Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Results Finnish National VtES Championship 2011

On May 22nd, 2011 the Finnish National VtES Championship 2011 was held in Turku, Finland with 43 players attending the tournament. The final standings were as follows:
1. Juri Juskevits (FIN) -- 2 GW 8 VP -- 4 VP -- Shambling Hordes
2. Jari Vulli (FIN) -- 2 GW 10 VP -- 1 VP -- Louhi and Friends
2. Otso Turunen (FIN) -- 2 GW 10 VP -- 0 VP -- Cybele "Girls will find .. "
2. Tommi Ketonen (FIN) -- 1 GW 6 VP -- 0 VP -- Kiasyd G4/5 Stealth Bleed
2. Jarkko Suvela (FIN) -- 2 GW 8 VP -- 0 VP --Stanislava Pro/Dom
Congratulations to Juri for his win of the Finnish Nationals 2011. The full standings can be found in the VEKN forum.

Results Norwegian EC Qualifier 2011

On May 7th, 2011 the VtES Norwegian EC Qualifier was held in Oslo, Norway with 23 players attending the qualifier tournament. The final standings after 3 rounds and the final were as follows:
1. Hugh Angseesing (UK) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 3 VP -- Girls will find ...
2. Martin Svenneryd (SWE) -- 2 GW 10 VP -- 1 VP -- Dementation bleed
2. Chris Meland (NOR) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 1 VP -- Pre/Obf bleed
2. Erling Gundersen (NOR) -- 1 GW 4.5 VP -- 0 VP -- Unnamed bleed
2. Joel Toledo (NOR) -- 1 GW 4 VP -- 0 VP -- Arika
Congratulations to Hugh for his win of the Norwegian ECQ 2011. You can find (a bit) more information in the VEKN forum.

Friday, May 27, 2011

VtES History: VTES Adding Online Play

Vampire: The Eternal Struggle® Adding Online Play

Atlanta, GA, August 12, 2004 -- White Wolf Publishing formally announced today its collaboration with CCG Workshop, LLC to bring the Vampire: The Eternal Struggle collectable card game to online play.

Development has already begun to port the #1 multiplayer CCG over to online play. "Vampire's graphical and strategic intensity are a good work-out for our development staff. We aspire to bring over as much dark flavor and feel as possible into the online adaptation, and look forward to inviting VTES players in for beta-testing later this year," said Ed Mittelstedt, president of CCG Workshop.

Online VTES will be hosted on its own dedicated server accessed through White Wolf's website or CCG Workshop's website. Normal pick-up games as well as organized online tournaments are all planned, with White Wolf providing real world prize support for the tournaments.

"Vampire's player community literally spans the world from Singapore to Prague to LA. We're looking forward to hosting some exciting international events and tournaments using the online platform," said Steve Wieck, White Wolf's VP of Card Games. There will be a nominal monthly cost for play which will give players access to all of the active cards. Initially all cards from the Camarilla Edition set will be available for play with more expansions added after launch. Online players will be able to construct and save decks, as well as share them with other players.

Vampire: The Eternal Struggle celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Designed by Richard Garfield, designer of Magic: The Gathering®, VTES allows players to pit clans of vampires against one another in a mix of intrigue and action. Two special 100-card Tenth Anniversary Packs, complete with exclusive carrying tins, are available this November.

About White Wolf: Since its entry into the roleplaying game market in 1991, White Wolf Publishing, Inc. has grown, maintaining an average market share of 26%. With collective book sales in excess of 5.5 million copies during this time, White Wolf is one of two undisputed worldwide publishing leaders for pen-and-paper roleplaying games. White Wolf properties have been licensed for television series, comic books, action figures, console and computer video games, coin-operated arcade games, professional wrestlers, replica props and weapons, interactive media events and myriad merchandise. More information on White Wolf can be found at http://www.white-wolf.com/.

About CCG Workshop: CCG Workshop is a company that hosts online play of strategy games. It was started in 2001 by Ed Mittelstedt with a mission to adapt orphaned collectible card games for online play, but has since grown to host all forms of strategy games. CCG Workshop is an online community, a culture that shares the love of strategy gaming. CCG Workshop's core technology is the gatlingEngine, a Win32 application used to play strategy games over the Internet. CCG Workshop also created the gatlingDevKit. With it, a prospective game designer can create an online strategy game that can be instantly playable on the gatlingEngine. More information on CCG Workshop can be found at http://www.ccgworkshop.com/.

