extrala

Mr. Rackham's Disruptions

2012-01-31T18:00:00.016+01:00

Many players still underestimate, how disruptive a Smiling Jack really is to their game and to the whole table. If you look at the cumulative blood/pool, you see how much more the player who doesn't control the Smiling Jack actually pays.Turn 1 - 0 pool -- 0 blood or poolTurn 2 - 1 pool -- 1 blood or poolTurn 3 - 2 pool -- 3 blood or poolTurn 4 - 3 pool -- 6 blood or poolTurn 5 - 4 pool -- 10

Cause & Effect: Episode 2.3

2012-01-30T21:00:00.000+01:00

The third episode (of the second season) of the VTES webshow Cause and Effect is now in its 2nd season and the second episode has been broadcasted live last Sunday (January 29th, 2012). The main topic of the discussion was a Lasombra Baltimore Purge deck, and how to improve it.

Did you know, that ... (Part 85)

2012-01-26T18:00:00.002+01:00

.. that once three Shatter the Gates are on a Baali, and the Shatter counters are distributed to the other players, these counters stay in the game (and making these players loose three pool each turn), even if the player played the Shatter the Gates is ousted? Unlike master cards (or any other card controlled by the ousted players), token or counters stay in the game, since they are controlled

Sins of our Ancestors

2012-01-25T18:00:00.001+01:00

Some cards in VtES have an interesting past, where their cardtext was changed significantly or sometimes cardtext changed multiple times. For example:Immortal Grapple (up to the Sabbat version) restricted strikes to hand strikes for the remainder of the combat, not only for the current round. Majesty didn't cost blood during prior (to Camarilla Edition).Pulled Fangs inflicted aggravated damage (

VtES Storyline 2012 Progress Update

2012-01-25T09:00:00.002+01:00

In an effort to improve communications, Eric Chiang (VEKN Storyline coordinator) has created a webpage to update the VtES community regarding a lot of the work he has been doing in preparation for the upcoming 2012 Storyline events and what still needs to be done. You can read about it on this newly created VtES Storyline 2012 page.Questions and/or concerns regarding storyline contents can be

VtES Rules: "Spying Mission" Q&A

2012-01-24T18:00:00.010+01:00

Some time ago we had (again) a question in our playgroup regarding Spying Mission, and therefore I checked the Usenet newsgroup for some answers and finally came up with the short "Questions and Answers" summary for the card. Most of the information is taken from the VtES Usenet Newsgroup "rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad".Question: Do I gain the Edge after playing Spying Mission at superior?Answer:

Cause & Effect: Episode 2.2

2012-01-24T08:00:00.003+01:00

The VTES webshow Cause and Effect is now in its 2nd season and the second episode has been broadcasted live last Sunday (January 22nd, 2012). Team Sweden discussed the advantages and disadvantages of Toreador antitribu decks. Among the deck discussed were Resurrection (by Alex Ek), Stolen Truth (by Jay Kristoff) and The Muppet Crusade (by John Bell). The Count Germaine challenge was dropped due

Backousting

2012-01-23T18:00:00.002+01:00

Results "Freezing Moon" VtES Tournament in Utrecht, Netherlands

2012-01-22T09:30:00.009+01:00

Here are the results of the "Freezing Moon" VtES constructed tournament in Utrecht, Netherlands on January 21st, 2012. With 16 players participating, these are the standings after 3 rounds and the finals:1. Jelmer W. -- 1 GW 4.5 VP -- 3 VP -- Ira Rivers & Friends Cel/Aus Wall2. Pieter H. -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 1 VP -- Followers of Set Bima feat. Anu2. Bart B. -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 1 VP -- Brujah G1/2 Midcap

Memorable Quotes (Part 134)

2012-01-19T18:00:00.002+01:00

"At gambling, the deadly sin is to mistake bad play for bad luck." -- Casino Royale (1953) by Ian Fleming.

Sufficiently Randomized

2012-01-18T20:00:00.001+01:00

Lately I was looking at card drawing probabilities (more on that sometime later), I was stumbling across a closely related topic, that is deck randomization. Looking at it more closely, it occurred to me how different deck randomization techniques (a.k.a. shuffling) are and the theory behind is not trivial (there are quite a number of articles on the topic available on the internet about it).This

Announcement German EC Qualifier 2012 (Flyer)

2012-01-18T15:00:00.001+01:00

See also the full announcement of the German VtES ECQ 2012.

Did you know, that ... (Part 85)

2012-01-17T18:00:00.003+01:00

.. the press to continue combat provided by Talbot's Chainsaw (in the first round) is a mandatory press. The cardtext omits "optional" as seen on most combat cards relating to maneuvers or presses, making the Talbot's Chainsaw's press a must.Reference: LSJ19990823

Information Highway: Binomial Coefficient

2012-01-16T18:00:00.010+01:00

Last time I was trying to explain hypergeometric distribution (describing probability of k successes in n draws from a finite population without replacement). Maybe that was bit too steep to start this series of mathematical topics, so I will take one step back and talk about combinations, and the binomial coefficient.In mathematics a combination is a way of selecting several things out of a

