Sunday, February 28, 2010

VtES Clan Newsletters in February 2010

Four clan newsletter have been posted in the Usenet Newsgroup "rec.trading-cards.jyhad" this month. Beside using a newsgroup reader, you can also access the VtES Usenet Newsgroup by using Google Groups.

Wow, the Clan Newsletters seem to be alive and kicking again.. awesome!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Did you know, that ... (Part 40)

(c) 2006 by White Wolf... you still control a "Blood Doll" (you played originally) on a vampire that is now controlled by another player (stolen via "Graverobbing" or "Form of Corruption" for example) , even though the player controlling the vampire can use the "Blood Doll" at his own whim (but the later is only because of the Blood Doll's card text).

The point of this scenario is really that you don't loose control of master cards played on a vampire, even if you loose control of that vampire. One important effect of this is that the "Blood Doll" in the example above (or any other master card played on a stolen vampire) is burned as soon as the player who originally played it is ousted. This is in contrast to minion cards like "Disarm" or "Anima Gathering" which are always controlled by the controller of the vampire, and stay on the vampire even if the player originally playing it is ousted.

Reference: VtES Usenet Newsgroup.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Results Las Vegas NAC Qualifier 2010

On February 21st, 2010 the VtES Las Vegas Regional Qualifier was held in Las Vegas, Nevada (USA) with 28 players attending the qualifier tournament. The final standings were as follows:
1. Mark Loughman (USA) -- 2 GW 7 VP -- 4 VP -- Tremere antitribu G4/5 Wall
2. Brandon Haas (USA) -- 1 GW 6 VP -- 1 VP -- Dom/For Tap&Bleed
2. Preston Poulter (USA) -- 2 GW 7 VP -- 0 VP -- Akunanse Wall
2. Robyn Tatu (USA) -- 2 GW 6.5 VP -- 0 VP -- Toreador antitribu Bleed w/ Palla Grande
2. Ian Lee (USA) -- 1 GW 6.5 VP -- 0 VP -- City Gangrel Dominate S&B
Congratulations to Mark for his win of the Las Vegas Qualifier 2010. The final standings were posted in the Usenet Newsgroup, a tournament report can be found in the following Usenet Newsgroup.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Poll Results: "Which bloodline got the biggest boost (library & crypt cards) with 'Heirs to the Blood'?"

Here are the results of the latest poll what readers of this blog think the clan is that good the the biggest boost (library & crypt cards) with the new VtES expansion< "Heirs to the Blood". 289 votes have been cast in the poll:
  • Ahrimanes -- 9 (3%)
  • Baali -- 103 (35 %)
  • Blood Brothers -- 14 (4%)
  • Daughters of Cacophony -- 33 (11%)
  • Gargoyles -- 4 (1%)
  • Kiasyd -- 12 (4%)
  • Nagaraja -- 1 (0%)
  • Salubri antitribu -- 52 (17%)
  • Salubri -- 1 (0%)
  • Samedi -- 2 (0%)
  • True Brujah -- 23 (7%)
  • They all got big boost! -- 17 (5%)
  • The new cards suck. -- 7 (2%)
  • I don't care about them. -- 11 (3%)
Not surprisingly the Baali won by a huge margin, because they got a bunch of good vampires and a large number of tools, including the two pseudo-disciplines. Following with 17% and 11% are the Salubri antitribu and Daughters of Cacophony. Outstanding cards for these clans are "Death Seeker"/"Code of Samiel" and "Lily Prelude"/"Harmony" respectively. The rest of the clans are following at a rather low percentages. Totally undeserved are the 4% for the Kiaysd, who got very good crypt cards and also outstanding library cards like "Gremlins" or "Faerie Ward". At the bottom end are the Salubri, Samedi and Nagaraja, and that is for a reason, the Nagaraja only got very, very few cards, and the library cards for the Salubri and Samedi are standard at the best, weak at the worst.

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Results "Then there'll be a light" VtES Tournament in Gelsenkirchen

Here are the results of the "Then there'll be a light" VtES Constructed tournament in Gelsenkirchen, Germany after 3 rounds and the final. The tournament was played on February 21st, 2010 with 12 players participating. Here are the standings after the final round:
1. Martin S. -- 2 GW 5 VP -- 1 GW 3 VP -- Guruhi Rush Combat w/ Ashur Tablet tech
2. Sebastian K. -- 1 GW 4 VP -- 2 VP -- Toreador Antitribu Anarch Presence Bleed
2. Jeroen van O. -- 2 GW 7 VP -- 0 VP -- Obfuscate/Dominate Stealth Bleed w/ Inceptor tech
2. Paul W. -- 2 GW 6 VP -- 0 VP -- Ventrue/Ventrue antitribu Bruise & Bleed
2. Markus H. -- 0 GW 2.5 VP -- 0 VP -- Malkavian/Nosferatu G1/2 Vote
Congratulations to Martin for his victory in the tournament. You can find a short tournament report and the TWD in the VtES Usenet Newsgroup.

Here are some pictures taking during the event. The decks shown are those of the final table (prey is to the right, then down):
Left: The Ambiente in Gelsenkirchen was the place of the tournament.



Right: Sebastian played an Anarch Presence Bleed deck based (mostly) on Toreador antitribu.

