Kindred Lore: Order of Saint Blaise

Originally the Order of St. Blaise was founded in Armenia in the 12th century and takes its name from Saint Blaise, patron of the kingdom. St. Blaise was a christian martyr (he died in 316 AD), and has been venerated as the patron of those who suffer from throat diseases (beginning in the 8th century). The order was divided into a religious branch, who were charged with the holy offices and missionary work among the unbelievers, and a military branch, who defended the country against the attacks of the Muslims. Following the teachings of St. Basil, the order rendered great services for the christian cause for about a century. The order disappeared when Armenia was conquered by the Turks.

In the 14th century, during the time of the Black Death, the Church established a group of 14 saints known as Fourteen Holy Helpers, one of them St. Blaise, in order to provide consolation for the general population. Blessing of the throat by using a pair of crossed candles for protection from throat diseases was introduced during this time, and it became common pratice to being blessed that way on St. Blaise's feast day, February 3rd.

A group of Sabbat vampires active in the Church at that time, found it rather ironic to use feed from those blessed by St. Blaise. These Kindred re-formed the Order of St. Blaise in order to gain influence in the Roman Catholic Church. They did this not only by manipulating Church officials and resources, but also by "good works" on community level. This was (and is) rather unusual, since the Sabbat is not known for providing support for Kine in general. So the Order of St. Blaise is opening soup kitchens and other charity organizations, which are well received by the general population. Especially in the cities which are prone to high crime rates and an ailing economy under Sabbat rule.

Announcement Asian Continental VtES Championship 2012

Details for the Asian Continental VtES Championship 2012 have been disclosed. The event will take place in Tokyo, Japan on September 22nd, 2012. Details for the tournament are as follows:

• Location:
  

  Itabashi Greenhall
  板橋区役所 グリーンホール
  36-1 Sakaecho,
  Itabashi, Tokyo (map)

• Format:
  
  • VtES Constructed tournament


• Rounds:
  
  • 3 rounds (2 hours) + final (2.5 hours)


• Time Table (tentative):
  

  9:00 -- Start Registration
  10:00 -- Start 1st Round
  01:00 -- Start 2nd Round
  03:30 -- Start 3rd Round
  06:00 -- Start Final

  All times are based on local time in Tokyo, Japan (UTC+9)

You can find the original announcement on Blood & Power Inc. (a VtES blog from Singapore).

North American VtES Championship 2012 about to start

While the traditional Week of Nightmare is going on since this Monday, the actual North American VtES Continental Championship 2012 starts tomorrow in Columbus, Ohio. The championship tournaments take place as part of the Origins convention, which began today and has it end on June 3rd.
The schedule for the NAC 2012 looks like this:

• Thursday, May 31st
  
  • Last Chance Qualifier
  • Storyline Event "March of the Ghouls"
• Friday, June 1st
  
  • NAC Day 1 (qualification)
  • Shadow Twin (for non-qualified players)
• Saturday, June 2nd
  
  • NAC Day 2 (championship)
  • Shadow Twin (for non-qualified players)
• Sunday, June 3rd
  
  • First Chance Qualifier

You can find the full calendar (with the detailed time table & round information) on Lasombra's NAC 2012 webpages

Results Russian National VtES Championship 2012

On May 26th, 2012 the Russian National VtES Championship 2012 was held in Moscow, Russia with 15 players attending the final tournament. The final standings after 3 rounds and the final were as follows:

1. Grigory Cherbakov (RUS) -- 1 GW 4 VP -- Lutz Vote
2. Sergey Lapshin (RUS) -- 2 GW 7 VP -- Kiasyd Stealth Bleed
2. Alexey Fomin (RUS) -- 1 GW 8 VP -- Weenie Dominate
2. Eugene Bushmakin (RUS) -- 1 GW 6 VP -- Kiasyd Stealth Bleed
2. Armen Khachikyan (RUS) -- 1 GW 4,5 VP -- Euro-Brujah

Congratulations to Grigory for his win of the Russian Nationals 2012. A short tournament report and the tournament winning deck have been posted on the VEKN website.

Cause & Effect: Episode 3.5

The fifth episode (of the third season) of the VTES webshow Cause and Effect has been broadcasted live this Sunday (May 27th, 2012). Anders, Adam and Isak discuss a wide variety of decks using Maris Streck as its star vampire.

Did you know, that ... (Part 93)

... that Constanza Vinti is burned after a successful Justicar Retribution only if her prey controls a ready Ventrue? The general ruling for Justicar Retribution is, that a successful referendum burns vampires who would bleed for 3 or more if they declared a default bleed action at this moment.
During a lengthy discussion on VEKN.net, the VEKN rules director gave the following examples which vampires are affected (i.e. are burned) when a successful referendum of Justicar Retribution has been called.

• Lucian the Perfect would burn.
• Leandro would burn.
• François Villon with a Laptop Computer would burn, since using equipment is mandatory.
• Nikolaus Vermeulen with a Legendary Vampire would burn.
• Smudge with Robert Carter would burn, since using retainers is mandatory.
• Alexis Sorokin with a Week of Nightmares in play would burn only if her prey controls a ready Toreador.
• Queen Anne would burn only if the prey controls a ready Tremere.
• Constanza Vinti would burn only if her prey controls a ready Ventrue.