Announcement "Dork Side of the Boon III" in Mayence, Germany

2012-01-16T11:00:00.004+01:00

The VtES constructed tournament named "Dork Side of the Boon III" will be held in Mayence, Germany on February 11th, 2012. Details are as following:Date: February 11th, 2012Place: Orcish OutpostZanggasse 755116 MayenceFormat: VtES Constructed TournamentRounds: 2 rounds + final (2h each)Timetable:Registration: 10:30 -- 11:00Round 1: 11:00 - 13:00Round 2: 13:45 - 15:45Final: 16:00 to 18:00Entry

V:EKN Design Team announces the first draft of the new set

2012-01-15T01:00:00.002+01:00

Greetings from the V:EKN Design Team,The V:EKN Design Team is pleased to announce that the first draft of the new V:TES card set has been finalized.The set has been sent to the V:EKN Playtest Team for the first round of playtesting. Playtest groups from a wide cross-section of countries will participate. As was the case with White Wolf and CCP developed sets, the V:EKN anticipates at least three

V:TES Artwork Database Moves to V:EKN

2012-01-14T14:30:00.004+01:00

The V:EKN is pleased to announce that the V:TES Artwork Database has now officially moved to the www.vekn.net website. It can be found under the "Resources" menu or at this link: http://vekn.net/index.php/vtes-artwork-database.The V:TES Artwork Database celebrates the professional artwork of V:TES cards, which have contributed to the rich world and unique identity of V:TES over the past 18 years.

Memorable Quotes (Part 133)

2012-01-13T18:00:00.000+01:00

"After all, it doesn't matter how many cards you've drawn if you are dead." -- Steve Sadin in Card Advantage: A Brief OverviewAlso true in VtES.

Poll Results: "Deck of the Year 2011"

2012-01-12T12:00:00.002+01:00

After having presented twelve decks of the month in the past year, I have asked you to pick the Deck of the Year 2011. 124 votes have been cast in this poll.So the winner for the Deck of Year 2011 is Izaak Havelaar (NED) with his "Pancake Mix" deck. Congratulations to Izaak for building and winning with this original, yet efficient deck. Unfortunately for the winner, there is no actual prize

Cause & Effect: Episode 2.1

2012-01-11T10:00:00.000+01:00

The VTES webshow Cause and Effect is now in its 2nd season and the first episode has been broadcasted live this Tuesday (January 10th, 2012). The three Swedish players discussed Temporis (and some of its stronger cards) and two decks in particular, a True Brujah Temporis bleed deck and an Ian Forrestal Summon History deck. The count Germaine challenge that was issued in December is now due to

VtES Rules: "Inceptor" Q&A

2012-01-10T18:00:00.001+01:00

Some time ago I received from one of my co-players a questions regarding Inceptor, and therefore I checked the Usenet newsgroup for some answers and finally came up with the short "Questions and Answers" summary for the card. Most of the information is taken from the VtES Usenet Newsgroup "rec.games.trading-cards.jyhad".Question: Can a vampire with Inceptor (and three cards on him) play cards

RTFC

2012-01-09T20:00:00.000+01:00

Inspired by a similar custom card for MtG. No, this will not be a part of the upcoming PDF edition for VtES.

Bochum VtES League Rules 2012

2012-01-06T18:00:00.001+01:00

For our bi-weekly VtES league games (and league) in Bochum, Germany we use almost the same rules in 2012 as in 2011. The only significant change is the reduction of games required for the final ranking to six games (instead of eight).Bochum VtES League Rules

Proxy Cards

2012-01-06T10:30:00.001+01:00

On vekn.net there was a discussion (as part of a thread regarding the fan-made set for VtES in 2012), what a proxy card in a collectible card game actually is. Wikipedia has the following definition for proxy cards:A proxy card is an easily acquired or home-made substitute for a collectible card. A proxy is used when a collectible card game player does not own a card, and it would be impractical

Information Highway: Hypergeometric Distribution

2012-01-05T18:00:00.020+01:00

From a theoretical point of view one of the most interesting question in VtES is about card drawing probabilities. That is, how probable is it (for example) to draw one of our 2 Information Highways in our opening hand of 7 cards (and deck of 75 cards). The thing you need to answer this type of question is called a hypergeometric distribution (function).In probability theory and statistics, the

Memorable Quotes (Part 132)

2012-01-04T18:00:00.002+01:00

'Brian Moritz is such a good player. He even makes VPs when he's no longer at the table.' -- paraphrased statement from a Dutch VtES player commenting on Brian's awesomeness during the VtES EC 2011.Post Scriptum: In one of the tournaments the judges proclaimed a deal made at one of the deals illegal retroactively, awarding Brian a VP (after he was ousted) that way.

