dogs
2x Lost in Translation
1x Rat's Warning
Thanks to the organisers, sponsors and players!
Alain in the middle.
ALAIN GREINER IS THE EUROPEAN GRAND PRIX AIX EN PROVENCE CHAMPION!
23 Methuselahs came to the fifth Grand Prix tournament in Aix en Provence, just north of Marseille, southern France.
Congratulations Alain Greiner, winning the final with 1.5 vp (Jonathan, Bertrand and Orian got 0,5 each).
Alains tournament winning deck: "Dark Girls" (Original design by Jorge Delgado)
Crypt (12 cards)
1x Lutz von Hohenzollern 11 pot AUS DEM OBF PRE Malkavian:4
1x Mistress Fanchon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF THA VIC Tremere:4
1x Rafael de Corazon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF PRE Toreador:4
1x Adana de Sforza 11 aus CEL OBF POT PRE PRO Brujah:4
2x Tupdog 1 POT VIS Gargoyle:3
3x Aksinya Daclau 9 cel tha ANI FOR PRE PRO Gangrel antitribu:4
3x Cybele 10 ANI DAI OBF PRE SER THA Baali:4
Library: 80 cards
Master (51 cards)
1x Giant's Blood
2x Golconda: Inner Peace
1x Jake Washington
7x Liquidation
1x Archon Investigation
1x Metro Underground
1x Monastery of Shadows
2x Parthenon, The
15x Ashur Tablets
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
6x Villein
7x Zillah's Valley
1x Blind Spot
1x Coven, The
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
Event (1 card)
1x Scourge of the Enochians
Action (4 cards)
2x Entrancement
2x Unleash Hell's Fury
Action Modifier (20 cards)
2x Elder Impersonation
1x Enkil Cog
3x Faceless Night
5x Into Thin Air
3x Spying Mission
3x Aire of Elation
3x Swallowed by the Night
Combat (3 cards)
3x Majesty
Reaction (4 cards)
1x Guard Dogs
2x Lost in Translation
1x Rat's Warning
Thanks to the organisers, sponsors and players!
Ricardo in the middle.
RICARDO FELIPE MARTA IS THE 2022 NATIONAL CHAMPION OF SPAIN! (139 PLAYERS!!)
Yes, that is correct, no less than 139 Methuselahas turned up to play the Spanish national championship in Zaragoza on June 4. One gets the feeling there was some built up longing for physical gaming after the pandemic, but also the translation to Spanish has of course contributed to increased populatity of the game and this huge event attendance.
Congratulations to the champion Ricardo Filipe Marta, who gathered 4 victory points in the final, Manuel Teódulo got 1. A special site with some more statistics about the tournament can be found at bcncrisis.com.
Ricardo´s tournament winning deck: "Girls Will Find Boys"
Crypt (12 cards)
1x Lutz von Hohenzollern 11 pot AUS DEM OBF PRE Malkavian:4
2x Nana Buruku 8 ANI POT PRE Guruhi:4
1x Nergal 10 AUS DAI FOR OBF PRE THA Baali:5
1x Rafael de Corazon 11 AUS CEL DOM OBF PRE Toreador:4
1x Adana de Sforza 11 aus CEL OBF POT PRE PRO Brujah:4
3x Aksinya Daclau 9 cel tha ANI FOR PRE PRO Gangrel antitribu:4
3x Cybele 10 ANI DAI OBF PRE SER THA Baali:4
Library: 90 cards
Master (56 cards)
1x Giant's Blood
1x Golconda: Inner Peace
2x Information Highway
1x Jake Washington
9x Liquidation
1x Archon Investigation
1x Metro Underground
1x Misdirection
1x Monastery of Shadows
3x Parthenon, The
15x Ashur Tablets
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
7x Villein
1x Wider View
6x Zillah's Valley
1x Blind Spot
1x Coven, The
1x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
Event (1 cards)
1x Narrow Minds
Action (5 cards)
2x Entrancement
1x Intimidation
2x Unleash Hell's Fury
Political Action (2 cards)
1x Ancilla Empowerment
1x Autarkis Persecution
Action Modifier (17 cards)
2x Elder Impersonation
1x Enkil Cog
2x Faceless Night
1x Hide the Mind
1x Into Thin Air
2x Lost in Crowds
1x Mirror Walk
1x Perfect Clarity
1x Perfect Paragon
1x Veil the Legions
2x Aire of Elation
2x Cloak the Gathering
Combat (4 cards)
4x Majesty
Reaction (5 cards)
1x Guard Dogs
1x Lost in Translation
1x Mental Maze
1x Confusion of the Eye
1x Delaying Tactics
Thanks to the organisers, sponsors and players!
All the finalists, "Nuggetz" with the trophy.
THOMAS "NUGGETZ" CORNAZ IS THE 2022 NATIONAL CHAMPION OF FRANCE!
This year´s French national championship was held in Metz in the northeastern part of France, just south of Luxemburg and also close to both Belgium and Germany. 43 eager Methuselahs turned up for the battle, and 1 game win with 6 victory points was needed to play the final.
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Congratulations Thomas "Nuggetz" Cornaz! He had 2 game wins and 7,5 victory points in the preliminary rounds, and won the final with 3 victory points. Axel and Marius got 1 victory point each.
Thomas tournament winning deck: "Take cover Mr Emerald"
Crypt (12 cards)
5x Erlik 10 AUS CEL FOR NEC THN Harbinger of Skulls:3
2x Babalawo Alafin 7 AUS FOR NEC ani Harbinger of Skulls:4
1x Erebus 7 AUS FOR NEC dem Harbinger of Skulls:3
1x Mina Grotius 6 FOR NEC cel Harbinger of Skulls:3
1x Nicomedes 5 aus for nec vic Harbinger of Skulls:4
1x Solomon Batanea 5 AUS FOR nec Harbinger of Skulls:4
1x Anarch Convert 1
Library (90 cards)
Master (17)
1x Barrens, The
3x Direct Intervention
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant’s Blood
6x Liquidation
1x Pentex™ Subversion
1x Powerbase : Montreal
2x Vessel
Event (3)
1x FBI Special Affairs Division
2x Unmasking, The
Ally (12)
12x Emerald Legionnaire
Equipment (1)
1x Bowl of Convergence
Retainer (2)
2x Vengeful Spirit
Action Modifier (18)
4x Breath of Thanatos
5x Call of the Hungry Dead
6x Spectral Divination
3x Trochomancy
Combat (17)
3x Aura Reading
7x Rolling with the Punches
2x Spiritual Intervention
5x Target Vitals
Reaction (20)
4x Delaying Tactics
5x Eyes of Argus
1x My Enemy's Enemy
4x On the Qui Vive
6x Telepathic Misdirection
Thanks to the organisers, sponsors and players!