Left: Another stealth bleed was played Jeroen, who relied on Obf/Dom minions, and a surprise Inceptor w/ Spirit Marionette.

Right: Markus played an old school Malkavian/Nosferatu deck, but got squashed between S&B and rush combat.

Left: Martin played an extreme version of an ANI/POT rush deck deck with lots of Liquidations and Ashur Tablets.


Right: Paul fielded a rather conventional, yet effective DOM/for Bruise & Bleed deck.

Deck Building Utilities (Update February 2010)

New versions of the "Secret Library", "Anarch Revolt Deck Builder" (ARDB) and "Fragments of Elder Library Deck Builder" (FELDB) have been published in February 2010. All three utilities now have the card texts (and pictures, where applicable) from the new VtES expansion "Heirs to the Blood". Here's the update of the basic information:

Secret Library
Current Version: 0.9.3
Author: Jussi Hattara
Homepage/URL: http://www.secretlibrary.info
Description: A finnish website with similar filter & search functionality as "V:EKN Nu" and "VtES Monger". Nice, fresh web design and the ability to keep one's inventory as well as deck building utility. Definitively the best web-based site. The only "drawback" you need a (free) account to use the deck building and inventory functionality.
Advantages/Disadvantages:
  • Card List & Inventory
    • complete card list with card texts
    • lacks pictures of actual cards (due to copyright issues)
    • search & filter use, but not as sophisticated as in the ARDB
    • card inventory can be kept
  • Deck Building
    • offers the basic functionality of deck builder
    • includes card drawing simulation, but offers no statistical information on the deck.
    • ability to export decks as text (*.txt), HTML file (*.html), FELDB (*.eld) or for use in JOL (*.jol), Lackey or WebTES or for posting to internet forums (*.phbBB) and local forums.
    • gives some advice on deck building based on the "Happy Families" theory
  • Other Features
    • since it's web-based application, you don't need a local installation.
    • ability to make deck lists public or keep them private.
Expansions: all VtES expansions (now including Heirs to the Blood).
Latest Posting: 21/Feb/2010
Changelog: Secrect Library Changelog

Anarch Revolt Deck Builder ("ARDB")
Current Version: 3.1.0
Author(s): Graham Smith (current project lead) / Francois Gombault (initial creator)
Homepage: ARDB on Google Code
Description: Layered Filters, multiple export functionality and a tidy interface are the top features of this program, somewhat newer than the FELDB it had a fresh start and gained soon popularity in the VtES community.
Advantages/Disadvantages:
  • Card List & Inventory
    • complete card list with card texts
    • complete collection of pictures of actual cards.
    • great search & filter use, multiple, layered filters
    • card inventory can be kept
    • supports a number of non-Windows operating systems
  • Deck Building
    • offers the basic functionality of deck builder
    • includes some statistical information about the decks as well as card drawing simulation
    • ability to store decks in XML format (*.xml), as text (*.txt), HTML file (*.html) or for use with JOL (*.jol) or for posting to internet forums (*.phbBB).
    • gives some advice on deck building based on the "Happy Families" theory
  • Other Functionality
    • automatic update of the card database from White Wolf website -- New!
    • download of the card pictures from the client -- New!
    • little utility for creating proxy cards
URLs:
Cost: free software
OS Platforms: Windows, OpenSuSE, Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, (Mac OS X 10.5)
Expansion Updates: about 1 to 4 weeks after an expansion has been released.
Expansions: all VtES expansions.
Latest Posting: 20/Feb/2010
Changelog: ARDB Changelog on Google Code

Fragments of Elder Library Deck Builder ("FELDB")
Current Version: 2.6.0 Beta
Author(s): Balasz Kuno Kiss
Homepage: Bala's FELDB website or FELDB on Google Groups
Description: After the ELDB ("Elder Library Deck Builder") was no longer maintained, the ELDB's author David Andersion-Davila published the sources and FELDB was the result of the development with serious improvements over the old program.
Advantages/Disadvantages:
  • Card List & Inventory
    • complete card list with card texts
    • complete collection of pictures of actual cards.
    • basic ability to filter and sort cards, this could be better, especially when compared to the ARDB.
    • card inventory can be kept, but needs to be used carefully when updating to the next version or expansion.
  • Deck Building
    • offers the basic functionality of deck builder
    • includes some statistical information about the decks as well as card drawing simulation
    • ability to store decks in native format (*.eld), as text (*.txt), HTML file (*.html) or for use with JOL (*.jol).
  • Other Features
    • deck manager functionality (now with legality check)
    • VEKN Number, Event's Date, Event's Name on the DeckInfo tab (for organizers and princes) -- New!
    • several import/export options for decks and inventories
    • usually the quickest update after an expansion has been released
    • can update card database from White Wolf website
  • URLs:
  • FELDB v2.5.2
  • VtES Card Images
  • VtES Card Images (HttB Only)
  • Cost: free software
    OS Platforms: Windows
    Expansion Updates: about 1 to 2 weeks after an expansion has been released.
    Expansions: all VtES expansions.
    Latest Posting: 14/Feb/2010

    Tuesday, February 16, 2010

    New VtES Card Database File Available

    (c) 2009 by White Wolf/CCPThe long awaited card database long-awaited (CSV) for VtES (including the latest expansion "Heirs to the Blood") is now available. The file is needed for updating some card utilities like Anarch Revolt Deck Builder (ARDB).