Announcement German EC Qualifier 2012

2012-01-04T10:00:00.002+01:00

This year the German VtES European Championship Qualifier will take place on April 14th 2012 in Darmstadt, Germany as the "The Grand Ball of Gwendolyn". Even though Darmstadt lies more or less in the middle of Germany (in fact, about 30 km south of Frankfurt) the organizers are looking forward to welcome some players from our European neighbors!The Location:"The Grand Ball of Gwendolyn" will

VtES European Championship Qualifiers 2012 (Update)

2012-01-04T09:30:00.001+01:00

Here's a list of the upcoming Continental Championship Qualifier events for VtES taking place in Europe in 2012:Danish ECQ -- March 10th/11th, 2012 -- Copenhagen, DenmarkSwedish ECQ -- April 7th, 2012 -- Gothenburg, Sweden German ECQ -- April 14th, 2012 -- Darmstadt, GermanyItalian ECQ -- 29th, 2012 -- xxx, Italy -- to be confirmedDutch ECQ -- September 15th, 2012 -- Utrecht, The Netherlands --

Reasonably Priced Decks: Lasombra

2012-01-03T18:00:00.004+01:00

The following deck based on the Lasombra clan is the third deck in the Reasonably Priced Decks series, which I have outlined in a previous blog post.The deck is in its essence a stealth bleed deck based on the Dominate and Obtenebration clan disciplines supported by a number by allies, i.e. a couple of Nocturns.Deck Name: Reasonably Priced Deck: LasombraAuthor: extralaDescription: The third in

Poll: Deck of the Year 2011

2012-01-02T18:00:00.002+01:00

After having presented twelve VtES decks of the month in the past year here's the poll for you to pick the Deck of the Year 2011 (see sidebar on the right). Please observe, that the initial choice of these decks were driven not by any wanna-be-objective-here motivation, but by my (likely flawed) preferences for originality of design.There is no actual prize support for this "award" other than

"White Wolf/CCP North America no longer owns any cards, sealed product or promo cards for V:TES"

2012-01-02T14:00:00.004+01:00

White Wolf/CCP North America no longer owns any cards, sealed product of promo cards for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle.Stone Mountain, GA – January 2, 2012 – Johannes Walch, Chairman of Vampire: Elder Kindred Network, has confirmed that White Wolf/CCP North America has no more Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Cards, sealed Displays or Promo cards in stock. The last remaining product was purchased by

"State of the V:EKN" 2012

2012-01-01T23:30:00.005+01:00

As posted on VEKN.net on January 1st, 2012:Fellow Methusalehs,First of all a happy new year 2012 to all of you. May you and your families be healthy and happy. I have decided to write this letter to close the information gap that has been correctly pointed out by members of the community. I will give you a summary of what has happened in the past year, an outlook on the year to come and I will

Back from the Grave: Minion Tap

2012-01-01T00:01:00.002+01:00

After the rule changes in the Rules Team Rulings from December 2nd, 2011, Minion Tap is actually playable again in VEKN sanctioned tournaments from now on.Hurray, Minion Tap is back ... oh, wait .. you're not talking about us?

Deck of the Month: December 2011: Shattering test Villein Perfectionist

2011-12-31T23:59:00.006+01:00

This month's deck is the tournament winning deck "Shattering test Villein Perfectionist" played by Vincent Ripoll (FRA). They were several other candidates for this month's choice, for example Stefan Karlsson's Gerald Windham Multirush deck or Johannes Walch's Chain of Command deck as well. In the end I liked Vincent's deck best, possibly because I saw it in action several times. The deck is

Results VtES League 2011 in Bochum

2011-12-30T18:00:00.002+01:00

Here are the final standings of the VtES League 2011 in Bochum, Germany. This year's winner after more than 20 matchdays is Ralf. Congratulations to him. The final standings were:1. Ralf L. -- 7,40 RtP/game -- 20 games -- 6 GW 25,0 VP2. Sascha M. -- 5,63 RtP/game -- 16 games -- 3 GW 16,5 VP3. Michael B. -- 3,60 RtP/game -- 20 games -- 2 GW 14,0 VP4. Hardy R. -- 1,65 RtP/game -- 17 games -- 0 GW

Results VtES League 2011 in Gelsenkirchen

2011-12-30T08:00:00.000+01:00

Here are the final standings of the VtES League 2011 in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. This year's winner after 39 league games is Zille, who snatched the victory from Kinner with the last league game (in which victory points were doubled).1. Sebastian Z. -- 9 GW 47 VP -- 37 Games -- 1,90 CP -- 8,92 RtP2. Sebastian R. -- 7 GW 28,5 VP -- 24 games -- 1,23 CP -- 8,31 RtP3. Ralf L. -- 4 GW 28 VP --

Memorable Quotes (Part 131)

2011-12-28T18:00:00.000+01:00

"Mr. Son of a bitch, let's play some cards!" -- Teddy KGB in Rounders (1998).

Poll Results: "Do you use card sleeves when playing VtES?"

2011-12-27T08:00:00.004+01:00

Here are the results of the latest poll if the readers of this blog use card sleeves in VtES games. 162 readers of this blog have voted in this poll:Always. -- 64% (104)Most of the time. -- 22% (27)Only in tournaments. -- 0% (1)Rarely. -- 7% (12)Never! -- 2% (4)I'm only a collector. -- 6% (10)Cowboy Jim. -- 2% (4)As you see the group which uses card sleeves rarely or never in a game of VtES is a

Chiropteran Marauder

2011-12-25T18:00:00.001+01:00

Chiropteran Marauder .. or not .. yet.

