Explosives, paperwork and academic murder

Malifaux has been whispering to me for months.

Unfortunately, life (mundane, daylight, alarm-clock life) kept interfering. The friend who first pulled me through the Breach lives many hours away, which means our battles are rare and carefully planned like secret rituals. My local friend has also been busy, which left my crews gathering dust and giving me accusatory stares from the shelf.

So when James from the local club casually mentioned he might be getting a Malifaux crew, I felt two things at once: excitement… and responsibility. Because when someone steps through the Breach for the first time, you want their first experience to be magical, mysterious and just dangerous enough to make them want more. We need fresh souls in this hobby after all.

We scheduled a game to coincide with the long-awaited faction card release. And then, in true Malifaux fashion, the release was delayed. Again. I had preordered the Guild and Neverborn faction packs back in November, when January seemed certain. Since then, that date has moved more times than a Gremlin with sticky fingers.

With no physical cards in hand, I relied on the official app to track my crew. In hindsight, I should have printed the cards. Using the app felt a bit like trying to conduct a duel while reading the rulebook on your phone mid-swing. Functional, but not elegant. Lessons were learned.

On the day of the game, I arrived early at the club to prepare the battlefield. I laid out my western-themed terrain (the only set I currently own) wooden buildings, dusty streets and the gallows casting long shadows. In my mind, it was no longer MDF and paint, it was a frontier town on the edge of something unnatural.

Choosing a crew was its own dilemma.

My first instinct was to bring Dashel and the Guards. They've been my reliable enforcers for years. In third edition they were my pride and joy, and in fourth they've lost none of their bite. But that was precisely the problem. Bringing a crew I know inside and out against someone playing their first game felt… unfair.

Instead, I chose Lucius and the Elite.

Lucius, the silver-tongued schemer, master manipulator, surrounded by lawyers, investigators and professional liars. I adore the theme of this keyword. They don't just fight, they rearrange reality with paperwork and polite authority. I haven't played them much, so this was the perfect opportunity for them to leave the shelves.

James brought Transmortis, led by Von Schtook: the professor of unpleasant subjects, accompanied by his academic horrors. I had no idea how the crew worked. I didn't even read up on them. In Malifaux, ignorance is often the first step toward enlightenment or dismemberment.

Since this was James' first game, we opted for 30 soulstones instead of the usual 50. Fewer models. Fewer abilities. Slightly less cognitive chaos.

We flipped for strategy and deployment: Informants with Corner Deployment. James was the defender. I was the attacker.

Our schemes were Detonate Charges, Frame Job and Grave Robbing. I secretly chose Detonate Charges. Because if you're going to introduce someone to Malifaux, you might as well start with explosives.

The first turn was already thick with tension.

 

Lucius advanced toward the center like a man who owns the place, quietly directing Agent 44 and an Investigator to flank the enemy from opposite sides. Von Schtook and Anna Lovelace pushed up the middle, while Students drifted toward my flank like eager interns looking for credit.

Lucius used his authority to reposition enemies away from key areas, because why fight when you can simply tell people to stand somewhere less useful? A False Witness secured one Strategy Marker. A Guild Lawyer climbed onto the gallows to claim another. (There's something poetic about a lawyer on the gallows in Malifaux.)

The professor secured the marker closest to his deployment zone but couldn't quite lock down a second. End of turn: I scored the first point. I also managed to complete Detonate Charges, while James positioned carefully for turn two.

So far, so good. The town still stood.

Turn two escalated quickly.

An Undergraduate "finished his studies" and was upgraded into a Student of Viscera, killing a False Witness in the process. Apparently, graduation in Transmortis involves murder. Efficient curriculum. Agent 44 leapt into the fray, whispering blades doing what whispering blades do best, removing inconvenient people. My Guild Lawyer was challenged on the gallows and nearly paid the ultimate fee for his services.

I lost control of one Strategy Marker, but held onto two, securing another victory point. The board was shifting. The dust was settling in strange patterns.

Turn three became a whirlwind of ability exploration. We were checking triggers, reading cards, discovering interactions. It dawned on me that perhaps running a full strategy-and-schemes game for someone's very first Malifaux match might be ambitious, but James handled it remarkably well. The cognitive load was heavy, yet he stayed composed, asked smart questions, and adapted quickly. Transmortis proved dangerous, once Agent 44 was identified as a threat, he was removed with academic precision. The Undergraduates, with their upgrade flexibility, gave Von Schtook a toolkit for almost any situation.