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Memorable Quotes (Part 113)

  • "You should rush your predator this turn."
  • "Why?"
  • "Because he's not me."
-- quote as provided by Derek Ray
Reference: VtES Usenet Newsgroup

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Did you know, that ... (Part 63)

.. when a vampire to which the Rack is directed, is changing the controller permanently, e.g. by Graverobbing or Form of Corruption, the Rack is still controlled by the player who controlled the vampire in the first place. This is because, the Rack is not played on the vampire, but is put into play and a vampire is chosen where the Rack is targeted to. This has two consequences:
  • The blood provided by the Rack is gained during untap phase of the Rack's controller, not during the untap phase of vampire's controller.
  • The action to take control of the Rack is directed against the controller of the Rack, not the controller of the vampire.
Reference: VtES Usenet Newsgroup

Monday, May 23, 2011

Results South-East NAC Qualifier 2011

On May 21st, 2011 the VtES South-East NAC Qualifier was held in Stone_Mountain, Georgia with 15 players attending the qualifier tournament. The final standings were as follows:
1. Oscar Garza (USA) -- 1 GW 5.5 VP -- 5 VP -- Samedi G4/5 Bleed/Bloat
2. Jose Lafuente (USA) -- 1 GW 6 VP -- 0 VP -- Malkavian antitribu Weenie Demenation Bleed
2. Mattias Kallenberg (USA) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 0 VP -- Protean Anarch Barons
2. Norman S. Brown (USA) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 0 VP -- Weenie Auspex Justicar
2. Matt Guin (USA) -- 1 GW 4 VP -- 0 VP -- Brujah G4/5
Congratulations to Oscar for his win of the South-East NAC Qualifier 2011. You can find more information on the tournament and in particular a whole bunch of photos on the Madness Network blog.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Results Dutch EC Qualifier 2011

On May 21st, 2011 the VtES Dutch EC Qualifier was held in Utrecht, Netherlands with 20 players attending the qualifier tournament. The final standings after 3 rounds and the final were as follows:
1. Paul Wiggers (NED) -- 1 GW 5.5 VP -- 3 VP -- Ventrue Antitribu Grinder
2. Bram van Stappen (BEL) -- 1 GW 6 VP -- 1 VP -- Ventrue G4/5 Lawfirm
2. Dennis Devriendt (BEL) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 1 VP -- Lutz & Friends Vote
2. Jelmer Wedholm (NED) -- 1 GW 6 VP -- 0 VP -- Hermana Breed&Bleed
2. Pieter Heerma (NED) -- 1 GW 2 VP -- 0 VP -- Tzimisce Piper War Ghoul
Congratulations to Paul for his win of the Dutch ECQ 2011.

Friday, May 20, 2011

VtES History: Black Hand Card Exchange Begins

After the VtES Black Hand expansion had been released on November 17, 2003 it was detected by White Wolf that three vampires were missing, in fact the advanced versions if these vampires have accidentally been exchanged by their base counterparts or vice versa. On April 9th, 2004 there was an action initiated where players could sent these cards to White Wolf and receive the exchange cards instead.
Due to a printing error, three cards were accidentally swapped in Black Hand with their base or advanced counterparts. White Wolf is pleased to announce a free exchange program for any players who received any of these cards in error. (In addition, the correct copies of these cards are also being included in tournament prize support packs, while supplies last.)

To receive your replacements cards, send your original Black Hand versions (only cards with the Black Hand expansion symbol will be accepted) of Jessica (base), Hannibal (base), and/or Yong-Sun (advanced) in good, playable condition and a Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope (SASE) or international equivalent (that is: a self-addressed envelope and as many international reply coupons as are needed to cover return postage - contact your local post office for details) to:
White Wolf Card Exchange Program
ATTN: L. Scott Johnson
PO Box 8747
Columbia, SC 29202
USA
You may exchange any number of these cards in a single shipment. All replacement cards will be packaged in the same materials (hard plastic card holders, etc.) in which the original cards are received.

The original cards will not be returned.

Cards received without a self-addressed return envelope with either US postage or international reply coupon(s) will not be processed. A list of these shipments is available. See the Dead Letter list.

Not responsible for lost or misdirected mail or for damaged shipments.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Memorable Quotes (Part 112)

As witnessed during the North American Championship 2002:
  • "Whaaat?! Why would you vote FOR him gaining 5 pool? He's your prey!" -- A somewhat agitated Ben Swainbank.