    The VtES CSV file should be downloaded directly from this link: http://www.white-wolf.com/vtes/downloads/vtescsv.zip. The link on the White Wolf download area for VtES is pointing to an old version of the file (pre-"Heirs to the Blood").

    Monday, February 15, 2010

    "Heirs to the Blood" Post-Pre-Release in Budapest, Hungary

    Due to the delayed shipment, from White Wolf we had to held the pre-release last Saturday (February 13th, 2010 in Budapest, Hungary). Surprisingly 28 players gathered to play one of the best sealed deck tournaments I have ever participated in. Besides the Heirs to the Blood starter decks we were given one 3rd Edition, one Keepers of Tradition and two Heirs to the Blood boosters. Players were allowed to trade cards before building there decks. This resulted in an unexpected variety of decks.

    Before the tournament I was afraid a heavy Kiasyd dominance, but my concerns turned out to be wrong. Two players decided to enhance the Samedi's ousting power by adding several copies of "Virtuosa" to their deck, giving "Agent of Power" an unexpected use. Ever heard of using a Samedi Melpominee before? Both players scored one game win during the tournament. I was dealt a Tremere/Gargoyle starter which I really wasn't happy with, since it totally lacks blood and pool gain and is loaded with cards that cost 2 pool. Fortuanately I managed to trade the following cards: 2x Malgorzata, 2x Antonio d'Erlette, 1x Nikolai the Survivor, 1x Nephandus, 3x Chaundice and 2x Fustuk. So I played a Tremere antitribu"/Gargoyle deck. I removed all the "Razor Bats" and all the other cards, that cost pool from the deck, with the exception of "Depravity" and "Guardian Angel". This resulted in a pretty solid deck. I managed to make 1 GW and 3 VPs, which wasn't enough for the final.

    The biggest surprise however was Zsolt Cziraki's deck. He was dealt a Samedi starter. Instead of trying to make it work somehow he decided to ask everybody at the tournament for their Baali cards. The result: a complete Baali Deck! He scored 2 GW 10 VPs and was first seat in the final! I couldn't stay to watch the final, but was told later the he won the final with 1.5 VPs. Congratulations to Zsolt "Colos" Cziraki for this achievement!

    Here is his decklist:
    Deck Name: Baali Bleed
    Created By: Zsolt "Colos" Cziraki
    Description:

    Crypt: (12 cards, Min: 12, Max: 36, Avg: 5,5)
    ---------------------------------------------
    6 Horde dai obf pre 3 Baali
    2 Arishat DAI OBF PRE 6 Baali
    1 Xeper ani dai pro OBF PRE 7 Baali
    1 Annazir DAI OBF POT PRE 9 Baali
    2 The unnamed CEL DAI OBF PRE PRO 10 Baali

    Library: (82 cards)
    -------------------
    Master (20 cards)
    1 Dreams of the Sphinx
    1 Dummy Corporation
    7 Maleficia
    8 Tend the Flock
    1 Vessel
    2 Villein

    Action (12 cards)
    4 Computer Hacking
    4 Greater Curse
    3 Night Moves
    1 Unleash Hell's Fury

    Action Modifier (24 cards)
    1 Approximation of Loyalty
    4 Cloak the Gathering
    1 I Am Legion
    4 Lost in Crowds
    1 Marked Path
    2 Mask of a Thousand Faces
    4 Psalm of the Damned
    2 Under My Skin
    5 Veil the Legions

    Reaction (8 cards)
    3 Diabolic Lure
    1 Eluding the Arms of Morpheus
    4 On the Qui Vive

    Combat (6 cards)
    3 Flames of the Netherworld
    1 Majesty
    2 Outside the Hourglass

    Ally (2 cards)
    2 Infernal Servitor

    Equipment (3 cards)
    3 Camera Phone

    Combo (7 cards)
    6 Evil Eye
    1 Force of Personality
    Author: Martin "Mephistopheles" Major

    Deck of the Month: January 2010: The Rats in Sheep's Clothing

    This month's deck is the tournament winning deck "The Rats in Sheep's Clothing" played by Roger Carhult. The deck is an Animalism bleed deck based on the new card from Ebony Kingdom "Tunnel Runner", but instead of diversifying the crypt with a number of different Akunanse it uses "Aisata Swanou" as its star vampire and introduces Vicissitude as support discipline.

    I have long pondered what the deck of the month should be for this month, because in January the decks I have seen were mostly incarnations of decks well known like Weenie Animalism combat or Malkavian '94 bleed. And when looking at this deck I always thought, that while is deck is quite interesting, it lacks any proper defense or bloat to be real competitive. But in the end .. it won a tournament, doesn't it.