Unfortunately, time ran out before we could begin turn four. The battle ended unfinished, but satisfying nonetheless.

My first impression of Transmortis? They hit hard, and they scale intelligently. Von Schtook doesn't just teach anatomy, he demonstrates it. More importantly, James played extremely well for a first game. Whether that's credit to him, to the elegance of fourth edition design or both, I'm not sure, but it was impressive.

Malifaux is strange, layered, and occasionally overwhelming. But when it works, it feels like stepping into a gothic western novel where every decision matters and every model has a secret.

The game never ends, only pauses. I'll see you at the next move.

Custodian Hargrave

Why not both? Punching and politics with Lasombra

I'm still not entirely sure which archetype I love the most. On some nights, I'm all about political decks: making grand speeches, pulling strings, passing laws that somehow only hurt everyone else and generally acting like the aristocrat at the table who absolutely deserves to win. I've played political decks with Ventrue and Toreador and I enjoy both. If Ventrue had something like Grand Ball, I'd probably never look back. Sadly, without a reliable way to crank up stealth, my blue bloods tend to get stopped at the door, asked for credentials and politely punched into torpor.

Then there are rush decks, which I also enjoy for entirely different reasons. There's something deeply satisfying about pointing at another vampire and saying, "You. Outside. Now." Rush decks go toe to toe with the table, beating vampires down until they're out of blood. My problem with them is practical: once you've removed all your prey's blockers, you often just… stand there. Menacingly. Punching people is fun, but it doesn't automatically win games. At some point, someone still needs to bleed.

That's when the pieces finally aligned. A clan that rules the table not just with words but with bruises.
Lasombra stepped out of the shadows. 

Before getting into mechanics, let's talk theme. Lasombra are cool in that "corporate takeover at midnight" kind of way. They don't just rule from thrones, they rule from boardrooms, shadows and places you didn't even realize were important. If Ventrue are the CEOs giving interviews, Lasombra are the ones quietly buying the company while you're still reading the press release. Their whole thing (control through darkness, intimidation and selective violence) fits perfectly with both politics and combat. They don't ask for permission, they don't explain themselves and when the lights go out, you suddenly realize you should have agreed with them earlier.

 

How to Rush with Lasombra?

Lasombra rush is as direct as it can be. The bread and butter is Umbrous Clutch, which lets you pick a minion and say, "We're fighting now." No small talk. No pleasantries. And then there's Dafina, who can do this without even needing a card. That's not a vampire but rather a standing appointment for violence.

Combat-wise, Lasombra are stacked. Potence gives them access to classics like Immortal Grapple, Torn Signpost and Roundhouse, the holy trinity of "this is going to hurt." After the fight, Taste of Vitae acts like the instant recovery snack of VTES: quick, effective, sweet.

Then there's Oblivion, which adds even more spice. Arms of Ahriman is particularly nasty, letting you either throw out an extra strike or dodge and still hit back. It's like having both a shield and a crowbar in the same hand. Blocking Lasombra actions is always risky, because the resulting combat often feels less like an exchange and more like a strongly worded lesson.

Once the blockers are gone, Dominate steps in and suddenly the bleeding starts. Hard. Turns out people are much worse at defending themselves when they're already face-down.

 

How to do politics with Lasombra?

While I enjoyed Lasombra rush, I had more success when I leaned into their shady nature. So when I think about political decks, I always boil it down to two questions.

First: can I make the action succeed?
That means stealth or block denial. Begging the table not to block your political action is technically an option, but in my experience it's about as reliable as promising to "just look" at one more card on VDB.

Lasombra do this well. Shadow Cast, Shadow Cloak and Where the Veil Thins all provide stealth at inferior, with tasty bonuses at superior. If stealth isn't enough, you can go the "don't even try" route with Stygian Shroud or Seduction. It's hard to block someone when your vampire is too intimidated (or too distracted) to care.

Second: do I have the votes?
Unless you've achieved vote lock (the political equivalent of flipping the table and declaring yourself the Senate), you'll need help. And this is where politics really shines. Deals get made. Promises get broken. Someone inevitably realizes too late that they argued themselves into a corner.