  • "Old boys network." -- Cool response by Stephan Fazio.
Reference: VtES Usenet Newsgroup

Announcement Portuguese EC Qualifier 2011

The Portuguese VtES EC Qualifier 2011 will take place in Lisbon, Portugal on May 21st, 2011. 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 mandatory, either on paper, in electronic form (USB stick), or by email to the email address below. Registration without a decklist is not possible.
Time Schedule:
  • Saturday, May 21st, 2011
    • Doors open/registration 10:00
    • Round 1: 11:00
    • Round 2: 14:00
    • Round 3: 16:15
    • Final Round: 18:30
Location:
IlusĂŁo Paralela
Travessa do Pasteleiro, NÂș22
1200-774 Lisbon, Portugal

The bar offers a wide variety of food and drink at friendly prices.
Round system:
  • 3 rounds plus final (time limit: 2 h each)
Entrance Fee:
  • 3 Euro (with pre-registration)
  • 4 Euro (without pre-registration)
Price Support:
  • For all participants: one booster and promo cards
  • For the winner: VtES tablecloth
  • For all finalists: One clan out of 9 pack each.
  • The four remaining clan packs are distributed among players who haven't attended a tournament in the past 12 months.
  • Clan Packs are built from 8 or 9 opened Sabbat War booster displays (with all the cards).
Contact & Preregistration:
  • You can contact the organizers via tiago (/dot/) broom (/at/) gmail (/dot/) com.
In addition check the Domain Lisboa blog for more details (in Portuguese).

Announcement Italian EC Qualifier 2011

On June 19th, 2011 the Italian VtES EC Qualifier 2011 will be held in Bologna, Italy. The details for this event are the following:
  • Date: Sunday June 19th
  • Location:
    Dragon 2
    Via del Borgo di San Pietro 99/N
    Bologna, Italy
  • Timeline:
    • Registration: 9:30
    • Starting Time: 10:30
    • Expected Finishing Time: 20:30

  • Registration Fee: 10€
  • Format: Standard Constructed, 3 rounds + final
  • Time Limit: 2 hours
  • Website: Italian Qualifier 2011 website
  • Prize Support:

    • Door Prizes: Each participant will receive 2 booster packs and a promo card. Each GW scored will grant you another booster pack.
    • Finalist Prizes: Booster packs, special cards and special finalist prize
    • Winner Prizes: Booster box, winner trophy and 120€ reimbursement to attend the EC in Warsaw.

  • Remarks: You can contact the organizers anytime for any information on how to reach Bologna or accommodation. You can also check the Italian Forum (it's in Italian, but if questions asked are in English they'll be answered in English as well).

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Did you know, that ... (Part 62)

.. when a Laibon vampire with the Kholo title becomes Magaji (for example by calling the Overseer political action) and thereby the Kholo title is forfeited immediately, then the Kholo card is burned? The Kholo card is not moved another non-titled Laibon of the same clan, since according to the rulebook (refer to (Section 10), the first title (Kholo) is simply lost when the Laibon vampire gains the second title (Magaji), and there's no time window which allow to move the Kholo card to a second non-titled vampire.

Post Scriptum: On the other hand if a Laibon vampire with the Magaji title uses a Kholo card during a referendum, by gaining the Kholo title he loses Magaji title immediately

Reference: VtES Usenet Newsgroup.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Change of Venue for the VtES European Championship 2011

Regarding the European VtES Championship 2011, which takes place in Warsaw, Poland from November 11th to 13th, 2011, there's a change of change of venue.
VTES EC 2011 Logo
The organizers have moved the championship events to the "Novotel Warszawa Airport Hotel". In the course of a few weeks’ negotiations the organizers have reached an agreement with "Novotel" and made the decision to change the venue for the tournament. This decision is a result of several reasons. The most important factor was the concern for the maximum convenience for each player, at the same time keeping the price at reasonable level.

Read the full details (including updated hotel prices and services) on VEKN.net.

New Phyrexia Leak (Follow-Up)

As reported three weeks ago ("Mishaps in Other Games", the so-called "godbook" (containing pictures for all cards) for next Magic: the Gathering expansion "New Phyrexia" was leaked before the actual release date on May 13th, 2011.

There are now two articles/posts out there dealing with this event and its consequences. One of the most important MtG websites, ChannelFireball, reported how the leak of the "godbook" came to happen ("Legacy Weapon – A Troubling Leakage") and Wizards of the Coast reported how the reaction and punishment for the perpetrators look like ("New Phyrexia Leaks").

Interesting reads both of them ..

