The Austrian National Championship 2023, also known as “Middle European Cup” was played with 24 players at Salim’s Cocktailbar Vienna on November 25.

Standings after round 3:
1. Milos Krstic (Serbia)
2. Martin Weinmayer (Austria)
3. Peter Talmacsi (Hungary)
4. Lukáš Simandl (Czech Republic)
5. Arnold Riegler (Austria)

Congratulations Milos Krstic of Serbia, getting 3 victory points in the finals!

Finalist Martin Weinmayers comments: “It was basically decided by me avoiding the combat deck sitting crosstable, and Milos was naturally forced to do the same, sitting as my prey. which left me in a difficult position, but then again, I built that deck to work against stealth decks. It turned out I was a little too overconfident.

I played highly aggressively to deny Giotto any resources while trying to soak or deflect the unnamed deck behind me. Unfortunately, Turn 4 Secure Haven crushed my hopes of getting help from Massasssi. Giotto playing Maris Streck and getting Giants Blood on her kind of sealed my fate in this final. (The intercepts denied me my ousting chance with Legionnaires.) About 1:30h into the game, Ventrue Royality managed to oust Massassi with heavy bleeds. Despite having a decent fight, I finally crumbled under the pressure and got ousted second. Giotto managed to soak up the unnamed bleeds long enough to finally oust the Ventrue royalty. The Unnamed conceded to 8 Legionnaires with 5 minutes on the clock.

Interesting facts:
•    The legionnaire denial was real on this table. They didn't see any relevant play until Giotto swarmed seven of them in the last five minutes of the final.
•    First turns with Secure Haven and Enkil Cog were nearly enough for Lukas to defend his Austrian Champion crown from last year's victory. (playing the same deck)
•    Don't block The Unnamed if you have only one Legionnaire. (Lukas used his two aggravated damages to great effect.)
•    Direct intervention is a game-winner. (used by Milos on Lukas Form of Mist following an Entrancement action to deny his swarm oust)”

Milos Krstics tournament winning deck: “99 Problems”
Creator comment: "Son, do you know why I'm stopping you for? Are you carrying an Ashur Tablets on you, I know a lot of you are?"

Crypt [12]
4x Giotto Verducci 7 DAI OBF for pot pre Baali:2
3x Maris Streck 9 AUS OBF ani dem dom justicar Malkavian:3
2x Rachel Brandywine 10 AUS DEM OBF PRO ani prince Malkavian:3
1x Victoria 5 AUS cel obf Malkavian:2
1x New Blood 2 san Blood Bro:ANY
1x Anarch Convert 1 Caitiff:ANY

Library [90]
Master [31]
1x Archon Investigation
12x Ashur Tablets
1x Asylum Hunting Ground
1x Coven, The
2x Direct Intervention
1x Giant's Blood
1x Information Highway
1x Jake Washington
6x Liquidation
1x Madness Network
3x Parthenon, The
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion

Event [2]
2x Unmasking, The

Action [12]
1x Army of Rats
6x Clan Impersonation
1x Contagion
4x Unleash Hell's Fury

Ally [7]
7x Emerald Legionnaire

Equipment [5]
5x Kaymakli Fragment

Retainer [1]
1x Homunculus

Action Modifier [21]
4x Elder Impersonation
1x Enkil Cog
4x Faceless Night
8x Freak Drive
4x Lost in Crowds

Action Modifier/Combat [4]
4x Swallowed by the Night

Reaction [7]
2x Delaying Tactics
5x Telepathic Misdirection

Martin again: “Traditionally, we had a lot of nationalities joining us in Vienna. 24 players hailing from Finland, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia and Austria. Thank you all for coming and making this such an enjoyable event.

Big thanks to our Artists Noora Hirvonen and Markéta Munduchová and our sponsors Ultra Pro and Arthur Machac.

Last but not least, big thanks to Richard Utner and Arnold Riegler for organising the 4th Middle European Cup. I hope to see some of you at the Milan GP December, 9th. If you are not able to travel, join Igor Beslin and me Online on LackeyCCG in the December League. Let´s keep bleeding!"