Dracula (1931)

2011-12-24T18:00:00.009+01:00

This is the original Dracula movie version from 1931 with Bela Lugosi as Dracula.There are two copies available on YouTube, but unfortunately embedding the movies is disabled, so above you see the trailer whereas the two links below lead to the full versions.Dracula (1931)Dracula (1931)

VtES History: Mastering Tournament Play

2011-12-22T18:00:00.003+01:00

This is an article way back from 1997 written by Robert Goudie around the time when the VEKN was founded (to be exact on December 15th, 1997). Originally appeared on the then official VEKN website, The Madness Network.IntroductionThis article endeavors to provide an edge to players who have already achieved a measure of proficiency playing VTES. Nothing written here will make an inferior

Did you know, that ... (Part 84)

2011-12-21T18:00:00.001+01:00

.. Mylan Horseed (Goblin) can actually untap not only your own vampires, but vampires from other players as well? The reason is simply, that the Mylan's cardtext does not restrict the controller (of the vampire being untapped) being the player who controls Mylan. It's just restricted by the capacity (8 or more) and not being Camarilla vampire. In fact, this is one of the "tricks" in a Spirit

Memorable Quotes (Part 130)

2011-12-20T18:00:00.003+01:00

"What turn is it?""Two Explores." -- Alex Bertoncini, MtG player, now banned by the DCI for 18 months.Reference: Alex Bertoncini at SCG Kansas CityMore context on the issue at hand:Unlocking the Cheats of SCG Player of the Year, Alex BertonciniThe Alex Bertoncini conspiracy

Cause & Effect: Episode 1.9

2011-12-19T08:30:00.005+01:00

The ninth episode of the VTES webshow Cause and Effect has been broadcasted live this Sunday (December 20th, 2011). The topic for the discussion were Ahrimanes decks in general as well as the use (and abuse) of Temptation of Greater Power.The next episode (and first for next year) of Cause & Effect will be hosted on January 10th, 2012.

RNN Special: Hidden Imbued Revealed

2011-12-16T18:00:00.002+01:00

One interesting thing I stumbled upon, is that three of the "hunter" allies, are actually Imbued according to the Vampire the Masquerade/Hunters Reckoning background material. These three are:Wendell "Crusader17" DelburtonJake "Bookworm55" WashingtonDr. Carlton "Doctor119" Van WykOn the both the (official) World of Darkness wiki and the unofficial White Wolf wiki information on these three mortal

Did you know, that ... (Part 83)

2011-12-15T18:00:00.001+01:00

.. you can play Eagle's Sight on superior when your predator (or any other player) is taking a (D) action against you. This works since the use of Eagle's Sight (by it's own cardtext) is not restricted to those situations where you're not an eligible blocker. This, of course, has no other effect than you cycling cards (when your predator is using 0-stealth actions, for example).

Going for the Win (Personal Report of the German Nationals 2011)

2011-12-15T01:00:00.007+01:00

Below you find an extensive tournament report of one of the finalists, Rudolf, of the German National VtES Championship which took place in Bad Nauheim, Germany on December 11th, 2011. Enjoy!Maybe three weeks before the start of the tournament, I decided to go for the highest goal: to win the German Championships (GC). Seconded by the great Swedish player Isak Esbjörnsson Bjärmark, I choose to

Results Hungarian National VtES Championship 2011

2011-12-14T14:00:00.014+01:00

On December 10th, 2011 the Hungarian National VtES Championship was held in Budapest, Hungary with 39 players attending the final tournament. The final standings were as follows:1. Balázs Sebestyén (HUN) -- 2 GW 7,5 VP -- 2 VP -- Omaya & Aus/Ani Weenie Wall2. Gyula Erdős (HUN) -- 2 GW 6 VP -- 2 VP -- Akunanse feat. Fakir al Sidi 15+ Wakes2. Slaven Karakas (CRO) -- 1 GW 6 VP - 1 VP -- Kiasyd

Cause & Effect: Episode 1.8

2011-12-14T08:00:00.003+01:00

The eighth episode of the VTES webshow Cause and Effect has been broadcasted live this Sunday (December 11th, 2011). The three Swedish hosts have chosen Mind Rape (and related decks) as their main topic this week. In addition the show features the first discussion and improvement of a deck in the deck clinic. The subject this time is a Dominate/Auspex/Thaumaturgy/Obfuscate Bleed deck named

VEKN Designer Diary (Part 1)

2011-12-13T23:00:00.003+01:00

After the official announcement that the VEKN and the design team in particular is working on a new fan expansion for VtES in late November 2011, now the VEKN design team has published the first part of their Designer's Diary (on December 13th, 2011). The first part explains the general background and motivation for the upcoming (yet still unnamed) VtES expansion.Read the full article on

Announcement Portuguese National Championship 2011

2011-12-13T21:00:00.001+01:00

The Portuguese VtES National Championship 2011 will take place in Lisbon, Portugal on December 18th, 2011. Here are the details for this constructed tournament:Rules/Format:Portuguese National Championship: 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

VtES Trifles (Part 5)

2011-12-13T18:00:00.001+01:00

The first three trading games developed by Richard Garfield and produced by Wizards of the Coast were Magic: the Gathering (1993), Vampire: the Eternal Struggle (1994) and Netrunner (1996). All of these were branded as part of the so-called "Deckmaster" series. But in fact, had little in common other than being trading card games and using the tapping cards (rotating cards by 90 degrees to