Lasombra politics feel especially good because the threat is always there. "You can vote against me," they seem to say, "but remember what happened to the last vampire who blocked my action." Thrilling, isn't it?

Getting votes can be tricky. Group 2 has cardinals (one of whom is affectionately nicknamed Potato, which is both hilarious and somehow accurate) but since my collection leans heavily toward Group 6, I usually work with what I've got. It's more negotiation, more table talk, more shadowy influence.

That feels exactly right for Lasombra.

In the end, Lasombra scratch a very specific itch. They let me play politics and/or apply pressure. They punish blockers, manipulate votes and operate with an ever-present aura of menace. They're the clan that doesn't just participate in the game, they loom over it. Which, now that I think about it, might explain why I keep coming back to them.

The game never ends, only pauses. I'll see you at the next move.

Custodian Hargrave

Cambridge, cards and blood magic

On Saturday I attended my very first VTES tournament and I can safely say this: it exceeded my expectations in every possible way. I went in excited, slightly nervous and armed with far too many internal monologues, but what I found was a room full of welcoming players, sharp gameplay, and exactly the kind of atmosphere that makes you fall in love with a game all over again.

This was my first real chance to meet and play with people who have been in the Eternal Struggle for a decade or more. I'd spoken online with some of them before (Antonio from Bedford, James from Norwich) but meeting in person felt different. Real tables, real cards, real political tension. I also managed to convince my friend Aaron to join me. He'd only played a single game before, but like me, he was drawn in by the artwork and the social side of VTES. Watching him jump straight into a tournament and genuinely have fun was a perfect reminder of why this community is so special.

We arrived just before the venue opened and immediately found ourselves chatting with other players outside, like vampires politely waiting for the doors of Elysium to open. Inside, James and David (our tournament organizers) had everything prepared. Food was ordered (eternal hunger addressed, very on-theme), registration sorted, and we waited to see which fates the seating algorithm would assign us.

From the moment I picked up VTES, I knew one thing for certain: my first tournament deck would be Tremere or Ventrue. These clans are home to me, structured, authoritative, scholarly… with Lasombra lurking temptingly close behind. In the end, playtesting convinced me that my Tremere were a bit more resilient, so my aristocratic Ventrue politicians were regretfully benched in favor of blood magic and defensive rigor.

Aaron took my Malkavian deck (yes, the one my wife loves killing me with), drawn in by stealth and bleed. Wisely spared from learning combat timing windows on his first tournament day. 

 

Round One: Baptism by Elder Fire

My first table had me seated as Player 1 with Tremere. James (our national coordinator) sat next to me with Banu Haqim, Aaron followed with the sneaky Malkavians, and Niki rounded things out with Giovanni.

I'd prepared diligently, Discord discussions, meta reading, theoretical matchups. I knew what my prey, the assassins, might try. I knew what the Malkavians would attempt. But my predator, the Giovanni? A mystery wrapped in necromancy. This made me… cautious. In hindsight, perhaps too cautious.

The game was balanced early on, but over time it became clear that this Tremere neonate was being outmaneuvered by two very experienced elders. Still, the table was fantastic. Rules explanations were given freely, mistakes corrected kindly, and the atmosphere never stopped being fun. Aaron's Malkavians fell first, followed by my Tremere, awarding victory points to the Banu Haqim and Giovanni. Eventually, James emerged victorious, claiming the table with well-earned authority. Excellent play all around.

 

Round Two: Politics, Panic, and Partial Glory

Somehow, the second game was even better.

David led with a Path of Death deck, Antonio followed with Path of Power, Manuel brought his ever-reliable assassins, and I took the fourth seat. The banter started immediately, before the first blood counter even moved. It was quickly established that my Spanish is good enough to ask for some water, but not good enough to survive VTES table talk, so we stuck to English. Problem solved.

This time, I made the classic neonate error: I got greedy. My crypt lineup was perfect, Govern did its job beautifully, and I pushed hard for a VP. I even managed to punch through David's zombies with some hefty bleeds. But momentum is a fickle thing, and eventually my deck ran out of steam. The table rebalanced, deals were made, hints were dropped, and I witnessed true table politics in action: subtle, elegant, and terrifying. After two hours, we all walked away with half a victory point. Special thanks to Hugh for helping me untangle a rules question mid-game.