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DEMO GAMES ALL OVER THE WORLD!
• The above images are from a VTES demo day held in Singapore. If you want to know more about this and other VTES activities in that part of the world, join the Facebook groups V:tES Singapore and VTES Asia.
• VTES demos was held at the XI convention of tabletop games "Queremos jugar” (We want to play):
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Some words from Moisés Gámez, prince of Seville, Spain:
"On May 28 and 29, the XI convention “Queremos jugar” on board and role-playing games and other related hobbies were held in Dos Hermanas (Seville), with an attendance that exceeded 1,500 visitors. Members of the player community in Seville were there on the first day promoting the game. We were able to teach dozens of interested fans during the day, who were given a First Blood deck (courtesy of BlackChantry) to get started.
Nowadays games have become very popular, and this was noted in the type of visitors the convention had, totally family-oriented and very diverse in age, from little ones to very old. Fortunately, those times when the hobby was just a thing for guys are far away.
We were able to explain the game to several groups of parents with their children, to couples, to groups of friends and even to old players who rediscovered the game and did not know that it was still being published. The explanation had to be adapted to each type of group, but being able to teach them with the First Blood decks in Spanish and with such simple mechanics made things much easier.
At the end of the day we were exhausted, but with several new contacts of interested people who can join our community. Definitely, a day to remember."
Are you also interested in demoing VTES but need some help? Have a talk with your local game store or gaming event, and with your local Prince or National Coordinator, or with Black Chantry directly!
GREAT VTES CONTENT
• After a long wait, Amaranth Deck Builder has now been updated with cards up to the New Blood release. Much appreciated!
• Reading Between the Lyons is a new series of short videos by Kelly Lyons about VTES - in English!
• Bleed de Tres is a new podcast in Spanish about VTES, with already seven episodes out. Check it out!
• Nathaneal Zheng continues to produce nice VTES videos in English, for example a good chat with "Disco Stu" about the upcoming Ravnos, Salubri and Tzimisce precon decks.
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: JUNE 2022
• First: If you didn´t read Ben Peal´s production update in the last newsletter, go ahead and do that, it outlines plans for the coming year or so.
• Printing of Fall of London is somewhat delayed, but not much. Should be done in July, in English, French and Spanish. A first draft of the next batch of preconstructed decks (Ravnos, Salubri, Tzimisce) has been handed over from the design team to the rules director for a review of wordings. After that, they wil be sent to the playtest groups for a first round of testing. These decks look incredibly cool! If testing leaves them somewhat recognizable – and even makes them better – you will not be disappointed.
• We were a bit sloppy with the words in the last newsletter, sorry for that. What is next for upload to VTES Legacy Card Singles is the bloodlines cards that did not appear in Heirs of the Blood. Hopefully all of them have art that need not to be replaced or any other problems that prevents them from being published again.
• The Black Chantry crew are doing some event appearances this summer, for example Ben organised the NAC, Henrik and Hugh were at Grand Prix Malmö and Ginés, Henrik, Hugh and Vincent will be at the EC in Helsinki. They look forward to seeing you there, getting ousted and answering all kinds of impossible questions! :)
- 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)
Fifth Edition: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Ventrue (Also Spanish, French)
Promo Pack 3 (Event promos only)
Fifth Edition: Banu Haqim (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Brujah (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: Gangrel (Also Spanish, French)
Fifth Edition: The Ministry (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Malkavian (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Nosferatu (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Toreador (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Tremere (Also Spanish, French)
New Blood: Ventrue (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
Our picks this month:
• World of Darkness Nexus is the brand new official digital toolset for playing Vampire: The Masquerade. It is hosted on the Demiplane platform and features all kinds of nice features, such as a digital reader, rules search, playgroup matchmaking and video, voice and text chat for your digital game sessions. Early access is now open, have it a try!
• Hunter: The Reckoning is the second White Wolf tabletop roleplaying game to be given a new edition under the Paradox Interactive "Fifth Edition" lore. The Core Rulebook is produced by Renegade Game Studios and available here. For a nice preview of the creeds (the types of hunters), have a look at Martyna´s presentation in World of Darkness News of June 3.
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (registered so far) are in:
Belgium x2
Brazil x3
Chile
Finland x8
France
Poland
Portugal
Spain x5
Sweden
Great Britain
United States
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 V:EKN
You can contact the V:EKN Inner Circle members using contact forms at V:EKN.net. Also follow the official V:TES Facebook page Vampire: The Eternal Struggle and the official V:EKN Twitter account @VEKN_VTES
You said you would start months ago.
John Boltons art for the 1996 classic The Sabbat card
Mitchell, the Headhunter, now in print again.
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
MORE VTES NOW ON PRINT-ON-DEMAND!
Since earlier, cards for Assamites, Giovanni, Lasombra, Followers of Set and Ravnos are up on VTES Legacy Singles at Drivethrucards, and now also cards for Panders, Salubri and Tzimisce are available. Totally it´s 159 cards in this April update, including many player favourites such as War Ghoul, Legacy of Pander and Neutral Guard.
Hugh Angseesing, CEO of Black Chantry Productions, why did you prioritise these clans for print-on-demand now?
- We have put clans and disciplines on Drivethrucards as they have rejoined Vampire: the Masquerade Fifth Edition and we can see which cards won’t be being reused in a future retail set – for example Vicissitude cards will instead be represented with an amalgam power for the new Tzimisce.
Are there any plans to put more “staples” on print-on-demand, so one can order a whole custom-built deck?
- More cards will be added, and this will include more staples. However, our focus is getting cards which are not available in retail up first.
A lot of VTES players live in Europe – is there any hope for a print-on-demand service on other continents than America soon?