Results German National VtES Championship 2011

2011-12-12T12:00:00.005+01:00

On December 11th, 2011 the German National VtES Championship 2011 was held in Bad Nauheim, Germany with 25 players (from 3 countries) attending the final tournament. The final standings were as follows:1. Martin Schumacher (GER) -- 1 GW 4 VP -- 1.5 VP -- Tremere/Tremere Antitribu Triple B2. Erol Hammer (GER) -- 1 GW 4 VP -- 0.5 VP -- True Brujah Bleed2. Vincent Ripoll (FRA) -- 1 GW 4 VP -- 0.5 VP

VtES History: VtES Players Kit (2006)

2011-12-10T08:00:00.000+01:00

The VtES Player's Kit (product code: WW2257 / ISBN 1-58846-899-2) was an introductory set for VtES beginners, and was released at the same time as the Third Edition expansion in 2006. It contained basically the material needed for 4 players to start with VtES and was sold for $24.99 (list price). The player's kit contained a number of different items:Four 50-card introductory decks.A large

Announcement Danish National VtES Championship 2012

2011-12-09T08:00:00.004+01:00

The Danish National VtES Championship 2012 and the Danish European VtES Championship Qualifier will take place at the same weekend. The two tournaments are scheduled to take place in Copenhagen, Denmark on March 10th and 11th, 2012. Everyone, of course, is welcome to participate, and the organizers hope that as many players can make their way to Copenhagen as possible. For more information and

Did you know, that ... (Part 82)

2011-12-08T18:00:00.001+01:00

.. you are allowed to play a Cryptic Rider on an automatically passing referendum. So you can (for example) start playing a Dia de los Muertos first. Then you can call a vote, then play Cryptic Rider during that referendum making the next referendum successfully called passing automatically as well. And of course, you can repeat this until you run out of Cryptic Rider and political action cards (

Not a Victim of Night

2011-12-07T18:00:00.000+01:00

From the latest Magic: The Gathering expansion Innistrad:Victim of NightCost: BBType: InstantCardtext: Destroy target non-Vampire, non-Werewolf, non-Zombie creature.For use in VtES, I guess, most would agree to "what a waste of cardspace" .. ;) Although the quote on the card is kind of nice:"Do not touch a drop. Not yet. I want to watch this so-called slayer's last crisis of faith."

Announcement US National VtES Championship 2012

2011-12-07T08:00:00.003+01:00

The date and place for the US National VtES Championship 2012 have been announced. Next year the National VtES Championship will take place on September 2nd, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. The tournament is going to take place during DragonCon 2012, the largest multi-genre convention in the world with more than 45,000 attendants in 2011.United States National VtES Championship 2012Date: Sunday,

Deck of the Month feature in 2012

2011-12-06T19:00:00.001+01:00

As some of my dear readers may already have seen on the HunFragment blog, Mephistopheles has announced to start his own Deck of the Month feature in January 2012. Since I myself found it harder every month (in 2011) to find suitable candidates for the series, I have decided to make way for Mephistopheles and therefore I will not put up Decks of the Month (for at least next year). I just hope

Deck of the Month: November 2011: Toreador Powerbleed

2011-12-06T18:00:00.007+01:00

This month's deck is the tournament winning deck "Toreador Power Bleed" played by Aleksi Nuora. The deck name is a joke with regards to Andre LeRoux's special ability, because the deck is actually an Enkidu multi-rush deck. Since Enkidu's rush is often at zero stealth the use of Freak Drive (or Forced March) is not an option you can rely on when trying to multi-rush with Enkidu. So instead of

Cause & Effect: Episode 1.7

2011-12-06T08:00:00.003+01:00

The seventh episode of the VTES webshow Cause and Effect has been broadcasted live this Sunday (December 4th, 2011). The show had a guest this week in the person of Pascal Bertrand, the VEKN rules director. They talk about the latest Rules Team Rulings (2012-DEC-02) and about Pascal's tournament win (EC 2009 Last Chance Qualifier) with a Weenie Auspex deck (even though he denies that it is).The

Reasonably Priced Decks: Brujah antitribu

2011-12-05T18:00:00.002+01:00

The following deck based on the Brujah antitribu clan is the second deck in the Reasonably Priced Decks series, which I have outlined in a previous blog post.The deck is vote (& rush) deck based on the Kine Resources Contested and Conservative Agitation votes flavoured with some combat. Essentially it's a stripped down version of the Unexpected Coalition deck by David Wittmann.Deck Name:

Rage vs. Vampire

2011-12-04T13:00:00.003+01:00

As discussed on VEKN.net, a number of abnominations/vampires/werewolves have been printed both in VtES and in Rage (the card game based on Werewolf: The Apocalypse rolepaying game), which are Allonzo Montoya, Count Vladmir Rustovich, Samuel Haight, and Walks-With-Might.