Bonus Round: Out-of-Tournament Triumph

With only half a VP after two rounds, I didn't make the finals, but while the elders battled for ultimate supremacy, I was invited to play one more casual game. Obviously, I said yes.

This table was glorious chaos: Path of Death, Lasombra voting, Path of Caine, my Tremere, and a Toreador antitribu deck. The banter was nonstop, the mood light, and the plays bold. This time, things clicked. I ousted the Toreador antitribu first, gained precious pool, and suddenly the possibilities opened up. One by one, I managed to oust the Path of Death and the Lasombra as well. When time was called, I had three victory points, my best performance of my entire VTES carreer. I was thrilled, and I truly hope my tablemates had as much fun as I did.

Loot, Gifts, and Gratitude

The generosity didn't stop at gameplay. I was gifted staples by James, received a signed copy of Damian from Antonio, collected tournament promos, and (perhaps most exciting of all) this neonate is now the proud owner of a Carna.

More than anything, this event reinforced why I love this game and this community. Knowledge shared freely, competition without ego, and a welcoming atmosphere that makes even a first-time tournament player feel at home. 2026 has only just begun, but this was already the best event I've attended in a long while. The bar is set very high now.

 Finalists table (Niki winning the tournament):

Some other photos:

The game never ends, only pauses. I'll see you at the next move.

Custodian Hargrave

Winning decks without a time machine

In my previous post I already confessed my full-blown addiction to VDB, so if you also enjoy staring at tables of numbers and whispering "interesting…" to yourself at 11 p.m., this post is very much for you. I've only been playing VTES for about 4-5 months, so my insights will never rival those players who were around when Jyhad was still new and mysterious. Still, I'm convinced a fresh perspective can sometimes spot patterns others overlook, like a Ventrue neonate earnestly explaining cryptocurrency to elders who invented compound interest.

Lately I've been spending a lot of time browsing tournament-winning decks from 2025. Partly because I want to learn what actually works at high-level play, and partly because I'm always hunting for inspiration. You know the feeling: "Oh, that looks fun. I could absolutely build something like that". Then reality hits. Some of those decks rely heavily on crypt cards from older groups, and unless you've been hoarding cardboard since the late '90s, getting those cards as a neonate is… optimistic. For most of us, groups 5, 6, and 7 are the realistically accessible ones, with a few notable exceptions (looking at you, Stanislava Gangrel deck). Yes, you can always print cards that can solve this problem.

So I took a closer look. I gathered all decks that won tournaments in 2025, focused only on the 13+1 original VTM clans (no antitribu or bloodlines this time, tabletop preferences die hard), and counted how many wins each clan had. Then I filtered out any decks that used crypt cards from groups 1–4, leaving me with a ratio showing how often winning decks rely solely on G5–G7 vampires.

Here's what I found, with a bit of thematic commentary along the way:

Banu Haqim

The assassins claimed 16 tournament wins, and every single one used recent crypt cards. Efficient, modern, and entirely uninterested in nostalgia, exactly how you'd expect a clan of professional killers to operate.

Brujah

With 15 wins, and 14 of them using recent vampires, the Brujah prove once again that rebellion doesn't mean being stuck in the past. Turns out you can rage against the system and keep your card pool up to date.

Gangrel

The big surprise. 60 wins total, but only 34 with recent crypts. Gangrel clearly value their elders, so why evolve when your ancestors are still punching just fine?

Hecata

11 wins, all with recent vampires. Death, it seems, adapts quickly. Necromancers clearly understand the importance of keeping their paperwork (and their crypt) current. Necromancy being retired and having access to Oblivion also helps, I guess.

Lasombra

Out of 20 wins, 15 used recent vampires. The clan of shadows has embraced modern darkness, though they still keep one foot firmly planted in the past. Very on-brand.

Malkavian

18 wins, but only 9 with recent crypts. Half the time they're prophetic visionaries, half the time they're clinging to ancient lunacy. Exactly as planned. Probably. I don't know. Next!

Ministry

With 13 wins and 12 using recent vampires, the Ministry proves that faith-based manipulation benefits greatly from modern marketing.