    Nordlicht
    Göteborg, Sweden
    January 9, 2010
    12 players

    Deck: The Rats in Sheep's Clothing
    Author: Roger Carhult

    Comments from the author:

    I only own 6 Deep Song, that's why Taunt the Caged Beast. Although it's not too bad when a Tunnel Runner can use it as well, or for multirush purposes. I think another Ossian would make the deck more effective, I only had him in one game but then he totally owned the table for me. I should also probably take out the Channel 10 and possibly have Giant's Blood instead or another Jake (whom I never saw during any of my rounds). Possibly I should take out another Aisata and add one more copy of Stick or Walker Grimes. A Well-Marked should have been included too but I forgot to. I'd out a Malleable Visage in exchange for one.
    The deck doesn't have any pool gain at all, so the idea is to take the edge and hold it for a bit, and reduce all ally costs with Tshwane and Charisma.
    You only need 2 Tunnelers and an Impundulu and Ossian plus 2 vampires. Card cycling is handled through Aisata's special ability which works pretty well. Rush backwards in the beginning to ease the early pressure and possibly use Pentex too. Inconnu Tutelage is great since you always have some uncontrolled vampires for spare.

    Crypt (12 vampires) Capacity min: 1 max: 7 average: 5.33333
    ------------------------------------------------------------
    8x Aisata Swanou 7 ANI FOR VIC abo Akunanse:5
    2x Stick 3 ANI !Nosferatu:4
    2x Walker Grimes 1 ani Caitiff:5

    Library (90 cards)
    ------------------------------------
    Action (9)
    1x Army of Rats
    6x Deep Song
    1x Taunt the Caged Beast
    1x Wise Spider

    Action Modifier (12)
    4x Changeling
    6x Freak Drive
    2x Malleable Visage

    Ally (8)
    1x Impundulu
    1x Ossian
    6x Tunnel Runner

    Combat (30)
    11x Aid from Bats
    5x Carrion Crows
    2x Chiropteran Marauder
    1x Target Hand
    6x Target Vitals
    5x Taste of Vitae

    Event (5)
    1x FBI Special Affairs Division
    1x Inconnu Tutelage
    1x Narrow Minds
    2x Unmasking, The

    Master (13)
    1x Channel 10
    3x Charisma
    2x Direct Intervention
    1x Jake Washington (Hunter)
    1x KRCG News Radio
    1x Mapatano Utando
    1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
    2x Powerbase: Tshwane
    1x WMRH Talk Radio

    Reaction (13)
    3x Cats' Guidance
    4x Guard Dogs
    3x Instinctive Reaction
    3x On the Qui Vive

    Friday, February 12, 2010

    VtES Rules: "Tinglestripe" Q&A

    Quite a number of questions regarding the equipment "Tinglestripe" have appeared after the card has been published in "Heirs to the Blood", so here's a "Questions and Answers" summary for the card. Most of the information is taken from the Usenet newsgroup "rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad":

    Question: Is the Mytherceria needed only for playing "Tinglestripe"?
    Answer: Mytherceria is only needed for playing "Tinglestripe", it is not required when using or striking with the weapon.

    Q: Does it make a difference if the minion plays "Tinglestripe" by other means (e.g. Concealed Weapon, etc.)?
    A: No. Regardless of the means ("Concealed Weapon", "Disguised Weapon", "Magic of the Smith", "Filchware's Pawnshop", etc.) the minion playing "Tinglestripe" needs to have Mytherceria. This is consistent with other requirements for playing equipment, e.g. being a member of a clan or sect.

    Q: What happens later in the game, when the wielder of "Tinglestripe" changes?
    A: When the card changes the wielder, e.g. by Diablerie, "Fast Hands" or "Heidelburg Castle", the new wielder does not need Mytherceria to get the weapon nor does he need Mytherceria to use the weapon later.

    Q: When a minion plays "Tinglestripe" using superior Mytherceria, can the weapon be used for either effect or is it restricted to one (chosen when equiping with the weapon)?
    A: When "Tinglestripe" was played using superior Mytherceria, the minion wielding it can always choose which effect to use (2R without maneuver, or 1R with an optional maneuver). This is not dependent if and what level of Mytherceria a minion has.
    For example, a vampire with inferior Mytherceria learns superior Mytherceria with the help of "Agent of Power" for a round, and the vampire plays "Tinglestripe" at superior Mytherceria during that round, he can use both effects of the card even after the effect of "Agent of Power" has worn off. Another example would be "Samuel Haight" stealing "Tinglestripe" with "Fast Hands", he can use also both effects of "Tinglestripe" if it was played earlier using superior Mytherceria, even though he doesn't have Mytherceria and is not even a vampire.

    References:

    Thursday, February 11, 2010

    VtES Storyline: "Eden's Legacy" Aftermath

    Ben Swainbank, the VtES storyline coordinator, has published the aftermath story of the VtES storyline event "Eden's Legacy", that took place from October to December 2009.

    The top four of winning clans are these:
    1. Brujah -- 6 events won
    1. Guruhi -- 6
    2. Ishtarri -- 4
    2. Malkavian -- 4
    The Laibon clans have a very strong result, due in no small part to the special rule helping the Laibon searching their library for a card when a Laibon is moved to the ready region.

    The winning clans used the following motivations
    1. Secrecy -- used by 18 winning clans
    2. Gehenna -- 17
    3. Knowledge -- 14
    4. Jyhad -- 8
    You can find more information on VtES storylines on the official storyline website.