Words by Rodrigo “Faroock” Iturrieta, VEKN National Coordinator of Chile:

On December 8th, 39 Methuselahs participated in the 2023 Chilean National Championship of Vampire: The Eternal Struggle, which was held at the Mr Hotel (ex Hotel Neruda) in Santiago, Chile.

During the tournament we had the excellent opportunity to show the card game to Magic: The Gathering Commander and Flesh & Blood communities, since tournaments of these games were played in parallel. Additionally, demo tables were run throughout the day teaching VTES to all who were interested.

Standings before the final:
1. Hernán Rodríguez 2 GW and 9 VP
2. Matías Barros 2 GW and 8 VP
3. Sergio Ordóñez 2 GW and 8 VP
4. Juan Oyarce 2 GW and 8 VP
5. Luis Espejo 2 GW and 7.5 VP

Congratulations Luis Espejo, 2023 Chilean champion! He scored 4 victory points in the final, while Juan got 1.

Final standings and all finalist deck list are available at bcncrisis.

Tournament winning deck: "Khazar NACh"

Crypt (12)
3x Tupdog 1 POT VIS Gargoyle:3
1x Cristofero Giovanni 3 nec pot Giovanni:2
1x Francesca Giovanni 4 dom nec pot Giovanni:2
1x Gloria Giovanni 4 DOM nec Giovanni:2
1x Isabel Giovanni 5 DOM NEC pot Giovanni:2
1x Lia Milliner 3 dom nec Giovanni:3
1x Marciana Giovanni, Investigator 2 dom Giovanni:2
1x Mario Giovanni 3 nec pot Giovanni:2
1x Paul DiCarlo, The Alpha 2 pot Giovanni:2
1x Rudolfo Giovanni 3 NEC Giovanni:2

Library (90)
Master (23; 5 trifle)
2x Acquired Ventrue Assets
1x Coven, The
2x Direct Intervention
4x Jake Washington
5x Liquidation
2x Not to Be
2x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Cape Verde
4x Vessel

Event (3)
1x FBI Special Affairs Division
2x Unmasking, The

Action (26)
1x Aranthebes, The Immortal
8x Embrace, The
12x Khazar's Diary (Endless Night)
5x Sudario Refraction

Ally (22)
1x Carlton Van Wyk
11x Draeven Softfoot
1x Felix "Fix" Hessian
1x Gianna di Canneto
1x Giulia Giovanni Abruzzina
1x Gregory Winter
1x Leonardo, Mortician
1x Mylan Horseed
1x Ossian
1x Repo Man
2x Shambling Hordes

Action Modifier (6)
6x Call of the Hungry Dead

Reaction (10)
5x Deflection
3x Delaying Tactics
2x On the Qui Vive

Many thanks to the organizers, who made this tournament an historical event at Chile. And also, many thanks to all the sponsors:

Grand Prix Milan 2023 was played in Paderno Dugnano on December 9. Words by Massimo Vaccari, Prince of Milan:

The Italian community tried something different for this year; we decided to have the Grand Prix in a very special location, a nice pub just outside the city of Milano. The location is The Wipeout Pub and Games, a special place for the local community where they play VTES in the evening. It was a bet but the result was fantastic. 60 players coming from all across Europe come with the goal to be the best; all of them face the others in a three round game that has led to the final table. They, at the end, stood against the power of the Tupdog, with master Danilo who managed the table until his final victory. You can read the awesome fiction of the final made by Martin here.

All the Italian princes want to thanks all the participant of this Grand Prix, first of the season, and we hopes to see again in the future.

Some words from our National Coordinator Miro: “As Max said, this weekend was a blast. It was really a pleasure seeing so many players from other countries alongside our community (which grows in numbers month after month), and after a bit of time we finally had a big tournament with a real international flavor. So a big thanks to all participants, a special thanks to all the people who supported us with special prizes and gifts (Black Chantry, Card Game Geek, Black Penny, Ultra Pro, The Pot Still, Kraken Nest), and a great thank with a hug to all my princes and fellows of the VTES Italy staff, who worked hard to make this event real.”