One the other hand the following vampires wouldn't be burned:

• Little Taylor of Prague with a Camera Phone would not burn, since he's not obliged to use the Camera Phone as bleed action.
• Stick with a Codex of the Edenic Groundskeepers and all his prey's minions tapped, doesn't burn, since he's not obliged to use the equipment as bleed action.
• Esau won't burn, since there's always the chance that the second +1 bleed modifier wouldn't trigger.

One of the more obscure examples include vampires which can't actually bleed at a given moment.

• Arika with a Pentex Subversion will burn (see [LSJ 20100527]).
• Rabbat with a Legendary Vampire will burn (see [LSJ 20100527]).

Reference:

• VEKN.net

Memorable Quotes (Part 143)

"VTES really is a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors-Lizard-Spock." -- KevinM (American VtES Player).

Results Dutch National VtES Championship 2012

On May 26th, 2012 the VtES Dutch National Championship 2012 was held in Utrecht, Netherlands with 24 players from 4 countries attending the tournament. The final standings after 3 rounds and the finals were as follows:

1. Izaak Havelaar (NED) -- 2 GW 8 VP -- 4 VP -- Followers of Set Spell of Life
2. Paul Wiggers (NED) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 1 VP -- Ventrue Antitribu Grinder
2. Emiliano Imeroni (ITA) -- 2 GW 7.5 VP -- 0 VP -- Tremere antitribu Nephandus
2. Martin Schumacher (GER) -- 2 GW 7 VP -- 0 VP -- Black Hand Reunion Kamut
2. Peter Bouwman (NED) -- 1 GW 5 VP -- 0 VP -- Kiasyd Stealth Bleed

Congratulations to Izaak for his win of the Dutch Nationals 2012. You can also find the winner's decklist and his tournament report in the Dutch VtES forum.

Kindred Lore: Island of Yiaros

During the second half of the 20th century, the Ventrue Anushin-Rawan bought the Greek island Nisos Yiaros, which is located in the Aegean Sea. At first intended as personal safe haven, she eventually made it into an Elysium for her fellow Kindred, particularly her Camarilla brethren. The island can only be visited by invitation safely, otherwise one risks destruction by mortal and undead guardsmen.

The estate Anushin-Rawan created, consists not only a giant manor, but also a Greek temple, Roman thermal baths and a nymphaeum. All of this and the peace of the Elysium allow Kindred to rest and shake off prolonged weariness. It is rumored, that not long ago Anushin-Rawan has offered the Camarilla Inner Circle members to hold the gatherings on Yiaros, but apparently the Inner Circle have not (yet) made up their minds upon the invitation. If they followed her invitation one day, this would greatly boost Anushin-Rawan's already impressive reputation.

Reference: The Anarch State.

Game Shift

Game Shift
Political Action
Worth one vote.
Requires a titled Sabbat vampire.
Name two library cards in any player's ashheap. Successful referendum means that the first card costs one less blood or pool (but never less than 0) and that the second card costs one more blood (minion card) or pool (master card) to play.
Only one Game Shift can be played during a game.

"The Metagame always shifts" -- vtesocrates (American VtES Player).

Retaining and Regaining Life for Allies

One important aspect when playing an ally deck in VtES is, how can you keep them alive, either by preventing damage or by gaining life. For a vampire that's quite an easy task. First of all there's hunting, but there also a large of number of cards that provide blood directly (e.g. Hunting Grounds, Taste of Vitae, Theft of Vitae, etc.) or indirectly (e.g. Blood Doll, Vessel, ..) Furthermore a large number of vampires have access to damage prevention cards (Fortitude, Thaumaturgy, etc.). The options for allies on the other hand are rather limited in comparison, and a lot them is build on their special abilities.

• Active Life Regeneration by Allies
• Ossian gains life in combat for each damage successfully inflicted.
• Amam the Devourer gains a life if he burns a vampire in combat or by diablerie.
• Gregory Winter, Impundulu and Succubus can steal life/blood from other minions. Unfortunately for him, Gregory Winter also looses one life in his controller's untap phase.
• A Nephandus gains one life when diablerizing a vampire, Gregory Winter even two life.
• The Ananasi Vampirephile can take an action to regain a life.

Results English EC Qualifier 2012

On May 12th, 2012 the English VtES EC Qualifier 2011 was held in Burton-on-Trent, England with 23 players attending the qualifier tournament. The final standings after 3 rounds and the final were as follows:

1. Hugh Angseesing (UK) -- 2 GW 6.5 VP -- 5 VP -- Anson/Anneke/Pander Cel Gun
2. Norbert Flasko (HUN) -- 2 GW 7 VP -- 0 VP -- Nergal Turbo
2. John Best (UK) -- 2 GW 6 VP -- 0 VP -- Tryphosa/Maris Streck Bleed
2. Matthew Baker (UK) -- 2 GW 5 VP -- 0 VP -- Giovanni Shambling Hordes
2. Arthur de Lustrac (FRA) -- 1 GW 6 VP -- 0 VP -- Lasombra Nocturns

Congratulations to Hugh for his win of the English ECQ 2012. The full standings and the tournament winning deck can be found in the English VtES Forum.