Results "Bloodfeast II" VtES Tournament in Arnhem, Netherlands

2011-12-03T23:00:00.006+01:00

Here are the results of the "Bloodfeast II" VtES constructed tournament in Arnhem, Netherlands after 3 rounds and final. The tournament was played on December 3rd, 2011 with 18 players participating. Here are the standings after the final round:1. Martin S. (GER)-- 2 GW 4 VP -- 3 VP -- Tremere Midcap Triple-B ("Bruise/Bleed/Block")2. Thomas K. (NED) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 2 VP -- Ventrue Lawfirm G4/5

Rules Team Rulings: 02-Dec-2012

2011-12-02T17:00:00.003+01:00

Today (on December 2nd, 2011) the VEKN released the rules changes for the upcoming calendar year. All these changes are going to be effective from January 1st, 2012 onward. The most significant change are the cardtext change on Villein, which makes all of sudden Minion Tap playable again, and making VEKN issued cards tournament legal. The later preparing the release of the upcoming first VEKN

It's a Bird .. It's a Plane .. It's Windham

2011-11-30T18:00:00.001+01:00

As seen during the Day 1 tournament during the VtES EC 2011 in Warsaw, Poland:It's not an Una deck, but very similar using Gerald Windham instead. According to the player who fielded the deck, it needs about 30 to 35 minutes for the setup, then bleeds for 16. twice each round! One time on the player's own turn and then on another player's turn (using Enkil Cog).Post Scriptum: The Disarm on Gerald

Announcement "Ebony Kingdom Frankfurt" VtES Draft Tournament

2011-11-30T08:00:00.004+01:00

A special VtES draft tournament named "Ebony Kingdom Frankfurt" will be held in Frankfurt a.M., Germany on December 30th, 2011.Date: December 30st, 2011Place: Trianon HochhausMainzer Landstr. 16-2460325 Frankfurt am MainFormat: Non-Sanctioned Draft TournamentRounds: 2 rounds + final (each round 90 minutes only)TimetableRegistration: 18:00Draft: 18:00 to 19:00Round 1: 19:15 - 20:45Round 2: 20:45

VtES Tournament and Attendance Statistics

2011-11-29T18:00:00.003+01:00

After drnlmza had posted a statistics on VEKN.net (about a week ago) on the number played during the past years as well as the average number of players in a tournament for the past 4 years, I wanted to extend the statistics for the remaining years. Basis for the the following statistics is Lasombra's Tournament Winning Deck archive: 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Sum

EC Gamewin & Timeout Statistics (Update)

2011-11-28T22:30:00.001+01:00

As a marginal note: I have updated the EC Gamewin & Timeout Statistics post with the information from the missing First Chance Qualifier (Paris 2010). The data from the different tournaments is now even more resembling to each other! Quite astonishing, in my opinion.Many thanks to Pascal and especially Vincent for their efforts of getting hold of the EC FCQ 2011 Archon!

Cause & Effect: Episode 1.6

2011-11-28T18:00:00.006+01:00

The sixth episode of the VTES webshow Cause and Effect has been broadcasted live this Sunday (November 27th, 2011). Center of the discussion this time are Salubri decks (in general) with special emphasis on Spirit Marionette. In addition the three Swedish hosts talk about the recent timeout discussions after this year's European Championship and present the winner of last weeks Deck Challenge (

Reasonably Priced Decks: Tzimisce

2011-11-25T23:30:00.010+01:00

The following deck based on the Tzimisce clan is the first deck in the Reasonably Priced Decks series, which I have outlined in a previous blog post.In its core it's a plain, simple Bleed deck with some diversions in combat and intercept .. and the diversions are what makes your opponent guess how much combat and intercept you actually have in your deck. Which, of course, makes it difficult for

Reasonably Priced Decks

2011-11-24T18:00:00.006+01:00

After buying a rather large VtES collection (something about 14,000 cards) at the end of last year, I had (and still have) a large surplus of common and uncommon cards. So the question came up, what to with the cards.Throw away the cards. -- Ugh. Not really my thing to throw away something useful/valuable to others.Donate it to the local card pool. -- Maybe, but there's no local card pool, or

Did you know, that ... (Part 81)

2011-11-23T18:00:00.001+01:00

.. you can play Voter Captivation after having played a Freak Drive. The reason is they're both played after resolving the action. So you're free to order of playing the two cards.Reference: VtES Usenet Newsgroup [LSJ20060706]

Cause & Effect: EC 2011 Interviews

2011-11-22T20:30:00.001+01:00

The Cause and Effect team has made a couple of interviews with VtES players and VEKN officials and today they released the interview videos:Interview with Johannes Walch, Chairman of the VEKN.Interview with Pascal Bertrand, Rules Director of the VEKN.Interview with Tomasz Izydorczyk, Winner of the EC 2011 Legendary Vampire tournament.
Interview with Hugh Angseesing, this year UK National

Cause & Effect: Episode 1.5

2011-11-22T08:00:00.002+01:00

The fifth episode of the VTES webshow Cause and Effect has been broadcasted live this Sunday (November 21st, 2011). This time the three hosts from Sweden invited the new European VtES Champion, Otso Saariluoma (Finland) and discuss with him his deck, the events and the final round of the recent European Championship in particular.