Sunday, May 15, 2011

VtES Clearance Sales for European Customers

As White Wolf has started their VtES clearance sales, the European VtES distributors (Walch & Nusser on vtes.de:
CCP are clearing the entire VTES stock in their warehouse. Due to tax reasons, CCP are forced to sell their entire remaining stock of VTES products between May 12th and October 15th 2011.

This means:

Come October 16th, VTES products will no longer be available from CCP.

In the US, this sale will be organized directly via CCP’s online shop. However, European customers will not be able to place any orders there. Since we did not want VTES supporters from this side of the Atlantic to be left high and dry, we have decided to organize this last special sale for all European supporters.

This sale entails some important special offers and conditions:
  • The price for any single booster display is 50 €.
  • The price for any single starter display is 35 €.
Moreover, it is possible to buy bundles of booster displays:
Please note that you can create your own individual bundles from any sort of display still in stock at the time you place your order.

For our shop customers, we have reduced prices even further. They can order
  • booster displays for 35 € each and
  • starter displays for 27 € each.
This might well be the last chance to get your hands on VTES products in a quick and reliable manner, so please make the best of this opportunity.
Please take note that "shop customers" above means that you are a shop owner with regular trade id.

Update on the Future of VtES

White Wolf/CCP issued the following news release on Friday, May 13th, 2011 (most fittingly) regarding the future of VtES:
VTES Players,

We wanted to take a moment to give you an update on the future of Vampire: The Eternal Struggle. White Wolf will continue to host North American support for VTES for the rest of 2011 (although European event support will be provided by VTES.de).

However, starting May 20th, 2011, VTES will no longer be sold through standard distribution channels. Instead, you will be able to purchase displays at the White Wolf Store in North America and VTES.de in Europe.

As part of this change in distribution, pricing for displays will be decreased on 5/20. Booster displays will be sold for $50USD/€50, and starter displayers will be sold for $35USD/€35. North American sales do not include sales tax, while European sales do include VAT.

Further, European customers can purchase a package of five booster displays for €225, and ten booster displays for €400. These packages can be a mix and match of displays.

If you have any questions, you can contact VTES Support at vtessupport@white-wolf.com.
Reference: News on White Wolf website

Friday, May 13, 2011

VtES History: Inquest Gamer picks VTES as all-time best multiplayer CCG

Atlanta, GA, January 30, 2004 -- InQuest Gamer, an industry-leading magazine, has named White Wolf’s Vampire: The Eternal Struggle as the best multiplayer collectible card game of all time.

The article, appearing in the March 2004 issue of InQuest Gamer (#107), examines all the top collectible card games based on their play in games with more than two players, examining (among others) the variety of viable strategies in multiplayer games and how much interaction went on between players. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle (or VTES) soared to the top of the list, eclipsing such well-known games as Lord of the Rings and Magic: The Gathering. "VTES combines the best of one-on-one play with multiplayer while remaining balanced," said InQuest, and paid special attention to importance of diplomacy and politics in the game. "The politics of the setting shine through in the CCG... Diplomacy isn’t just an aspect of VTES, it’s a necessity."

"Right after he designed the world's best dueling CCG in Magic: The Gathering, Richard Garfield designed the world's best multiplayer CCG in Vampire: The Eternal Struggle. CCG fans who haven't experienced real multiplayer CCG strategy owe it to themselves to pick up some Vampire starters and see why InQuest rated it number one," said Steve Wieck, White Wolf’s director of card development. L. Scott Johnson, line developer for VTES, added, "The game emphasizes making (and the threat of breaking) deals so that it doesn't feel like each player is just playing solitaire. But the predator/prey constraints and victory conditions ensure that the deal-making aspect doesn't overshadow deck building and card play."

Vampire: The Eternal Struggle is a collectible card game based on White Wolf’s award-winning roleplaying game, Vampire: The Masquerade. In VTES, players take on the roll of ancient vampires called Methuselahs who use a variety of vampiric agents (represented by cards) to act against one another. These actions (also represented by cards) can be aimed at physical resources, political influence or even social spheres. Unlike many other such card games, VTES is designed primarily for multiple players, and its official tournaments use that format (rather than the one-on-one duels more common in other games). First introduced in 1994, VTES celebrates its tenth anniversary this year and is going stronger than ever, with more organized play than ever before. VTES’s next set -- Vampire: The Eternal Struggle - Gehenna -- releases this May.

Vampire: The Eternal Struggle - Gehenna 36-pack booster display: WW02651; $99.00; Individual 11-card booster pack: $2.75 MSRP

More information about VTES is available at http://www.white-wolf.com/vtes/.