Nosferatu

A tragic 5 wins, with only 2 using recent crypts. Apparently, living in the sewers makes it harder to upgrade your vampire lineup.

Ravnos

19 wins, 15 with recent vampires. The tricksters have clearly reinvented themselves, proof that survival sometimes means burning the old playbook and writing a new one.

Salubri

Only 4 wins, but all with recent vampires. Rare, refined, and future-facing. Also worth watching closely, especially with new blood on the horizon.

Toreador

A strong showing with 25 wins, 21 of them using recent crypts. Style may be eternal, but it clearly benefits from a modern refresh (the 30th edition deck does a lot of heavy lifting here).

Tremere

A painful 6 wins, and only 2 with recent vampires. Either the elders are still doing all the work, or the Warlocks are stubbornly clinging to the old grimoires. As a Tremere fan, I choose to believe it's all part of a very long-term plan.

Tzimisce

22 wins, 18 with recent vampires. Evolution is kind of their thing, so it's no surprise they've embraced newer crypts with enthusiasm. Having access to Protean also helps, I guess.

Ventrue

8 wins, split evenly between old and new crypts. The clan of kings clearly believes experience and tradition still matter, though perhaps a little modernization wouldn't hurt.

 

So to summarise: 

Banu Haqim, Hecata, and Salubri rely entirely on recent vampires.
Brujah, Ministry, Toreador, Tzimisce, Ravnos, and Lasombra use recent crypts at least 75% of the time.
Malkavian, Ventrue, Nosferatu, and Tremere lean heavily on vampires from lower groups, sometimes more than half the time.

Of course, a deck is more than just its crypt. This analysis doesn't touch library cards at all, and I can easily imagine older vampires pairing beautifully with newer tech, or the other way around. Still, if you're a new neonate looking to build something competitive without selling a kidney for out-of-print cards, this paints a hopeful picture. Banu Haqim, Hecata, Brujah, Ministry, Toreador, Ravnos, and likely Salubri very soon, all look like solid, accessible choices. That's a pretty healthy spread and plenty of room for experimentation.

The game never ends, only pauses. I'll see you at the next move.

Custodian Hargrave

Lost in the night: a tour of VTES content

If you're anything like me, discovering VTES content online starts innocently enough. One quick Google search. One simple question. And then suddenly it's midnight, you've got a dozen tabs open and you're wondering whether you really need sleep when there are still articles left unread.

In this post, I wanted to share some of the websites, blogs, and channels I stumbled upon during my own research journey. I'm genuinely grateful to everyone who spends their free time creating content for this game, writing articles, compiling data, recording videos, and generally keeping the Eternal Struggle alive on the internet. I just wish there were more of it. Always more!

Think of this as a travel journal written by a curious neonate, hopping from archive to archive, trying to absorb as much knowledge as possible without accidentally summoning a demon or blowing up the chantry.

The Obvious Beginning: VEKN

My journey began, as it probably does for most players, at vekn.net. I downloaded the rulebook to my phone and spent several evenings reading it like a forbidden manuscript, scrolling through sections and occasionally stopping to mutter, "Ah, that's how that works".

From there, I found the tournament reports and newsletters, which I still enjoy reading regularly. They're a great way to get a sense of what's happening in the wider community. Then something unexpectedly surreal happened: shortly after I started this blog, I opened the September newsletter and saw my humble little site mentioned, flagged as great VTES content. I stared at the screen like I'd just been acknowledged by a Prince. It was a fantastic feeling, and one I'm still grateful for.

VEKN also helpfully links to other VTES-related sites, so  this eager neonate clicked onward.

Black Chantry: Where the Future Lives

Next stop was the Black Chantry Productions website. I went through their articles like a scholar cramming before an exam, learning about promo cards, upcoming releases, and the general roadmap of the game. This was also where I learned an important lesson: not all previous sets can be purchased anymore. It makes sense, of course… but it still stings a little when you realize how many shiny things exist just out of reach.

That said, the site is incredibly useful, and yes, I ordered a few decks shortly afterward. Research requires funding.

Orpheus' Information Highway

Then I found Orpheus' Information Highway, and this one really resonated with me. I loved the way Orpheus ranks cards, explains synergies, and walks through deck ideas while keeping the atmosphere and lore of the game intact. It feels like VTES when you read it, not just math and mechanics. My favorite article there was about the Tremere New Blood cards (no surprises there) and I particularly appreciated seeing deck lists featuring my beloved Warlocks. I've been an eager follower of the blog ever since.