    Announcement Portuguese EC Qualifier 2010

    The Portuguese VtES EC Qualifier 2010 will take place in Lisbon, Portugal on March 13th, 2010. Here are the details for this constructed tournament:

    Rules/Format:
    • Portuguese EC Qualifier: Standard Constructed. Detailed rules can be found on the VEKN Tournament Rules web page.
    • Deck lists are required, either on paper, in electronic form (USB stick), or by email to the email address below.
    • No player may enter the tournament after the first round.
    Time:
    • Saturday, March 13th, 2010
      • Doors open/registration 10:00 am
      • First round start: 10:30 am
    Location:
    Round system:
    • 3 rounds plus final (time limit: 2 h each)
    Entrance Fee:
    • 15 Euro
    Price Support:
    • For non-finalists: 1 Heirs to the Blood starter and 1 booster of the same expansion
    • For finalists: 1 Heirs to the Blood booster display for the winner and 1/2 Heirs to the Blood booster display for the other finalists.
    Accommodation: There are a few hotels and hostels nearby:
    Contact:
    • You can contact the organizers via domain (dot) lisboa (at) gmail (dot) com or you can leave a comment on the Domain Lisboa blog.

    Wednesday, February 10, 2010

    "Heirs to the Blood": Even Stronger Sales

    As reported last week ("Strong Sales") the next VtES expansion "Heirs to the Blood" is selling very well. Whereas Potomac Distribution reported last week that their share of HttB booster displays are sold out, yesterday White Wolf reported that their share of HttB starter displays are sold out as well. In the German VEKN forum the European distributor Walch & Nusser also reported that their lot of starter displays are sold out, but claimed to have approximately 100 starter displays on back order. In addition The Lasombra posted in the VtES Usenet Newsgroup that he also has no longer any starter displays to sell.

    Results Northeast NAC Qualifier 2010

    On February 6th, 2010 the VtES Northeast NAC Qualifier was held in Providence, Rhode Island (USA) with 20 players attending the qualifier tournament (during TempleCon 2010). The final standings were as follows:
    1. John Eno (USA) -- 1 GW 5.5 VP -- 4 VP -- Ventrue G4/5 Bruise&Bleed
    2. Ben Peal (USA) -- 2 GW 6.5 VP -- 1 VP -- Brujah Breed&Boon
    2. Scott Gomes (USA) -- 2 GW 7 VP -- 0 VP -- Ventrue antitribu G4&5 Dom/For
    2. Jesse Cross-Nickerson (USA) -- 1 GW 9 VP -- 0 VP -- Antonio D'Erlette Nephandus
    2. Tony Luneau (USA) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 0 VP -- Lutz Vote
    Congratulations to John for his win of the NERQ 2010. You can find the final standings and the tournament winning deck in the Usenet Newsgroup.

    VtES Tournament "Then there'll be a light" in Gelsenkirchen, Germany

    Vampire: The Eternal Struggle -- Mini-Qualifier Tournament
    Then there´ll be a light... -- Gelsenkirchen, Germany

    Time:
    Sunday, February 21st, 2010
    Doors open 10:00 AM
    Start first round 10:30 AM
    Location:
    Lokal Ambiente
    Flöz Sonnenschein Str. 31
    45886 Gelsenkirchen
    Germany
    Round system:
    3 preliminary rounds + final (time limit: 2h each)
    Format:
    VEKN Constructed: Mini Qualifier
    The winner gets a qualifying spot for the 2010 Continental Championships.
    Entrance fee:
    3 Euro
    Please note:
    Please pre-register via the german VtES forum (not required for attendance).
    The location is a pub, so you may not bring your own food and drinks.
    Contact:
    Sebastian "Zille" Zielinski
    Prince of Gelsenkirchen
    http://forum.vekn.de

    Monday, February 8, 2010

    Results "Heirs to the Blood" Launch Event in Bochum

    These are the results of our local Launch Event on February 7th, 2010 for the new VtES expansion "Heirs to the Blood" in Bochum, Germany after 3 rounds (no final round played):
    1. Didi R. -- 3 GW 9 VP -- Kiasyd/Lasombra
    2. Sebastian K. -- 2.5 VP -- Kiasyd/Lasombra
    3. Ralf L. -- 1.5 VP -- Salubri antitribu/Ventrue antitribu
    4. Rik G. -- 1.5 VP -- Salubri antitribu/Ventrue antitribu
    5. Martin E. -- 1.5 VP -- Tremere/Gargoyle
    6. Frank C. -- 1 VP -- Salubri antitribu/Ventrue antitribu
    7. Hardy R. -- 1 VP -- Samedi/Nosferatu
    8. Eric R. -- 1 VP -- Tremere/Gargoyle
    9. Michael B. -- 0 VP -- Samedi/Nosferatu
    With 9 players we choose to use rather small draft pods with 3 players each. The draft pool consisted of the starter (fixed for each player), and additionally 4 boosters of "Heirs to the Blood" as well as one booster each of "3rd Edition" and "Keepers of Tradition".

    As you can see the Kiasyd/Lasombra dominated the tournament with all GW and more VPs than the rest combined. The Salubri antitribu and the Gargoyle decks had a decent defense, but lacked ousting power in this metagame. Hardest to play was the Samedi starter with six different disciplines, and a little bit lack of focus (either more block capability (via permanents or Necromancy/Animalism) or more bloat (via Little Mountain Cemetery).