Since its entry into the roleplaying game market in 1991, White Wolf Publishing, Inc. has grown, maintaining an average market share of 26%. With collective book sales in excess of 5.5 million copies during this time, White Wolf is one of two undisputed worldwide publishing leaders for pen and paper roleplaying games. White Wolf properties have been licensed for television series, comic books, action figures, console and computer video games, coin-operated arcade games, professional wrestlers, replica props and weapons, interactive media events, and a myriad of merchandise. More information on White Wolf can be found at www.white-wolf.com.

InQuest Gamer is a publication of Wizard Entertainment, based in Congers, New York. launched in 1997, InQuest Gamer has proven to be the ultimate source for information about collectible card games, roleplaying games, and all fantasy gaming. More information on InQuest Gamer can be found at www.wizarduniverse.com.

Vampire and Vampire the Eternal Struggle are registered trademarks of White Wolf Publishing. Gehenna is a trademark of White Wolf Publishing. All rights reserved.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

White Wolf/CCP starts VtES Clearance Sales

As already being noted on the VEKN website or the VtES Usenet Newsgroup White Wolf/CCP has started a clearance sales for VtES products in their web store. The VtES items are discounted heavily, most of them a little more than 50% off the original price, for example, a Third Edition booster display with an official price of $107.64 is now sold for $49.99. Non-American customers should have in mind the rather huge shipping costs from the US (plus any taxes and/or custom fees). For example when buying three VtES booster displays the shipping cost to Germany is between $55 to $70 (depending on the actual package delivery service used) making the original offer much less attractive.

Bochum VtES League 2011: May 6th

Here are the decks of the Bochum VtES League 2011 from the meeting on May 6th, 2011 (the next prey is from top to bottom). This time we had some visitors from Gelsenkirchen, Thomas and Martin, and Martin was even so gracious to skip the first round, so we could play a five player table (and a second round).

Right: As one of the guest players, Thomas played a Speed Shamblers deck, but after he played his first Shambling Horde, it was immediately stolen by Ralf. This stopped Thomas cold since he suffered greatly from not getting another Shambling Hordes in his hand for a long time, but since he sat on large sack of pool, he was nowhere near being ousted. In mid-game he managed to land a sucker punch when his prey overextended and ousted Michael.



Right: Michael played a Huitzilopochtli Shatter the Gates deck with a very wallish approach. His game looked great, when he had equipped Aisling with a Bowl of Convergence and Martin Franckel with a Sniper Rifle, while Huitzilopochtli already had played two Shatter the Gates. But then he overextended a bit too much and tapped out (not counting Martin Franckel), when blocking the Malkavians (the only vampires at the table being able to do so) trying to remove one of the Shatter the Gates. In hindsight he should have let go that one Shatter the Gates and wait for the next ones to come into his hand.

Right: Sascha switched from playing his Malkavian G4/5 Dementation S&B deck to his Malkavian G1/2 Dominate S&B deck. What a difference .. while he sometimes struggles with the first deck, his Dominate deck went through the table like a hot knife through butter. Even though Ralf managed to put down effectively two of the vampires with a Spirit Marionette and an attacking Shambling Hordes, he managed to oust first Hardy and then Ralf and finally Thomas quite quickly.

Right: For the deck Hardy played you usually need a wide angle lens for the camera to capture all of his minions on a picture. He used a Toreador antitribu Black Hand Bleed/Vote deck, but suffered tremendously from the vote lock his predator (Sascha) had. He came somewhat back into the game, when first a Watchtower: Wolves Feed and a Palla Grande showed up, and later when he was able to pass a few votes when a Foundation Exhibit entered play. But he was not fast enough to oust his prey, or compensate the pool loss inflicted by the Dominate bleeds.

Right: Ralf played Spirit Marionette deck feat. Eurayle with some Anarch tech, but he simply forgot about the importance of that angle for his deck, and therefore didn't have an Anarch for most of the game. Ralf managed to steal a Shambling Horde very early in the game and to drain off blood both his prey and predator's minions via Spirit Marionette, but couldn't put enough pressure on his prey for most of the game in order to oust him.


Result: Sascha 1 GW 4 VP, Thomas 1 VP

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Poll Results: "What do you think of the Rapid Thought format?"