- We continue to work with Drivethrucards to locate a print-on-demand printer in Europe, which is about 60 percent of the VTES community. Covid and rapid changes to costs have slowed that process down along with printers not being totally comfortable with the “on demand” bit, i.e. please, don’t print 1,000 Eyes of the Dead just in case…
However, note that UK and EU buyers now should have value added taxes calculated at checkout to reduce much of the risk of ordering overseas, though I understand postage is still more than we would like.
What comes next for print-on-demand?
- Our rules director AND layout guy Vincent Ripoll are working on the next cards to go up on Drivethrucards, and that is more bloodlines cards. The process involves us looking at the card set we have chosen and checking that we have the artwork or deciding if the artwork can be refreshed. Sometimes brand new art is needed, but a card needs to sell about 1,500 copies to breakeven, so some cards might not be worth creating new art for! Then we review the card for simple changes, for example, cost reduction or perhaps added stealth, and then modernising the card text to fit current wording templates.
About that last bit, we’d love to hear from YOU if you have simple recommendations for cards going up to be fixed. But our focus with design and playtesters is on new cards rather than updating everything that has come before!
Concerning such modifications, this time only three cards have significant funtional changes:
• Lambach (ADV): Unlocking is now optional.
• Radu Bistri: Gaining blood is now optional.
• Szechenyi Jolán, Mother of Horrors: Unlocking her is now optional and happens during the discard phase.
These changes will be tournament legal on May 27, 2022.
To make it easier to navigate the offer, a complete list with all Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Legacy Singles is available separately.
Note also that all nine Fifth Edition preconstructed decks are now available on Drivethrucards, in English, Spanish, French and Latin!
EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP 2022 IN HELSINKI IS _ON_!
Finally, Finland gets to welcome you to a EC. The official website is updated with information about Helsinki, Ropecon and the tournaments, and the pre-registration will begin soon. Stay tuned for that in May!
Follow the EC in social media:
• Facebook: Vampire: the Eternal Struggle European Championship 2022
• Twitter: 2022Ec
• Instagram: vtesec2022
SEVERAL NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS COMING UP!
SPANISH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2022
June 4 in Zaragoza, Spain
For details, please visit V:TES España Noticias y Eventos
FRENCH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2022
June 5 in Metz, France
For details, please visit Championnat de France 2022 VTES
DANISH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 2022
June 11 in Store Andst, Denmark
For details, please visit V:TES - Danish National Championship
Also, of course, keep an eye on the VEKN Event Calendar - VEKN sanctioned events are always registered there!
ATLANTIC CUP 2022 COMING UP!
This will likely be one of the largest online VTES tournaments this year, played on Lackey May 21-22. Learn more on VEKN Forum: Atlantic Cup 2022 and register on discord.gg/QD3GbBuKS2.
NEW GREAT VTES CONTENT
• Know anyone going to big games fair Modena Play in Modena, Italy on May 20-22? There will be VTES demo games hosted by Camarilla Italy (large Vampire LARP community) and Italian National Coordinatior Simone Zanni. Welcome to that booth, and please send curious people there!
• Karl Schaefer of KGS Cards is doing wonders for VTES. Not only does he distribute the game, but he also writes nice articles, most recently a “Evaluating”-series about the New Blood packs. Check them out!
• We have mentioned the AWESOME French-language Carnet d´un Diableriste in this space before, but we have to do it again. Last month it had unboxing-videos of the New Blood packs. Totally great – what wouldn´t we do for this content in English?!
• VDB is one of the best online card utility tools, maybe the very best. You probably know that already. But now it has changed URL, so update your booksmarks, etc – now it´s at https://vdb.im
• The Antediluvians are awakening! VTES blog Gaming with Brett S is posting again! Recently new posts are “Quick-Start Guide Update!”, “What we leave behind: A farewell to Serpentis” and “Our powers renewed: A welcome to Protean”. Great to see more original content like this again – VEKN approves, and will share!
• To finish this section: How cool is the below VTES trophy?! Found on Reddit, we really don´t know more. If you made it, or painted it, or adore it - comment everywhere :)
VTES DEMONSTRATION GAMES AT FICZONE
Speaking of great efforts to spread VTES, here´s some words from José Juan Ortiz Fuentes:
On the 2nd and 3rd of April 2022, Ficzone, the most important international film, comic book and game festival in southern Spain, took place in Granada, with around 30,000 people in attendance from different cities throughout the country.
A few Methuselahs from the city had the opportunity to attend on Saturday, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., to promote our beloved game by teaching VTES to anyone willing to give it a try.
In the morning, we had no clue of how many people would be interested in learning the game. In fact, we had brought our decks to play some games while waiting for possible Embraces to show up... We were greatly surprised when, shortly after starting our first game, the first interested group of people dropped by, followed by more and more people. By the end of the day, we had already taught 41 people to play VTES!
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For these demos we used the First Blood decks, which are ideal in this type of event. We gave one of them to each participant, as well as some of this year's promo cards. We tried to spend no more than 35-40 minutes for each group of participants, getting them started with a general introduction to the game (story, background, etc.) and then playing no more than 2-3 effective turns (with vampires in play) per player, focusing mainly on the phases of the game, vampire stats (fundamentally disciplines), and having played some bleed, politics and combat.
At the end of the day, we raffled a Pact with Nephandi deck, some Nefertiti advanced promos, and a few First Blood decks.
We have to say that VTES was spectacularly well-received, exceeding our expectations by far. The participants were delighted with it, being aware of the complexity of its rules, and super happy at the end of the demo games.
So, although we were half hoarse and exhausted by the end of the event, and we will not know how many of these players will end up playing regularly with each other (time will tell), we left the festival proud and extremely satisfied with the great reception and acceptance of VTES and, of course, for having shared that day with some great people who have made us spend a memorable event that, without a doubt, we would definitely repeat.
Until next year, Ficzone!
Oh, of course we have to thank Ginés, Hugh and Arnau for having provided us with all the promotional material used (cards, decks, etc.). Without you this would not have been possible, thank you very much!
Are you also interested in demoing VTES but need some help? Have a talk with your local game store or gaming event, and with your local Prince or National Coordinator, or with Black Chantry directly!
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: APRIL 2022
• The Pander, Salubri and Tzimisce cards are now up on VTES Legacy Singles at Drivethrucards - see the top of this newsletter. Next up are more bloodlines cards.
• The five New Blood introductory decks were officially released on April 17, and so they will be tournament legal on May 17. They are now available in stores all over the world.