    Here are the pictures from the three rounds (one for each table played):

    From left to right: Round 1 Table 1 -- Round 1 Table 2 -- Round 2 Table 1

    From left to right: Round 2 Table 3 -- Round 3 Table 1 -- Round 3 Table 2

    Saturday, February 6, 2010

    "Heirs to the Blood": Weirdness & other notable things

    There are some notable things about "Heirs to the Blood" worth mentioning:
    • For the first time in ages, not only L. Scott Johnson and Robert Goudie are named as designers in the rulebook, but also Ben Peal.

    • The artwork of the card Channel 10 in "Heirs to the Blood" has changed insofar, that the image is only a portion of the version in the 10th Anniversary set.

    • Also on Channel 10 the quote is attributed to "Cock Robin" (Nosferatu Justicar) while the original Channel 10 attributes the quote to "Calebros" (Nosferatu Prince of New York).

    • The card "Cavalier" has been issued an errata by LSJ. The card text ends now with "A vampire can have only one archetype".

    • The card background on "Shaal Fragement" should be the one for equipment, not combat.

    Card Distribution in "Heirs to the Blood"

    Here's some information on the distribution of the cards in boosters of the VtES expansion "Heirs to the Blood". As in the previous expansion "Ebony Kingdom" and "Keepers of Tradition" the distribution of the cards is pseudo random at best, or in other words you can easily recognize the printing pattern.

    Common Cards

    The common cards are in distinct order with the individual cards having a distinct successor and predecessor card in the seven slots for common cards:
    Morphean Blow --> Masca --> Hide the Heart --> Gremlins --> Din of the Damned --> Striga --> Oustide the Hourglass --> Virtuosa --> Penitent Resilience --> Lead Fist --> Voices of the Castle --> Development --> Under My Skin --> Tinglestripe --> Lily Prelude --> Slake the Thirst --> Flames of the Netherworld --> Faerie Wards --> Foldable Machine Gun --> Loving Agony --> Tend the Flock --> Scobax --> Shatter the Gate --> Dagger --> Hive Mind --> Death Seeker --> Benefit Performance --> Mole's Tunneling --> Visionquest --> Groaning Corpse --> As the Crow --> Dive Bomb --> Brick by Brick --> Scourge of Alecto --> Maleficia --> Off Kilter --> Stiff Contempt --> Safe Passage --> Pocket Out of Time --> Diabolic Lure --> Three's a Crowd --> Psalm of the Damned --> Momentary Delay --> Mind of the Wilds --> Greater Curse --> Gift of Sleep --> Jar of Skin Eaters --> Vaticination --> Evil Eye --> Shattering Crescendo --> Wider View --> Ears of the Hare --> Ravager --> Oppugnant Night --> Hexe --> Lord of Serenity
    Vampire Cards

    The same thing basically applies for the distribution of vampire cards. Initially I couldn't make a single series out of it, because I couldn't distinguish the positions of the two vampires with U2 rarity ("The Horde" and "Grotesque"), and I never saw a booster that had "The Horde" and "Grotesque" in the middle middle position of the three vampire cards. After a reader's comment to this post, I was able to complete the series.
    Rare Cards

    Unfortunately, and this upsets me quite a bit, the same pattern also applies to the rare cards as well. I bought two booster boxes and the set of rares (even which ones where duplicate) were exactly the same! Even worse the order of the rare card in the booster display was the same. The rare of the last two booster displays in the bottom of the box where "Research" and "Blood Tempering" in both boxes. To make matters worse a french player I know had exactly the same composition of rare cards in the booster box he bought as I had.

    The rares in one box were (here in alphabetical order):
    1x The Ailing Spirit -- 1x The Black Beast -- 1x Blessing of the Beast -- 1x Bliss -- 2x Blood Tempering -- 1x Cavalier -- 1x Charge of the Buffalo -- 1x Cheat the Fates -- 1x Clockwerx -- 1x Code of Samiel -- 1x Dabbler -- 1x Decompose -- 1x Draeven Softfoot (Changeling) -- 2x Fanfare for Elysium -- 1x Fractura -- 1x Great Symposium -- 1x Harmony -- 1x Hay Ride -- 1x Hunger Moon -- 1x I am Legion -- 2x Infernal Servitor -- 1x Knotted Cord -- 2x Member of the Entourage -- 1x The Path of Harmony -- 1x Portio Martyrium -- 1x Scarlet Lore -- 1x Shadowed Eyes -- 1x Spirit Claws -- 1x Research -- 1x Thicker than Blood -- 1x Threading the Path of Orpheus -- 1x Unleash Hell's Fury
    Thanks to floppyzedolfin for putting these lists together.

    "Heirs to the Blood": Cards with New Artwork

    Here are the reprinted cards with new cards from the new VtES expansion "Heirs to the Blood":

    Gargoyle/Tremere Starter:


    Kiasyd/Lasombra Starter:




    Samedi/Nosferatu Starter:






    Salubri Antitribu/Ventrue Antitribu Starter:

    Friday, February 5, 2010

    "Heirs to the Blood": Strong Sales

    According to the Potomac Distribution blog the new VtES expansion "Heirs to the Blood" seems to be selling very well. The booster displays are sold out temporarily and only a few starter displays are left.

    But don't worry, Potomac Distribution has more on back order, expected to arrive next week!

    On the other hand, "Heirs to the Blood" is still not showing up in White Wolf's own webshop.