Here are the results of the latest poll if the readers of this blog think the Rapid Thought format for VtES. 104 readers of this blog have voted in this poll:
  • It looks fine for both tournaments and casual games. -- 16 (15%)
  • It seems ok for casual games. -- 9 (8%)
  • It's ok if you don't have 4+ players. -- 21 (20%)
  • I am willing to try it. -- 26 (25%)
  • I don't like the format at all. -- 20 (19%)
  • I don't care about it. -- 12 (11%)
There's no clear trend here yet. While there's a sizable minority (19%) opposed to the format, there's another sizable minority (25%) which has not made it mind up about the format, but is willing to try it ...

VtES Trifles (Part 2): Camille Devereux, the Raven

This is the story of how Camille Devereux, the Raven became to be ..

Once upon a time, in the first VtES base set (first named Jyhad in 1994) a Gangrel vampire named Camille Devereux was included. Unfortunately the artist had used a photo of the model Stephanie Seymour as reference for his painting (to say the least), but without having asked for the permission to use the photo as such. So in the re-release of the first base set in 1995, called Vampire: the Eternal Struggle, Camille Devereux was excluded. To fill the gap, the same artist made a new portrait and Wizards of the Coast (then publisher of VtES) released the Gangrel Raven who was identical to Camille Devereux except for the name.


Until the release of the 10th Anniversary Edition (in 2004), it was even legal to have both Raven and Camille Devereux in your crypt. With the 10th Anniversary Edition a third card was released with the same characteristics as Raven/Camille Devereux, but with the name Camille Devereux, The Raven, and a new rule was added that the three aforementioned vampires now are assumed to be identical. That is, from these point on the three vampires contest each other as if they were the same vampire.

Monday, May 9, 2011

Results Polish National VtES Championship 2011

Copied from http://www.sevenoaksart.co.uk/flags.htmOn May 7th, 2011 the Polish National VtES Championship 2010 was held in Gliwice, Poland with 38 players attending the tournament. The final standings after 3 rounds and the final were as follows:
1. Tomasz Kowalewski (POL) -- 3 GW 12 VP -- 1.5 VP -- Rachel Brandywine
2. Marcin Watras (POL) -- 3 GW 11 VP -- 0.5 VP -- Tupdogs
2. Andrzej Jagla (POL) -- 2 GW 9 VP -- 0.5 VP -- Lasombra w/ Nocturn
2. Radoslaw Staszewski (POL) -- 2 GW 6.5 VP -- 0.5 VP -- Nana Buruku
2. Michal Pietrzak (POL) -- 1 GW 7.5 VP -- 0 VP -- Toreador AAA
Congratulations to Tomasz for his win of the Polish Nationals 2011. You can find the final standings in the Polish VtES Forum. There's also a large number of very nice pictures taken during the tournament on Picasa.

Results Hungarian EC Qualifier 2011

Copied from http://www.sevenoaksart.co.uk/flags.htmOn May 7th, 2011 the VtES Hungarian EC Qualifier was held in Budapest, Hungary with 34 players attending the qualifier tournament. The final standings after 3 rounds and a final were as follows:
1. Szilveszter Miklos (HUN) -- 2 GW 6.5 VP -- 2.5 VP -- Imbued
2. Gyula Erdos (HUN) -- 1 GW 6 VP -- 1.5 VP -- Tzimisce Wall
2. Martin Major (HUN) -- 1 GW 5.5 VP -- 0 VP -- Weenie Dragon Breath Rounds
2. Peter Botos (HUN) -- 1 GW 5.5 VP -- 0 VP -- Nergal & Infernal Servitor
2. Peter Ducai (SVK) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 0 VP -- Midcap Obf/Dom Stealth Vote(?)
Congratulations to Szilveszter for his win of the Hungarian ECQ 2011. You can find a tournament report (including the final standings) written by Mephistopheles on the Hun Fragment blog.

Friday, May 6, 2011

VtES History: White Wolf Announces VTES - Bloodlines

White Wolf Announces Vampire: The Eternal Struggle - Bloodlines

ATLANTA, Ga. -- White Wolf announces the December 2001 release of Bloodlines for the Vampire: The Eternal Struggle card game. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle charted in the top ten card games in Comics & Games Retailer, April 2001.

"Bloodlines will follow [June 2001's] Final Nights and become the third expansion from White Wolf for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle," said White Wolf President Steve Wieck.

The Bloodlines expansion features over 120 original cards adding new powers and deckbuilding strategies to V:tES. It reveals vampires never before seen in a card game - including the popular Baali, Gargoyles and True Brujah..

Vampire: The Eternal Struggle fans throughout the world lauded the return of their favorite card game in October 2000 when Sabbat War marked the first release since 1996. Sabbat War has since sold through two entire print runs.