EC Gamewin & Timeout Statistics

2011-11-21T14:00:00.009+01:00

Since I was asked about statistical data on past VtES European Championships, regarding the distribution of gamewins and timeouts, I dug up the Archons (ExcelSheets) from the ECs in Palma de Mallorca (2009), Paris (2010) and Warsaw (2011). After adding up the results from all the different tournaments (Legendary Vampire, Last Chance Qualifier, Day 1, Day 2 and First Chance Qualifier), the

Results UK National VtES Championship 2011

2011-11-21T08:00:00.007+01:00

The UK National VtES Championship 2011 has been played on November 19th, 2011 in London, UK with 24 players attending the tournament. The standings after 3 rounds and the final were as follows:1. Hugh Angseesing (UK) -- 4 GW 13.5 VP -- Toreador feat. Anson Tap & bleed2. Wlodek Chimiak (POL) -- 2 GW 9 VP -- Tzimisce prey punisher2. Kieran Carder (UK) -- 1 GW 6 VP -- Unre/Baron Fun2. Norbert Flasko

New Fan Based VtES Expansion in Development by the V:EKN

2011-11-20T23:30:00.001+01:00

During the VtES European Championship 2011, the chairman of the VEKN, Johannes Walch, made a brief announcement regarding an upcoming VtES expansion in 2012. Today on VEKN.net he gave more details on this upcoming expansion. In particular he stated:There will be a new, fan-made set created by the V:EKN. There is a development team within the V:EKN. Members may or may not disclose their membership

Results EC 2011: Silence Of Death

2011-11-20T15:30:00.001+01:00

Here are the results from the Silence of Death tournament that was played during the VtES European Championship 2011 on November 12th, 2011 in Warsaw, Poland. The format is somewhat different from the regular constructed VtES tournament insofar that table talk is not allowed at all. The only talking allowed is with regards to announcing actions, blocks, combat, etc. 30 players participated in

Bochum VtES League 2011: November 18th

2011-11-20T11:00:00.001+01:00

Here are the decks of the Bochum VtES League 2011 from the meeting on November 18th, 2011 (the next prey is from top to bottomRight: Initially it looked not too bad for Hardy. His New Brujah Vote/Combat deck had three princes out, but he had issues with both his predator and prey playing combat(ish) decks as well. More importantly he hadn't a suitable target for his Parity Shift, not wanting to

EC 2011 GW & Timeout Statistics

2011-11-17T20:00:00.002+01:00

The organizers of the EC 2011 (thanks Marcin!) were so kind to give me the Archon ExcelSheets containing the tournament results from the EC 2011. I have collected/aggregated the different game win types (i.e. gamewin with 5 VPs, 4 VPs, etc.) GW5 GW4 GW3 GW2 No GW SUMLV 1 1 3 5 5 15LCQ 8 23 28 8 20 87Day 1 5 17 23 12 18 75Day 2 0 3 6 5 10 24FCQ 4 7 23 9 28 71SUM 18 51 83 39 81 272AVERAGE 6,62%

Did you know, that ... (Part 80)

2011-11-16T13:00:00.001+01:00

.. that you can play Seduction on one of your own vampires. This has very little practical value, other than card cycling. But imagine a situation where one of your vampires (with Enkil Cog or Madness Network) is taking actions during your prey's turn and one of your vampires has a Temptation (from your prey) which could possibly switch control during the action and your vampire can be become a

Results EC 2011: European Championship (Day 2)

2011-11-14T08:30:00.005+01:00

Here are the results from the European Championship (Day 2) tournament that was played during the VtES European Championship 2011 on November 11th, 2011 in Warsaw, Poland. 40 players participated in this EC tournament, the standings after 3 rounds and the final were as follows:1. Otso Saariluoma (FIN) -- 1 GW 6 VP -- 1.5 VP -- Nana/Nanglia Were Ani/Pot Rush Combat2. Enrico Di Stefano (ITA) -- 2

Results EC 2011: First Chance Qualifier

2011-11-14T08:15:00.005+01:00

Here are the results from the First Chance Qualifier tournament that was played during the VtES European Championship 2011 on November 13th, 2011 in Warsaw, Poland. The tournament gives players the first opportunity to qualify for the European Championship tournaments for the next year. 118 players participated in this EC tournament, the standings after 3 rounds and the final were as follows:1.

Results EC 2011: European Championship (Day 1)

2011-11-14T08:00:00.006+01:00

Here are the results from the European Championship (Day 1) tournament that was played during the VtES European Championship 2011 on November 12th, 2011 in Warsaw, Poland. The tournament is played as a qualifier for the actual EC tournament on the next day. The top 40 players qualify for the next day's tournament. 133 players participated in this EC tournament, the standings after 3 rounds and

Results EC 2011: Last Chance Qualifier

2011-11-14T07:45:00.004+01:00

Here are the results from the Last Chance Qualifier tournament that was played during the VtES European Championship 2011 on November 11th, 2011 in Warsaw, Poland. The tournament gives the players a last opportunity to qualify for the European Championship tournaments on the followings days. 144(?) players participated in this EC tournament, the standings after 3 rounds and the final were as

Results EC 2011: Legendary Vampire Invitational

2011-11-14T07:30:00.005+01:00

Here are the results from the Legendary Vampire tournament that was played during the VtES European Championship 2011 on November 11th, 2011 in Warsaw, Poland. This was an invitational tournament, where 25 of the best VtES players in the world, fight for the victory. The standings after 3 rounds and the final were:1. Tomasz Izydorczyk (POL) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 3 VP -- Ahrimanes Wall2. Peter Botos (