    Thursday, February 4, 2010

    Memorable Quotes (Part 69)

    "If no one's screaming "baroken" at the first previews, that just means the set is wallpaper." -- LSJ on #vtes on the day Heirs to the Blood was released.

    2nd VTES European Draft Championship

    Copied from http://www.sevenoaksart.co.uk/flags.htmAfter the very successful "European VtES Draft Championship" two years ago we are happy to announce that this year will see the second installment of this great event.

    This time around, vtes.de is inviting all European players to join in a weekend of tough struggles, vicious politicking and nasty fighting with tooth and nail. Many consider the draft to be the queen of tournaments, as players cannot rely on an established and well-tested deck but instead have to adapt to a game environment which is rapidly changing all the time. Do you have what it takes to conquer the European Nights?

    The Tournaments
    • The Eurodraft will take place on Saturday. Winner will be awarded with the European VtES Draft Champion title of 2010.

    • Sunday will be devoted to the German Continental Qualifier -- please note that you will not have to qualify for this event. The top 5 players will automatically qualify for participation in any Continental Championship in 2010.
    The Location
    • The event will take place on the 1st and 2nd of May, 2010 in DasHaus in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. Amongst European players this location is well-known due to the numerous events such as qualifier tournaments and national championships which took place there in the past. It offers more than enough room for about 100 players in two different rooms. Drinks will be available on location.
    Format
    • Eurodraft: Draft from 9 Boosters -- 3 rounds + finals
    • German Continental Qualifier: Standard Constructed -- 3 rounds + finals
    • The rules for the tournaments are detailed in the official VEKN tournament rules.
    Time-Table
    • Saturday (May, 1st) -- Eurodraft 2010
      • Registration -- 10:00 - 11:00
      • Draft & Decklists -- 11:15 - 12:15
      • 1st Round -- 12:30 - 14:30
      • 2nd Round -- 15:30 - 17:30
      • 3rd Round -- 17:45 - 19:45
      • Finals -- 20:00 - 22:00

    • Sunday (May, 2nd) -- German Continental Qualifier 2010
      • Registration -- 10:00 - 10:45
      • 1st Round -- 11:00 - 13:00
      • 2nd Round -- 14:00 - 16:00
      • 3rd Round -- 16:15 - 18:15
      • Finals -- 18:30 - 20:30
    Costs
    • 5 EUR admission fee for both days + cost of cards for the draft (about 20 EUR)
    Prizes
    • tba
    Notes
    • tba
    More Details and Registration
    Address of the location
    Kulturzentrum dasHaus
    Bahnhofstrasse 30
    67059 Ludwigshafen

    Wednesday, February 3, 2010

    "Heirs to the Blood": Card Checklists

    I have created two check lists for the new VtES expansion "Heirs to the Blood". The lists have been posted in in the polish VtES forum.The list of crypt cards is now complete (except some grouping information). From the list of library cards some card texts are missing, I will add them later today.

    You can find the complete visual spoilers "Heirs to the Blood" on the following Hungarian web pages:
    Thanks to all the contributors for this list, but special thanks to Ivan, Pudel & Victor.

    "Heirs to the Blood": Preconstructed Deck "Salubri antitribu/Ventrue antitribu"

    Here's the deck list for the Salubri antitribu/Ventrue antitribu deck from the new VtES expansion "Heirs to the Blood":

    Deck Name: "Heirs to the Blood" Salubri antitribu / Ventrue antitribu Starter Deck
    Author: Ben Peal
    Description: Salubri antitribu / Ventrue antitribu Preconstructed Starter Deck

    Crypt (Capacity min=3 max=8 avg=5.7; 12 cards)

    1x Aredhel 5 aus FOR VAL !Salubri:4
    1x Jefferson Foster 6 for tha AUS DOM !Ventrue:4
    1x Jephta Hester 5 aus DOM FOR !Ventrue:4
    1x Langa 5 for VAL !Salubri:4
    1x Mariel St. John 6 dom pro AUS FOR !Ventrue:4
    1x Neighbor John 5 dom for AUS !Ventrue:4
    1x Nkechi 4 aus for val !Salubri:4
    1x Polly Kay Fisher 8 for pot AUS DOM THA !Ventrue:4
    1x Rashiel 3 for val !Salubri:4
    1x Titus Camille 8 for AUS DOM OBF !Ventrue:4
    2x Uriel 8 ani obe AUS FOR VAL !Salubri:4

    Library (77 cards)

    Master (12 cards)
    1x Auspex
    2x Blooding by the Code
    1x Corporate Hunting Ground
    1x Fame
    1x Fortitude
    1x Information Highway
    1x Path of Retribution, The
    2x Vessel
    2x Villein

    Event (1 cards)
    1x Dragonbound

    Action (15 cards)
    3x Abbot
    1x Blessing of the Name
    2x Brother in Arms
    4x Govern the Unaligned
    1x Graverobbing
    2x Rumble
    2x Sense Death

    Equipment (5 cards)
    5x Baseball Bat

    Action Modifier (2 cards)
    2x Dawn Operation

    Reaction (19 cards)
    3x Enhanced Senses
    3x Eyes of Argus
    1x Melange
    3x Precognition
    2x Telepathic Counter
    5x Wake with Evening's Freshness
    2x Hide the Heart