Look for Final Nights in stores now and Bloodlines in December 2001. Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Sabbat War is available in limited quantities through some distributors and retail outlets.

Memorable Quotes (Part 111)

"I was playing Basilia Multi-rush both days. I burned many minions over the weekend including 8 Malkavians, 2 Imbued and 3 Tupdogs, Gideon Fontain, Leandro and Arika." -- XZealot on his performance during NAC 2006.

"You've made the world a better place, Norm. Keep it up!" -- Salem's answer to XZealot's feat ..
Reference: VtES Usenet Newsgroup.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Announcement French EC Qualifier 2011 (North)

This year the French European Championship Qualifier (North) will take place (for the fifth time) during the LudicitĂ© game convention on May 28th, 2011. There's no entrance fee for the LudicitĂ© itself and that they sell food and drinks at the price of your choice. The VtES tournament itself has a registration fee of 5€. In parallel to the EC Qualifier a number of demo games will take place.
  • Date: Saturday, May 28, 2011
  • Place:
    La Petite Rockette,
    6 rue Saint-Maur
    Paris, 75011
  • Format: Standard Constructed, detailed rules can be found on the VEKN Tournament Rules webpage.
  • Number of rounds: 3 + final
  • Time limit per round: 2 hours
  • Time Table:
    • 14:00 - 14:20: Registration (note: the organizers will not wait for any latecomers (the organizers will decide if you may join in round 2)).
    • 14:30 - 16:30: Round 1
    • 16:45 - 18:45: Round 2
    • 19:00 - 21:00: Round 3
    • 21:15 - 23:15: Final Round
  • Registration Fee: 5 EUR
  • Pre-registration: On the VEKN France website
  • Public Transportation: The site can be reached via subway station Voltaire (line 9), Philippe Auguste (line 2) or PĂšre-Lachaise (line 2 or 3))
  • Remarks: The LudicitĂ© continues until 6 A.M., you may stay after the tournament if you want to play some extra games. However, the doors will close around midnight. Afterwards, if you leave, you may not be allowed to re-enter.

Deck of the Month: April 2011: Pancake Mix

This time the choice for Deck of the Month was somewhat tough, mostly because the selection from which to choose was not that filled with new creative deck ideas this month. Eventually my choice fell on another Assamite deck (see also last month's decisions), namely on the tournament winning deck "Pancake Mix" played by Izaak Havelaar (NED).

The deck is a run-of-the-mill Assamite Stealth Bleed deck, but with a strong Black Hand angle, mostly for untapping (using Tattoo Signal & Seraph's Second) and bloating (using Reunion Kamut). This allows the deck to bloat somewhat (and mostly ignoring its predator), while being able to go steadily forward at the same time.



Deck Name: Zoning Board: Pancake Mix
Author: Izaak Havelaar
Description:
Zoning Board
Arnhem, Netherlands
March 26th, 2010
3R+F
18 players

Ever since cards like Reunion Kamut and Art of Memory were printed, I have been wanting to build a deck with all these Black Hand toys. I recently traded for enough Seraph's Seconds to build a competitive Black Hand deck and try and get the most out of them. I experimented with !Tremere and Lasombra for a bit at first, before ending up with Assamites. Of course it should have been obvious all along Assamites are the best pick for such a deck, since they are the only clan that has two Seraphs in the same grouping and get five different Black Hand crypt cards in that same grouping.

This deck is a bloat/multiact deck at its core and, but with so many actions a turn, it allows you keep pressure on your prey while still bloating enough to survive even the most aggressive bleed predators. It's especially important to build up a solid ready region with at least a Seraph with a Tattoo Signal plus two other vampires before you start throwing multiple Losses a turn at your prey. Once the Watchtower comes into play even the most dedicated wall decks will have trouble blocking every critical action and you can oust everyone at your leisure.