The Codex of the Damned

At this point, I wanted to deepen my understanding of the game beyond individual cards. That's when I discovered the Codex of the Damned, which felt like opening a long-sealed vault. Finally, a place that clearly explains strategies, archetypes and example decks in a structured, approachable way. For me, this site was a treasure trove, but my favorite section has to be the breakdown of best cards by discipline or action type. It's incredibly helpful when you're trying to understand why certain cards keep showing up and what roles they play across different decks.

Community Connections

Soon after joining the VTES Discord, Antonio reached out and helped connect me with players in my area, something I was genuinely thankful for. He also showed me the blog he was writing, Damian's Quest, which became another enjoyable stop on my journey through community content.

Not long after that, I stumbled upon Kraus' The Garou Rim Gazette. I really enjoy the articles there ( they're thoughtful and well-written)  and my only complaint is that I wish they appeared more often. Still, quality over quantity is a very respectable philosophy.

And then there's VDB. I've reached the stage where I can no longer pretend this is a casual relationship, I am fully addicted. I browse the tournament-winning deck archive the way others browse social media, look up individual cards "just for a second", and run increasingly specific searches while deckbuilding like I'm interrogating the database. I've even leaned on VDB as a research tool when writing articles about clan and card statistics. At this point, it's less a website and more a trusted companion. Whoever is maintaining this resource has my undying gratitude, my eternal loyalty, and a heartfelt thank you for enabling this obsession so efficiently.

YouTube: Seeing the Game in Motion

Thanks to the community content channel on Discord, I also discovered several YouTube channels focused on VTES. Watching games and discussions helped bridge the gap between theory and practice in a big way. A few favorites, in no particular order:

HeySteev: A fantastic archive of online games that really helped me understand pacing, table dynamics, and how decisions actually play out.

Waterdog’s: I love the vibe here. It's very clear these folks genuinely love the game and love talking about it, and that enthusiasm is contagious.

SuakuOZ: Insightful, thoughtful content. I'll admit they sometimes reference cards or combos I've never even heard of, but that just gives me more things to look up. Always interesting, always friendly.

Garagem do Nerd TV: A Spanish-speaking channel. My Spanish is… aspirational at best, so I rely on auto-dubs, which can get hilariously creative. If you speak Spanish, though, this one is definitely worth checking out.


This list is far from exhaustive, but it represents a big part of my own journey into the wider VTES community. If you're a fellow neonate looking for content to devour, I hope this helps. And if you know of blogs, channels, or resources I've missed, please let me know! The night is long, the library is vast, and there's always another forbidden tome waiting to be opened.

The game never ends, only pauses. I'll see you at the next move.

Custodian Hargrave

Star vampires, hard lessons, and two weeks to go

There are only two weeks left until my very first VTES tournament in Cambridge, and I have officially entered the emotional state of a child waiting for Christmas morning. I am very excited. I am also preparing like a Tremere apprentice who has just been told there will be an exam, a practical demonstration, and possibly a public execution if things go poorly.

Naturally, this means research. Lots of it. Reading, thinking, rethinking, and staring at decks like they might reveal secrets if I glare hard enough. Unfortunately, actual play opportunities have been a bit scarce lately, so I was genuinely thrilled when David (who also happens to be one of the tournament organizers, no pressure there) reached out and asked if I wanted to get a game in.
Of course I did!

So today I drove to Cambridge to meet up with David and Manuel, ready to put theory into practice.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about what deck I actually want to bring to the tournament. When I first started playing, I was very taken with the idea of a star vampire, you know, the big-cap powerhouse you include multiple times so something impressive is guaranteed to happen. For my Tremere deck, that role initially went to Ian Carfax, Justicar and undisputed winner of the Best Moustache in the Camarilla award. Karl Schrekt was also on the shortlist, but Ian had the edge.

In practice, though… Ian never really shined. Worse, I learned a painful but important lesson: some combat decks don't care how important your star vampire is. They will happily punch them straight into torpor in a single combat. And then you're left staring at the table, wondering how your entire strategy ended up face-down with zero blood and all of your dignity gone. So while I still love the idea of a star vampire, I've decided that in the current meta, I'd rather bench him and go wider instead of taller.