• CEO Hugh guested long interview in Vtes México Youtube channel - practically everything anyone ever wondered about anything was answered there. Must-see-TV!
• Fall of London is not ready for print yet, but release is still mid 2022.
- 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
Fifth Edition: Nosferatu
Fifth Edition: Toreador
Fifth Edition: Tremere
Fifth Edition: Ventrue
Promo Pack 3 (Event promos only)
Fifth Edition: Banu Haqim
Fifth Edition: Brujah
Fifth Edition: Gangrel
Fifth Edition: The Ministry
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
Three highlights from the past month:
• Paradox Interactive are taking the Vampire Jam one step further with World of Darkness Unbound! This allows you to create your own digital game based on the Vampire: The Masquerade IP and even monetize it, as long as you follow a licensing agreement and the rules of itch.io.
• The Second Inquisition sourcebook for Vampire: The Masquerade is now available at Renegade Game Studios.
• Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodhunt from Sharkmob was released in April, so why not go crawl some rooftops in Prague?
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (booked so far) are in:
Spain x4
USA x3
Brazil x3
Mexico
Online (International)
Chile
France
UK
Hungary
Netherlands
Czech Republic
Portugal
Sweden
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 V:EKN
You can contact the V:EKN Inner Circle members using contact forms at V:EKN.net. Also follow the official V:TES Facebook page Vampire: The Eternal Struggle and the official V:EKN Twitter account @VEKN_VTES
No one cares what you do. They care what you can do for them.
Preview art from Fall of London by Mitch Mueller.
Greetings fellow Methuselahs,
VAMPIRE: THE ETERNAL STRUGGLE PRODUCTION UPDATE MAY 2022
Greetings, fellow Kindred! It's been a good while since I provided an update on where we at Black Chantry are at with Vampire: The Eternal Struggle releases and what's down the road. Last year, we had the release of the Banu Haqim, Brujah, Gangrel, and Ministry pre-constructed decks, as well as the successful Kickstarter for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Unleashed. Additionally, we made available on Drivethrucards.com the legacy reprints of Followers of Set, Giovanni, Lasombra, and Ravnos, and Latin translations of the Fifth Edition decks.
So far this year, we've made the English language versions of the Fifth Edition decks available on Drivethrucards, as well as legacy reprints of Pander, Salubri, and Tzimisce. April saw the release of the New Blood introductory decks for Malkavian, Nosferatu, Toreador, Tremere, and Ventrue. We're presently waiting for the artwork to be complete for the Fall of London storyline set. Mike Nudd is the lead designer for it, and he also is a co-author of the Fall of London book for Vampire: The Masquerade. We're expecting a summer release for that set.
We have a change in plans for what's coming after Fall of London. We had originally planned to release a follow-up set for the Camarilla, filling out the Group 6 crypts and adding new library cards for them. However, with the heavy Camarilla themes of the New Blood decks and Fall of London, we felt we'd be oversaturating you with Camarilla-related cards. We're presently planning for these cards – including the new Justicars! – to be in your hands in first quarter of 2023.
Coming after Fall of London, planned for the fourth of 2022, is another wave of pre-constructed decks. This time they'll be Ravnos, Salubri, and Tzimisce, updated accordingly for the Vampire: The Masquerade V5 canon. We're presently vetting the templating and mechanics of the cards and we'll have them sent off for playtesting in June. We'll have more information for you about those as we get closer to their release.
Heading into 2023, there's the aforementioned Camarilla follow-up set, and following that we'll have pre-constructed decks for the Lasombra and Hecata. We'll also be wanting to release follow-up sets for all of the clans, as we're definitely not done creating crypt and library cards for them. I'm frequently asked when we'll be making new cards for the Sabbat. We're very early in the concept and planning stages for the Sabbat, so they're further down the production timeline, but we're definitely excited for them.
I wish you all great summer nights and I look forward to seeing you at tournaments this year!
- Ben Peal, Product Director Black Chantry Productions
TIME TO PRE-REGISTER FOR THE EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP!
Good times for fans of tournament VTES coming up! Many championships in June, including the North American Championship and the Spanish Nationals with HUGE expected attendance. And please don´t forget to sign up for the European Championship in Helsiniki in July - the pre-registration is at the official site. Do this to help the organisers, and you can also see the exciting list of already registered Methuselahs that you will oust!
BILL TROXEL IS THE ATLANTIC CUP 2022 CHAMPION!
A report from organiser Lionel Panhaleux:
The Atlantic Cup was held on the 21st and 22nd of May, a massive online tournament with more than 50 players. The struggle was real, with a great variety of decks. The Brujah G6 were very much in the place with 4 decks, as the Malkavians and their antitribu with 7 decks. The Baali were very present too, with three The Unnamed decks and 4 vote decks featuring Arishat and G6 princes and Barons – variations around Bram van Stappen´s “Princes of Anarch” that won the Belgian Nationals last year in the hands of Emiliano Imeroni.
The Giovanni continue to be loved, but did not score much - we've seen Del Giorgio using Protean and Isabel and her friends bleeding or trying to invoke Khazar's Diary. The big classics were also represented, with a couple of !Ventrue Grinders, Girls, Parliament of Shadows and Goratrix Wall. Anarchs are very much in fashion, and more niche builds were present, like Anarch Gargoyles with their Razor Bats and Seterpenre playing so many Anarch tri-disciplines. They were also a few (four) Emerald Legionnaire decks, accompanied by Kurshid, or Summoned through History, or more unexpectedly, with a few Imbueds.
The bar for the finals was 1 game win and 6 victory points.
Bill Troxel won with his very hatable deck called “Dumpster Fire of Pure Hate”. He explains: “As a hater of the Imbued, I see this deck as representing many of the worst aspects of the game, hence the title. Other unlikeable facets include Veil of Darkness (hardest card-text in the game to abide by), Liquidation, Unmasking, and of course, Emerald Legionnaire. If the mechanics of Ashur Tablets weren't antithetical to the workings of this deck, I would have searched for a way to include them as well.” More of Bill´s own comments can be found at this thread at the VEKN Forum.
Congratulations Bill, champion with an impressive 5 victory points in the final. For those who did not see the finals, the replay can still be seen at Twitch.