Crypt (Capacity min=6 max=9 avg=7.83; 12 cards)
==================================================

3x Djuhah, The Bronze Bow 7 aus cel pre OBF QUI Assamite:5
4x Izhim abd Azrael 9 pot CEL OBF QUI THA Assamite:5
1x Joe Boot Hill 7 for obf CEL QUI Assamite:4
2x Nizzam al-Latif 9 dem ANI CEL OBF QUI Assamite:5
2x Reza Fatir, The Dark Angel 6 obf pro CEL QUI Assamite:4

Library (78 cards)
=====================

Master (21 cards)
3x Ashur Tablets
3x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Giant's Blood
4x Information Highway
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
5x Villein
2x Watchtower: The Wolves Feed
1x Wider View
1x Yoruba Shrine

Event (4 cards)
1x Blood Trade
1x Break the Code
1x Fourth Cycle, The
1x Thirst

Action (28 cards)
4x Haqim's Law: Leadership
2x Khabar: Glory
9x Loss
9x Reunion Kamut
4x Tattoo Signal

Equipment (1 cards)
1x Sargon Fragment, The

Action Modifier (20 cards)
4x Art of Memory, The
2x Deed the Heart's Desire
2x Elder Impersonation
3x Faceless Night
3x Lost in Crowds
6x Seraph's Second

Combo (4 cards)
2x Blood Awakening
2x Swallowed by the Night

Created with Secret Library v0.9.3. (May 5, 2011 00:33:37)

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Did you know, that ... (Part 61)

.. if a Lasombra puts Political Struggle on a vampire with the Priscus title who is subsequently burned or sent to torpor, the Lasombra gets 0 votes for this? The reason is simply that Prisci are generally considered to have 0 votes in regards to cards that depend on how many votes a vampire has; the Priscus has 1 vote in the Prisci sub-referendum only, and the Prisci block then votes in the main referendum.

Reference: VtES Usenet Newsgroup

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Rapid Thought Tournament Rules

Rapid Thought is alternative (unofficial) tournament format for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle. It was proposed by Scott L. Johnson and was introduced during GenCon 2002. Afterwards it was modified to the current revision by Kevin J. Mergen. Basically it follows the general VtES rules as well as the VEKN tournament rules, but has very few (yet significant) changes to the aforementioned general rules:
All V:EKN rules are in effect, see below.
  1. TOURNAMENT SETUP
    1. 3-player tables only, minimum 6 players
    2. 45 minutes per round

  2. SPECIAL RULES
    1. LIBRARY = 40-90 cards
    2. CRYPT = 6 cards minimum
    3. BANNED CARDS
      Vampire:
      • Una
      Minion:
      • Blood Doll
      • Minion Tap
      • Tribute to the Master
      • Vessel
      • Villein

      1. Burn Option for Banned Crypt Cards
        If any of the above crypt cards appear in a deck, then the player is not penalized; instead, remove the card from the game (do not redraw).
      2. Burn Option for Banned Library Cards
        If any of the above library cards appear in a deck, then the player is not penalized; instead, the card is treated as if it has the "burn-option" symbol.

    4. WATCH LIST
      Vampire:
      • Tupdog
      Minion: ALL pool-gaining votes
      • Gran Madre di Dio, Italy
      • Kindred Spirits
      • Reckless Agitation
      • Shared Nightmare
      • Taunt the Caged Beast
      • Voter Captivation
The watchlist (see above) is a list of cards which may be moved to the banned list if they prove to be problematic for the format. I have omitted the third and fourth paragraph of the rules (which deal with seating order and tournament point distribution) in this post since they are rather technical. For full reference of the Rapid Thought rules see Kevin Mergen's website.

The format is currently in discussion on VEKN.net.

Update: As result of the above-mentioned discussion, there's a revised version of the Rapid Thought rules. For specific points were changed:
Four things were changed:
  1. Rules for "found" Banned Crypt or Library cards' was updated.
  2. Ashur Tablets and Liquidation were added to the Watch List.
  3. Tournament Points were expanded, allowing for all possibilities.
  4. Pascal Bertrand was given credit for his help.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Results German EC Qualifier 2011

On April 30th, 2011 the VtES German EC Qualifier 2011 was held in Darmstadt, Germany with 21 players attending the qualifier tournament. The final standings after three rounds and the final were as follows:
1. Manuel Diehm (GER) -- 2 GW 7 VP -- 3 VP -- Euro Brujah
2. Erol Hammer (GER) -- 2 GW 9 VP -- 1 VP -- Malkavian Antritribu S&B w/ Black Hand Tech
2. Rudolf Garski (GER) -- 1 GW 5.5 VP -- 1 VP -- Ventrue Antitribu Grinder
2. Joscha DĂŒll (GER) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 0 VP -- Brujah G4/5 Alastor/Parity Shift
2. Alexander TĂŒschen (GER) -- 1 GW 4.5 VP -- 0 VP -- Toreador G4/5 Aching Beauty Bleed
Congratulations to Manuel for his win of the German ECQ 2011. Quite a feat in the third tournament in which he participated.