The top five players and their GWs and VPs from the first rounds:
1. Danilo Torrisi 3 GW, 16 VP    
2. Pau Vilar 2 GW, 7 VP    
3. Alessandro Bellomini 2 GW, 6.5 VP    
4. Simone Zanni 1 GW, 7.5 VP    
5. Mariano Carbonero Román 1 GW, 6.5 VP

Congratulations Danilo Torrisi, gathering 4 victory points with Alessandro got 1.

His tournament winning deck: “Tupdog bleed MILANO GP Rockcat [by SonofMalkav]”

Crypt (28)
1x Antonio d'Erlette 5 THA dom for pot Tremere antitribu:4
1x Esoara 5 DOM aus for pot Tremere antitribu:4
1x Janine 4 aus dom tha Tremere antitribu:4
1x Mosfair 4 cel dom tha Tremere antitribu:4
1x Ember Wright 3 aus dom Tremere antitribu:3
1x Keith Moody 3 DOM Tremere antitribu:4
1x Saiz 3 aus dom Tremere antitribu:3
21x Tupdog 1 POT VIS Gargoyle:3

Library (90)
Master (15)
6x Ashur Tablets
3x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Fame
3x Information Highway
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Secure Haven

Action (8)
8x Graverobbing

Ally (10)
10x Rock Cat

Political Action (8)
8x Autarkis Persecution

Action Modifier (6)
6x As the Crow

Combat (37)
8x Brick by Brick
6x Disarm
10x Immortal Grapple
9x Raking Talons
4x Roundhouse

Reaction ( 6)
6x Deflection

Thanks to all players, volunteers and the sponsors Ultra Pro, Black Penny, Kraken Nest and Cardgamegeek.

Played in Fortaleza, Brazil on December 16. Words by Marcio Pinheiro, the Prince of Fortaleza:

In yet another Cearense Championship we had the participation of 55 players, 9 cities, 6 states and three regions. 11 tables, 3 rounds and the final with 1 representative from Paraíba and 4 from Ceará.

Joab managed to make 3 GW and went to the final first with a Gangrel V5 deck, second Lucas Raphael with a Blood Broder with viscissitude, third Bruno Hobbit with a Blocking Saulot, fourth Pablo Andrade with a Black Hand multi actions and lastly Mailton Silva with a Tremere Block.

Until two hours into the game the match was heading towards a draw, but in one move Joab puts a vampire with Pablo's Fame in torpor, meaning that instead of Mailton he just passes the turn so that Bruno loses. During Pablo's turn, using his various minions, he managed to kill Joab by bleeding, and then the time was up. So 1,5 VP for Pablo.

The tournament winning deck: "The Wolves Feed"

Crypt (13)
1x Gabriel de Cambrai 5 aus cel dem obf pre Toreador antitribu:4
1x Katherine Stoddard 4 dom for Ventrue antitribu:3
1x Mariano Pomposo 4 aus cel pot Brujah antitribu:3
1x Mosfair 4 cel dom tha Tremere antitribu:4
1x Nails 5 ani obf pro POT Nosferatu antitribu:4
1x Piotr Andreikov 2 aus Tzimisce:3
3x Banjoko 5 obt pot DOM Lasombra:3
1x Skryta Zyleta 5 obf pot pro CEL Gangrel antitribu:3
2x Teresita, The Godmother 7 for ANI OBF POT Nosferatu antitribu:3
1x Wah Chun-Yuen 5 cel dom pre POT Brujah antitribu:3

Library: 70
Master (13)
1x Hungry Coyote, The
1x Information Highway
2x Tribute to the Master
4x Vessel
4x Watchtower: The Wolves Feed
1x Weeping Stone

Event (4)
3x Blood Trade
1x Break the Code

Action (28)
10x Recruitment Exercise
16x Reunion Kamut
2x Tattoo Signal

Equipment (1)
1x Guarded Rubrics

Reaction (24)
18x Truth in Ink
6x Delaying Tactics

Thanks to organisers, sponsors and participants!