The tournament winning deck: “Dumpster Fire of Pure Hate”
Crypt (13 cards, min=15 max=24 avg=4.92)
1x François "Warden" Loehr 3 def jud Judge:4
2x Jack "Hannibal137" Harmon 4 def jud Defender:4
4x Jennie "Cassie247" Orne 5 inn jud vis Visionary:4
1x Marion "Teacher193" Perks 4 red jud Redeemer:4
4x Mina Grotius 6 cel FOR NEC Harbinger of Skulls:3
1x Nicomedes 5 aus for nec vic Harbinger of Skulls:4
Library (90 cards)
Master (29)
1x Barrens, The
1x Church of Vindicated Faith, The
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fortschritt Library
1x Fragment of the Book of Nod
9x Liquidation
4x Parthenon, The
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Specialization
4x Unity
4x Wider View
Conviction (13)
3x React with Conviction
7x Second Sight
3x Strike with Conviction
Ally (14)
2x Carlton Van Wyk
10x Emerald Legionnaire
2x Vagabond Mystic
Equipment (6)
2x Crusader Sword, The
1x Heart of Nizchetus
3x Ivory Bow
Power (8)
1x Champion
3x Discern
4x Vigilance
Action Modifier (3)
1x Call of the Hungry Dead
2x Change of Target
Action Modifier/Combat (5)
5x Breath of Thanatos
Action Modifier/Reaction (1)
1x Spectral Divination
Reaction (3)
1x Determine
2x On the Qui Vive
Event (8)
1x Nightmares upon Nightmares
1x Recalled to the Founder
4x Unmasking, The
2x Veil of Darkness
Thanks to all organisers, players and sponsors!
DOUBLE DEMO GAMES IN ZARAGOZA!
A report by Raúl Perfecto, Prince of Zaragoza
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La Goblinera
On May 7, 2022, we had the opportunity to present the New Blood pre-constructed decks at the Club de Rol La Goblinera located in Zaragoza, Spain. Coordinated by the club managers, we reached an impressive participation of 15 Methuselahs, which meant three tables of play with all five Camarilla clans in contention.
At the tables, there were both new players and former Methuselahs who had their cards gathering dust in a drawer. In common, the illusion shown by all, since the vast majority are also fans of the World of Darkness game saga.
A highlight: the great playability of the New Blood decks. A First Blood deck was also delivered. This material is the perfect invitation to start or to re-engage in the game.
We add a few photos to illustrate the great atmosphere enjoyed at the event.
Allow me to thank all the participants, La Goblinera for organizing everything and the Ancillae Iñigo Orbegozo and Alejandro Galve, who generously gave their time to teach the attendees how to play.
El Quinto Elemento
On May 14, 2022, we ran more demo games at the Quinto Elemento game shop in Zaragoza, Spain. Once again, 15 Methuselahs turned out to learn how to play VTES. However, since we had already run out of New Blood decks, we used First Blood decks instead. The demo games were a total success.
In summary, we can say with great pride that the Zaragoza VTES community is more undead than ever!
Are you also interested in demoing VTES but need some help? Have a talk with your local game store or gaming event, and with your local Prince or National Coordinator, or with Black Chantry directly!
DEMO GAMES AT MODENA PLAY!
Like we told you in the last newsletter, the Italian national coordinatior Simone Zanni organised demo games at big games fair Modena Play in Modena, Italy on May 20-22. He tells us it was a great experience! Everyone that played a demo got a free New Blood deck, and a lot of new and lapsed players were reached! He used some variant rules to make the demo games go faster: 20 pool, first victory point ends the game and 4 transfers for everyone from start.
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SEALED DECK TOURNAMENT IN MEXICO CITY!
We want to mention this, as it is a variant tournament event that is a bit more beginner friendly than the normal ones. Organiser Luis Jiménez tells us:
This was a tournament-like event with 15 players at Orc Stories in Mexico City, playing only with New Blood decks, opened at the event. It was a really fun and enjoyable gaming experience, the new embraces were really comfortable and two of them made awesome games against experienced Methuselahs. Thanks to Black Chantry for the prize support for these kind of events!
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RULES Q & A
Black Chantry Rules Director Vincent Ripoll answers some rules questions:
Q: "Bleed bounce" cards such as Deflection, Telepathic Misdirection or Bait and Switch state that they are only usable "after blocks are declined." What does it mean exactly? Does "Declining to block" mean that you haven't tried to block with anything? Or does it still count as "Declining to block" if you attempt to block but your minion gets out-stealthed?
A: Methuselahs can decline to block if they don't attempt to block at all, or once they are done with all their (unsuccessful) block attempts. A Methuselah cannot decline to block in the middle of a block attempt, but once there's no more ongoing block attempt (usually because it has failed due to a lack of intercept or a card that makes the block fail), that Methuselah can simply state that they don't make any further block attempts: they “decline to block”.
This is equivalent of the defending Methuselah to "pass" instead of declaring a block attempt, letting other Methuselahs the opportunity to block with cards such as Eagle Sight.
Once every Methuselah has declined to block, the impulse goes back to the acting Methuselah who can increase the bleed or pass, then to the defending Methuselah to can play "bleed bounce" cards, etc.
As reminded on those cards, changing the target of a bleed creates a new blocking opportunity for every Methuselah, starting with the new target of the bleed and following the sequencing order (see the Rulebook). For instance:
A declares a bleed action against B with Nonu Dis.
B, who controls Kuyén and Martina Srnankova (+1 intercept during bleed actions), tries to block with Kuyén.
A plays Swallowed by the Night for +1 stealth.
B does not increase Kuyén's intercept: the block fails. B could attempt to block with Martina Srnankova but decides to "decline to block". Other Methuselahs pass too.
A plays Aire of Elation to increase the bleed.
B plays Bait and Switch to change the target of the bleed to C.
C can now attempt to block the action.
By using this stratagem, B "forces" A to play stealth in order to hinder C once the bleed is redirected to him or her. However, if someone cancels the Bait and Switch as it is played, then B cannot backpedal and try to block with Martina since the block opportunities are over.
Q: Some cards ask the Methuselah to do “A or B” during the unlock or master phase, for instance Ex Nihilo (“During your master phase, this vampire burns 1 blood or is burned.”) Does the Methuselah get the choice between A and B?