    Combat (23 cards)
    1x Blissful Agony
    1x Eye of Unforgiving Heaven
    5x Indomitability
    3x Sword of the Righteous
    3x Target Vitals
    5x Unflinching Persistence
    3x Vengeance of Samiel
    2x Death Seeker

    Created with Secret Library v0.9.2. (Feb 1, 2010 23:00:17)

    "Heirs to the Blood": Preconstructed Deck "Gargoyle/Tremere"

    Here's the deck list for the Gargoyle/Tremere deck from the new VtES expansion "Heirs to the Blood":

    Deck Name: "Heirs to the Blood" Gargoyle / Tremere Starter Deck
    Author: Ben Peal
    Description: Gargoyle / Tremere Preconstructed Starter Deck

    Crypt (Capacity min=4 max=8 avg=5.7; 12 cards)

    2x Cedric 6 obf pot vis FOR Gargoyle:4
    1x Claus Wegener 5 aus for tha DOM Tremere:5
    1x Frank Weisshadel 4 dom pot tha Tremere:4
    1x Hector Trelane 5 dom nec AUS THA Tremere:4
    1x Lord Ephraim Wainwright 6 for pre AUS THA Tremere:5
    1x Muhsin Samir 6 aus pot DOM THA Tremere:4
    2x Rocia 8 obf FOR POT VIS Gargoyle:4
    1x Tarrence Moore 4 aus dom tha Tremere:5
    2x Rusticus 4 for VIS Gargoyle:5

    Library (77 cards)

    Master (12 cards)
    1x Antediluvian Awakening
    1x Barrens, The
    1x Chantry
    1x Depravity
    2x Effective Management
    1x Fame
    1x Guardian Angel
    1x Thaumaturgy
    2x Villein
    1x Wasserschloss Anif, Austria

    Action (7 cards)
    3x Bum's Rush
    1x Create Gargoyle
    1x Defender of the Haven
    1x Hatchling
    1x Soul of the Earth

    Ally (1 cards)
    1x Rock Cat

    Retainer (4 cards)
    1x J. S. Simmons, Esq.
    3x Razor Bat

    Action Modifier (4 cards)
    4x Conditioning

    Reaction (20 cards)
    4x Deflection
    4x Patrol
    2x Voices of the Castle
    4x Scry the Hearthstone
    6x Wake with Evening's Freshness

    Combat (29 cards)
    3x Immortal Grapple
    2x Pounce
    2x Lead Fist
    3x Raking Talons
    4x Rockheart
    4x Slam
    4x Soak
    4x Stonestrength
    3x Torn Signpost

    Created with Secret Library v0.9.2. (Feb 1, 2010 22:56:01)

    "Heirs to the Blood": Preconstructed Deck "Kiasyd/Lasombra"

    Here's the deck list for the Kiasyd/Lasombra deck from the new VtES expansion "Heirs to the Blood":

    Deck Name: "Heirs to the Blood" Kiasyd / Lasombra Starter Deck
    Author: Ben Peal
    Description: Kyasid / Lasombra Preconstructed Starter Deck

    Crypt (Capacity min=5 max=10 avg=6.6; 12 cards)

    1x Andrew Emory 5 aus dom pot OBT Lasombra:4
    1x Black Wallace 6 obt tha DOM POT Lasombra:4
    1x Dame Hollerton 5 myt DOM OBT Kiasyd:4
    1x Ermenegildo, The Rake 5 pot DOM OBT Lasombra:4
    1x Lord Vauxhall 7 DOM OBT POT THA Lasombra:4
    1x Luca Italicus 10 tha DOM FOR NEC OBT POT Lasombra:4
    1x Omme Enberbenight 7 cel dom MYT OBT Kiasyd:4
    1x Pherydima 8 obt pot DOM MYT NEC Kiasyd:4
    1x Roderick Phillips March 7 cel obt tha DOM MYT Kiasyd:4
    1x Virginie, Prodigy 6 obt DOM POT Lasombra:4
    2x Isanwayen 6 DOM MYT OBT Kiasyd:4

    Library (77 cards)

    Master (14 cards)
    2x Blind Spot
    2x Capitalist
    1x Channel 10
    1x Dominate
    1x Obtenebration
    1x Political Hunting Ground
    1x Sudden Reversal
    1x Vessel
    2x Villein
    2x Wider View

    Action (9 cards)
    1x Eternal Vigilance
    1x Goblinism
    6x Govern the Unaligned
    1x Song of Pan

    Equipment (3 cards)
    1x Zaire River Ferry
    1x Tinglestripe

    Ally (2 cards)
    2x Nocturn

    Retainer (1 cards)
    1x Mr. Winthrop

    Action Modifier (18 cards)
    1x Blanket of Night
    6x Bonding
    4x Shadow Play
    1x Shroud of Absence
    6x Stone Travel

    Reaction (10 cards)
    2x Covincraft
    2x Folderol
    3x Obedience
    3x On the Qui Vive

    Combat (9 cards)
    3x Absorb the Mind
    1x Autonomic Mastery
    2x Darkness Within
    3x Oubliette

    Combo (11 cards)
    4x Aura Absorption
    3x Fae Contortion
    4x Murmur of the False Will

    Created with Secret Library v0.9.2. (Feb 1, 2010 22:59:56)