On Shuffeling a Deck Properly

2011-11-10T18:00:00.000+01:00

Watch Tomoharu Saito, one of the most successful Magic: The Gathering players shuffle his deck:

Memorable Quotes (Part 129)

2011-11-09T18:00:00.001+01:00

"If a player has 0% change of getting a single VP (thus 0% chance of getting the GW), then he's free to go amok, and back-oust, oust, or self-oust. Or continue playing. -- Floppyzedolfin, VtES Head Rulesmonger.Reference: VEKN.net

Cause & Effect: Episode 1.4

2011-11-08T08:00:00.002+01:00

The fourth episode of the VTES webshow Cause and Effect has been broadcasted live on this Sunday (November 6th, 2011). The three hosts discussed their preparation efforts for the upcoming European VtES Championship in Warsaw, Poland as well as some typical decks likely to be encountered during the EC.

Did you know, that ... (Part 79)

2011-11-07T18:00:00.008+01:00

.. a vampire with Dominate still can play Obedience even when successfully rushed by another vampire using Deep Song. The key for this is timing. Obedience is played "when about to enter combat" (i.e. before the combat), while Deep Song's effect that the reacting player's minion becomes the acting minion is actually taking place in the combat. So just before combat while the reacting player's is

European Stealth

2011-11-04T18:00:00.002+01:00

European Stealth is a mocking term which describes a tactic/strategy in VtES. Essentially one uses not stealth (using Obfuscate or similar disciplines) to bypass blocking minions, but the use of cards like Pentex Subversion, Anarch Troublemaker or Misdirection. The term was coined by the American VtES player Matt Morgan in 2009 when describing (in exaggeration) the tendency that European players

Did you know, that ... (Part 78)

2011-11-03T18:00:00.013+01:00

.. that when playing Repulsion on a vampire, the stealth provided by the card is added immediately to the action, even though it might not the be needed at that point. The relevant point here is, that it's not the play of the card that grants the stealth (like Lost in Crowds etc.), but the card being on the vampire -- and nothing stops you putting it on the vampire (unless they already have one).

Results Norwegian National VtES Championship 2011

2011-11-03T08:00:00.001+01:00

On October 29th, 2011 the VtES Norwegian National VtES Championship was held in Oslo, Norway with 12 players attending the championship tournament. The final standings after 3 rounds and the final were as follows:1. Øyvind Monsen (NOR) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 1,5 VP -- Ventrue Princes2. Frode Løining (NOR) -- 1 GW 3 VP -- 1,5 VP -- Nakhthorheb bleed2. Joakim Peerson (NOR) -- 1 GW 6,5 VP -- 0,5 VP --

Deck of the Month: Oktober 2010: Unexpected Coalition

2011-11-02T18:00:00.000+01:00

This month's deck is the tournament winning deck "Unexpected Coalition" played by Soufiane Bouzouf and build by Noel Giménez Infante, both from Spain. The deck could well serve as template for a good Brujah antitribu deck which shows that this clan can be the base for viable tournament deck. This deck is a breed-and-boon deck using Creation Rites as bread-and-butter vampires and Unexpected

Results Spanish National VtES Championship 2011

2011-11-01T08:00:00.006+01:00

On October 30th, 2011 the Spanish National VtES Championship 2011 was held in Sevilla, Spain with 32 players attending the final tournament. The final standings after 3 rounds and the final were as follows:1. Noel Giménez Infante (ESP) -- 2 GW 7 VP -- 1,5 VP -- Akunanse Wall2. Alejandro Pascual Álvarez (ESP) -- 2 GW 9 VP -- 0.5 VP -- Tupdog Inceptor2. César Ruipérez Martínez (ESP) -- 2 GW 5,5 VP

Cause & Effect: Episode 1.3

2011-10-31T18:00:00.003+01:00

The third episode of the VTES webshow Cause and Effect has been broadcasted live on this Sunday (October 30th, 2011). This time the members of the Cause and Effect team discuss Lutz von Hohenzollern and decks based on him as well different aspects of Auspex-based bleed bounce cards.

Memorable Quotes (Part 2^7)

2011-10-31T10:30:00.001+01:00

"One man's crazy is another man's card text". -- LSJReference: VtES Usenet Newsgroup

Did you know, that ... (Part 77)

2011-10-28T18:00:00.003+02:00

.. if you control only one ready vampire, you cannot use the effect of Gurchon Hall at all? The card text of Gurchon Hall explicitly states, that you "may move 1 blood from the blood bank to each of the two oldest ready vampires you control", but since you only control one ready vampire you do not have the required two eligible targets for Gurchon Hall's effect.Reference: VtES Usenet Newsgroup.

Gelsenkirchen VtES League 2011: October 26th

2011-10-28T08:00:00.000+02:00

This time here's just the overview what happened during the weekly Gelsenkirchen VtES League meeting on October 26th, 2011.Thomas -- Obt/Cel Anarch Rush Gun Combat -- 0.5 VPZille -- EuroBrujah Pot Combat -- 0.5 VPMartin V. -- Ishtarri Wallish/Combatish -- 0.5 VPRalf -- Mata Hari Summon History Ally -- 0.5 VPMartin E. -- Neo-Brujah Vote -- 0.5 VPOverall the table had not enough forward motion (in