A: Yes (this is a reversal for some cards). Those cards will be reprinted with “do B unless you do A” to make the choice more explicit. Some cards such as Fear of Mekhet don’t leave the choice and are explicitly written so (“During this vampire's unlock phase, they burn 5 blood. If they cannot burn the blood, they are burned.”)
Q: If Kuyén (with the text “Animals (allies and retainers) cost Kuyén 1 fewer blood or pool.”) recruits or employs an animal using Piper or Pack Alpha, is the cost of the animal reduced?
A: Yes, the cost applies as normal, this includes any applicable cost reduction or increase. Some cards (e.g., Charisma) only reduce the recruit or employ actions. In that case, the cost of recruiting an ally or employing a retainer through Piper or Pack Alpha is not reduced since those are not actions.
Do you have rules questions? The easiest way to get them answered correctly is to ask at the VEKN Forum, in the VEKN Facebook group or on the VTES Discord, sometimes by the rules director himself!
VAMPIRE: THE ETERNAL STRUGGLE STOOL OF THE MONTH
... rumored to belong to Dennis D of Belgium, but never trust VTES rumors!
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: MAY 2022
• See the update from Ben Peal at the top of this newsletter!
• With lots of new cards up on the "pick and choose" VTES Legacy Card Singles service on Drivethrucards, the most common question to the Black Chantry customer support is, by far, "Will there be a European print-on-demand place soon?". The answer is: Unknown! Black Chantry have searched for such a printing partner facility since the company started, but so far with no luck. Do you have advice? Don´t hesitate to contract !
• The Fall of Sabbat set is being translated to non-English languages. June is printing time!
• Both Anthology 1 and the 25th Anniverary set is being reprinted.
• The five deck Fifth Edition box is being reprinted this summer, along with a updated rulebook.
• The bloodlines cards that did not appear in Heirs of the Blood are next up for upload on Legacy Card Singles, so those cards are now scrutinezed for rewordings, retemplating and maybe even nerfing!
- 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
Fifth Edition: Nosferatu
Fifth Edition: Toreador
Fifth Edition: Tremere
Fifth Edition: Ventrue
Promo Pack 3 (Event promos only)
Fifth Edition: Banu Haqim
Fifth Edition: Brujah
Fifth Edition: Gangrel
Fifth Edition: The Ministry
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
Our two picks for highlights from the past month are:
• Vampire: The Masquerade - Swansong was released, available on PC, Xbox, PlayStation and Nintendo Switch. This is a narrative-driven, single-player game where you take on the role of a vampire investigating Kindred-related mysteries in Boston.
• There´s a new Hunter: The Reckoning rulebook preview available for free download at Renegade Game Studios. This meaty excerpt explains some key concepts of the game, such as The Reckoning and The Drive. One wonders if anything of this finds it´s way into VTES soon?
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (booked so far) are in:
Spain x4
France x4
Czech Republic
Online
United States x14
Denmark
Finland
Chile x2
Poland
Italy
Brazil
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 V:EKN
You can contact the V:EKN Inner Circle members using contact forms at V:EKN.net. Also follow the official V:TES Facebook page Vampire: The Eternal Struggle and the official V:EKN Twitter account @VEKN_VTES
You can complain about the game or you can learn the rules.
Greetings fellow Methuselahs
NEW BLOOD RELEASE AND LEGALITY DATES ARE SET!
The spoiler season for New Blood is soon over when this reaches your eyes, and you need a release date. It will be April 17, so the tournament legality date for the new cards from this set is May 17. One of those new cards is the lovely (and thirsty) Ameila Locke depicted above with excellent art from Ken Meyer Jr. Enjoy!
GRAND PRIX TOURNAMENTS STARTS AGAIN - FIRST OUT: MALMÖ, SWEDEN
The European VTES Grand Prix circuit is restarting, and now a new city is added. On Saturday July 2 we play in Malmö, as a part in the big gaming event Malmö Game Week Unplugged. Hugh and Henrik from Black Chantry Productions will attend, as will hopefully absolutely all VTES players from Sweden, Denmark, Germany and everywhere else! Beautiful Malmö is the largest city in sourthern Sweden, close to Copenhagen, why not make it a stop on your summer vacation and oust some Methuselahs?
Details: Facebook VTES Grand Prix - Malmö 2022, and we will update you in appropriate channels when we know more about Malmö Game Week Unplugged and the rest of the Grand Prix season.
JAMES SALT IS THE UK VTES 2021 CHAMPION!
19 proud Methuselahs turned up at Patriot Games in Leeds on March the 5th to battle for the UK 2021 (played in 2022) championship belt. No proxies, gloves off and claws out! Head organiser was UK National Coordinator Paul Jones.
James Salt took an impressive 3 game wins in the preliminary rounds (with a wall deck!), and he had more to give...
Standings after preliminaries:
1. James 3 gw 6.5 vp
2. Craig 2 gw 6.5 vp
3. David 1 gw 5.5 vp
4. Warren 1 gw 4.5 vp
5. Simmy 1 gw 3 vp
Comment on the final by the organiser: “The Gangrel were able to take advantage of the trademark slow start of MMPA (multiple master phase actions) and exclusively push forward against the Blood Brothers who are forced to hunt as they enter with no blood. This allowed the Gangrel to eat through the Blood Brothers pretty quickly, and left The Ministry with very little pressure. The Ministry pushed hard in to Ravnos, ousting them before they could call any Consanguineous Boons. 40 minutes into the game the Liverpool players had been taken out and team Leeds was in a 3-way. Aksinya Daclau gave the Ministry the exact amount of trouble you'd expect her to, and allowed the Gangrel to block their prey and take advantage of it using Claws of the Dead. Pretty soon it was down to just two players, and with Smiling Jack still there from turn 1 it wasn't long until MMPA was getting outpaced.”
Congratulations James Salt, 2021 UK champion with 4 victory points in the the final (The Ministry player Simmy got 1).
James' tournament winning deck: “Wolf Wall”
3 Casey Snyder
2 Massimiliano
1 Crow
1 Hanna Nokelainen
1 Joaquín de Cádiz
1 Kamile Paukstys
1 Martina Srnankova
1 Nathan Turner
1 Ruslan Fedorenko
1 Antediluvian Awakening
1 Carfax Abbey
1 Guardian Angel
1 Powerbase: Montreal
1 The Rack
2 Smiling Jack the Anarch
4 Vessel
2 Wider View
2 Constant Revolution
8 Thing
1 Dog Pack
4 Raven Spy
2 Form of the Bat
6 Claws of the Dead
4 Form of Mist
2 Pack Alpha
6 Bait and Switch
10 Deep Ecology
2 Delaying Tactics
1 Eyes of the Beast
4 Eyes of the Wild
6 Organized Resistance
1 Party out of Bounds
2 Protection Racket
1 Sonar
We´ll see if there will be a second, real 2022 championship sometime later this year. Thanks to organiser, helpers, sponsors and of course the fantastic players!
DO YOU WANT TO ORGANIZE THE VTES ONLINE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP 2022?
Igor Breslin and Martin Weinmayer have been running the VTES Online World Championship tournaments for the last four years, but are now looking to step down. Are you interested in taking over? Or maybe help out? The VEKN, other players and Black Chantry will of course be there to support your efforts. Please mail !
THE FIGHT CLUB (PART 2)
By Aldo Fernández
PLAYING AGAINST COMBAT
Another issue, that we already pointed out in the previous article, is playing against combat.
Many people have difficulty playing against combat because, strategically, it can be more difficult than against other archetypes, especially since it is difficult to get help from other players at the specific moment you are being hit (after that, they will rescue your vampire or punish the Methuselah that plays combat, but your vampire will already be empty or burned, at which point you may be out of the game or close to it, depending on the deck you play and how much help you can get from the other players).
The combat strategy, which is already a different strategy from the others (since it attacks the vampire's blood and not the blood pool directly), goes in combination with the need to deal with the frustration and helplessness of having your vampires in torpor or burned and, generally, with the impossibility of being able to develop your game and cycle cards, in addition to the usually associated indifference of the other Methuselahs, either due to laziness or fear of being the next one to capture the attention of the combat deck.
Your deck usually packs some cards against bleed, political, block or ally strategies in a generic way (for example, bleed bounce/Archon Investigation, Delaying Tactics/passive votes of your own vampires, stealth or "lock" effects in the form of master and/or cards such as Mind Numb, or Entrancement/Far Mastery/Restructure, respectively), and this allows you to play the game regardless of whether you get any victory points or the game win.
These cards are normally given for granted in most decks as a basic part of either its strategy (action cards and action modifiers) or its defense (reaction cards).
However, only "strike: combat ends" cards or effects (S:CE from now on) are generally used as the sole strategy against combat, which in my opinion is huge mistake, since, when a combat deck is correctly structured and cycles properly, the S:CE bring absolutely nothing against it.
A good combat deck doesn't worry about S:CE, because it has Immortal Grapple, Psyche!, Telepathic Tracking, Dog Pack, Blessing of Chaos... (there are other cards that do the same and). They are decks, which, as we saw in the previous article, are designed to overcome these types of cards comfortably.
Also, if you do not have any vampires, you will not be able to play any cards. If you do not play any cards, your hand will always be the same due to lack of card cycling. That means that the combat player will cycle his cards and you will not, and will therefore have decisive advantage in resources and game development.
Faced with the frustration of not knowing how to play against combat, some people end up playing more combat, thinking that if they are going to get hit anyway, they will have to try to hit back even harder, which will cause the brutalization of metagames with the blooming of combat decks.
There are many ways to play against abusive combat decks (Multi-rush/Massive rush), but the best one is usually to cooperate with other players against it or to bring a deck prepared against combat.
We will see them below. 
WAYS TO PLAY AGAINST COMBAT
Cooperation
This is always the best way to play against a combat deck. If your vampires' Discipline spread does not have any cards to deal with the combat deck, try to cooperate with the rest of the players to prevent the combat deck from doing and undoing as it pleases with total impunity.
Rescuing vampires who have been sent to torpor, stealing powerbase-type resources such as Powerbase: Montreal or The Rack, crossing the table with politics or with harmful cards such as Sensory Deprivation, Mind Rape or Mind Numb, is usually the best way to fight against a deck who abuses the other four.
You have to be supportive of the Methuselah that is being rushed, because although the problem for a non-rushed player is not imminent, it will be when the first Methuselah has been fully rushed, since the massive multi-rush/rush deck only has one viable strategy to play: fighting continuously.
In cases where there are two or more combat decks, things get complicated. When one of the two decks is not dominant over the other, they will split the table abusing the non-combat decks. When this happens, you have to take other strategies, because it will be practically impossible to cooperate against one single enemy and there will be too many open fronts.
Prevention cards as a helping strategy
These cards are precisely the cards that make combat ineffective, as a general rule.
It is inevitable to think of Fortitude as the generic prevention Discipline, but right now there are more cards that can prevent damage.
Prevention is the most proper and obvious way to make combat inefficient.
Cards like Terror Frenzy, Fortitude prevention cards in general, Flesh of Marble, Obedience, Mental Maze, Charismatic Aura, etc. are extraordinarily powerful against combat, and allow you to buy some time so that other Methuselahs in the game can be the target of the combat deck, which before the imminence of other dangers and the frustration of not being able to fight you, will simply decide to fight vampires controlled by other Methuselahs.
Allies as a typical strategy against combat
Allies are often a problem for combat decks, especially for the ones that spend much blood and require Taste of Vitae to fuel up and keep going.
In addition, they can prevent the combat deck from reaching the targeted vampire, and with the help of The Unmasking and the FBI Special Affairs Division, they can become a huge problem for combat decks, especially if not properly built.
We rarely find cards like Orgy of Blood in the more solid combat decks, and even if we do, that card is simply ineffective against the new and stronger ally decks (Emerald Legionnaires and Nephandi).
Gehenna events
The event pack to literally destroy vampire blood or card cycling (Slow Withering, Blood Weakness, Veil of Darkness…) is usually extremely tough in case such Gehenna cards hit the table relatively early.
Most rush or multi-rush decks will suffer a lot if these cards are on the table, and even if their players know they have to get the controller of the Gehenna events off the table, the events themselves are going to make that difficult for them, in addition to the fact that the prey and predator of the combat deck will take the opportunity to exploit that weakness to get the it off the table relatively quickly.
Although this strategy is very effective against combat, it is no less certain that you will be the target of both combat and possibly the other Methuselahs.
Varied, subsidiary strategies, or with subsidiary effects, of the main strategy
There are many cards that, at a given moment, can strategically humiliate combat, and that will often grant you not only a few turns more, but also immunity. It is always a good idea to pack some as "singles" if they fit within your strategy, like, for example, Meddling of Semsith, Ponticulus, FBI Specials Affairs Division, Golconda, Chantry, Sensory Deprivation/Nightmare Curse...
Other more situational cards can be Scourge of Enochians against a Potence weenie deck, Fear of Mekhet against a Yaroslav Pascek deck, Elysium: The Arboretum against a Eurobrujah deck, Derange, because it can keep a vampire from playing specific clan cards, etc.
Many of them are devastating against some types of combat and can be totally useless against others. However, they are cards that, situationally, at given times and against specific strategies, can be definitive, and that are already very good by themselves.
More combat: Fight fire with fire
Even though I think this is significantly the worst approach, unfortunately, I am also of the opinion that it is the one that happens the most. This is because the player who was not playing combat to begin with, and had to face a combat deck, knows no other way to deal with it than the escalation of power.
Vitiated metagames, that are turned into war zones with the impossibility of playing any other deck archetype in a solvent way due to the massive presence of combat, make the game lose a lot of interaction and, above all, interest for players, who, seeing that they do not get to play the deck they want because of the demands of the pre-established script end up worsening the metagame of the area and finally, in many cases, quitting the game.
Assume you are going to be hit
This is not a bad strategy in a healthy metagame, and instead of modifying your deck choice or the deck itself, you assume the percentage risk of being dealt a combat deck on a table as your predator.
In that circumstance you have to assume that you are not going to get any victory points. And, if you manage to scratch one thanks to other players, then that is what you take.
You can have a bad tournament and get beaten up at multiple tables, but in the long run it is a no-brainer strategy if you're in a low-combat or balanced-combat metagame.
It is important to know what strategy you have chosen against combat decks when designing your deck, because, just as you pack some bleed bounce cards against bleed decks, or some Delaying Tactics/Poison Pill or titled vampires against political decks, and cards that steal allies or punish Methuselahs for the number of vampires and minions they control, or cards to get through wall decks, you must pack those cards that protect you against combat, and also be aware that there are four more players at the table who can help you.
Finally, it should be noted that combat is a strategy as viable as any other, but due to the way these decks develop their own game, it makes it difficult for non-combat decks to be able to face combat decks if they have not thought thoroughly about how to stop them.
And in case you finally cannot stop a combat deck, the feeling of frustration for not having played should quickly disappear, and you should improve your deck style and your way of approaching combat decks, because combat is never the problem. The problem is usually not knowing how to face a combat deck, and the solution is always much simpler than what it seems. Understand combat and, from there, you will understand how to stop it.
Throughout my years as a VTES player, I have lost more games to Arika, Monçada, AAA, Antonio d'Erlette and his Nephandi, Lucian, or Horatio and his flesh-crafted friends than to pure combat decks.
I have played against many combat decks and I have always known how to face such games, either by means of the cards in my own deck, or by the help of other players. A different matter is whether or not I have won any victory points at those tables. However, what I have always had crystal-clear is how to deal with them.
The great key to combat is not to fear it irrationally, but to be clear about the plan that we have preconceived to face it when assembling and playing your deck, and to carry it out during the game with determination and solidity.
I hope that this article (in two parts) has been minimally illustrative for you, and remember that it is simply my reflection based on my experience as a player, which is surely nuanced by the infinite existing metagames. So, it is not a dogma of faith and it only intends to leave something in writing for those people who want to play with combat or assume that they must play against combat, always from the position that combat is one of the main strategies of the game and that, in a healthy metagame, it must be present, like any another strategy, and in the same proportion.
Did you enjoy this article? Are you, like Aldo, an experienced VTES player who want to write an article for this newsletter? Let us know! Mail !
BLACK CHANTRY SUMMARY: MARCH 2022
• As noted above, the New Blood mini-decks will be in stores in mid April. This is an introductory set aimed at new players, but yet it contains new crypt cards and some juicy reprints, some with brand new art that is revealed in the ongoing social media spoiler season - don´t miss it!
• The Fall of London set still needs some polishing. Unlike New Blood this contains more complex cards that hopefully will excite experienced players, so extra steps are taken to avoid problems. The preliminary schedule now says release in mid 2022.
• The next batch of Legacy singles for Drivethrucards (Salubri, Tzimisce and Pander) is now templated. It is now being uploaded to the site, and after a test print and physical proofreading it will be made available for you all!
• Product Director Ben Peal tells us he will have more time to work on card design for later sets now, so hopefully some new stuff (mainly for a Camarilla follow up set) can be shown to playtesters soon. Some of that art has already been delivered, and it looks FANTASTIC.
- 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
Fifth Edition: Nosferatu
Fifth Edition: Toreador
Fifth Edition: Tremere
Fifth Edition: Ventrue
Promo Pack 3 (Event promos only)
Fifth Edition: Banu Haqim (Stores only)
Fifth Edition: Brujah (Stores only)
Fifth Edition: Gangrel (Stores only)
Fifth Edition: The Ministry (Stores only)
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
Lots of things are happening in the World of Darkness right now, both around digital games like Swansong and Bloodhunt, but as hardcore VTES fans we tend to focus on the lore-related material that might have impact on VTES in the future:
- We are still very hyped with the sourcebooks for Vampire: The Masquerade that were announced at RenCon last month, mainly the Vampire: The Masquerade Player´s Guide and Blood Sigils. Outstar summarized these news in the March 11 World of Darkness News show.
- The PDF version of Second Inquisiton is now available for those who have preordered the book!
- The cover for the upcoming Hunter: The Reckoning Core Rulebook was revealed, created by Mark Kelly, also a very productive VTES artist. Isn´t it wonderful?
Subscribe to the World of Darkness News show for more news!
CALENDAR
Upcoming tournaments for the coming month (booked so far) are in:
Brazil x5
Chile
Finland
France x3
Italy x2
Mexico
Poland
Portugal
Spain x6
USA x5
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 V:EKN
You can contact the V:EKN Inner Circle members using contact forms at V:EKN.net. Also follow the official V:TES Facebook page Vampire: The Eternal Struggle and the official V:EKN Twitter account @VEKN_VTES
When the chess game is over, the pawn and the king go back to the same box.
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