With that in mind, I made a few adjustments. The deck is still very much a wall/toolbox thing (I'll fully understand the difference one day, I'm sure), but now it leans more on numbers than on a single shining hero. Govern is still doing a lot of heavy lifting, some habits are hard to break. And I just love Dominate.

Manuel brought his ever-reliable Assamites, while David showed up with a Sabbat Path of Death deck, because nothing says "friendly practice game" like zombies. Since there were only three of us, we agreed that the first player to oust their prey would win.

Manuel wasted no time dropping Al-Ashrad onto the table as well as Smiling Jack, who then proceeded to sit there like an immortal biker mascot and slowly drain all joy and pool from the room. We tried. We really did. But Jack stayed. David, meanwhile, surprised me with zombies that hit far harder than I expected, plus Sakura, who kept unlocking after successful actions like she had somewhere better to be.

The game was tense from start to finish. Ousting opportunities appeared, vanished, and reappeared, usually stopped at the last possible moment by a well-timed wake card. All three decks felt evenly matched, which made every decision feel important and every mistake feel immediately educational. In the end, Manuel emerged victorious, well played, well deserved.

As always, I learned a lot. New card interactions, better sequencing, and one very important rules clarification, special thanks for finally explaining what "limited" actually means on a card. That one had been quietly mocking me for weeks.

In two weeks, I'll be sitting down at my first tournament. I'm excited. I'm nervous. I'm looking forward to meeting new players and getting more games in. And if I manage to secure a few victory points along the way? That'll just be the cherry on top of an already unforgettable experience.

The game never ends, only pauses. I'll see you at the next move.

Custodian Hargrave

From clan flavour to bloodshed: A first VTES lesson

Last Sunday I finally got to do one of my favorite things: introduce VTES to a new victim. Sorry, player. A friend of mine had never played before but was curious, and I was more than happy to guide him gently into the Eternal Struggle.

Before the game, I tried explaining the clans to see which one would grab his attention. In hindsight, this might not have been my brightest idea. Liking a clan's vibe doesn't always mean you'll enjoy its playstyle. Still, he gravitated toward the Banu Haqim, so a few days before game night I sat down to build him a deck. I'd never played them either, so I did what any responsible Methuselah would do: asked around and consulted the VDB for… inspiration. The goal was simple: make sure the deck actually worked and didn't immediately betray him.

When I told my wife about this, she had one request: "Can you please look at my Malkavian deck too?" Fair enough. The Clan of the Moon had been running on an unmodified V5 precon for far too long. So once again, I turned to my trusted accomplice, the VDB, and tried to improve those sneaky lunatics. I'm happy to report that I emerged from the process feeling moderately competent.

Then came my own dilemma. With Banu Haqim and Malkavians at the table, what should I play? My hand instinctively reached for the Tremere, but that meant more Blood Sorcery, and I wanted to show off political actions too. Ventrue? Toreador? Then it hit me! I had preordered the Sabbat Path of Power deck and had never played it. This felt like the perfect excuse to embrace the darkness.

Naturally, that led to another problem. Most of my collection is firmly Camarilla-focused. I have about as many Sabbat cards as I have reasons to trust them. The VDB wasn't much help either, one Path of Power example deck relied heavily on Aaradhya, running five copies. I had two. So I did the only thing left: mashed two precons together and hoped for the best.

The game itself was so much fun. My friend was my prey, my wife my predator, an arrangement that felt deeply symbolic. My friend quickly discovered how brutal the Banu Haqim combat module can be, especially when repeatedly topping up vampires with Hunger of Marduk. My wife, meanwhile, did what Malkavians do best: bled me for 5 or 6 like it was a casual suggestion. If only I'd owned an Archon Investigation, that would've taught her some manners.

 

After two hours, all three of us were still standing, so we pressed on. About half an hour later, I managed to oust my friend and claim a VP. We called the game there, though I'm fairly certain the Malkavians would have eaten me alive shortly after, handing my wife the win. A familiar ending.

Afterward, I reflected on the decks I'd built. They both worked well, but in hindsight, a combat deck might not be the best introduction for a new player. Combat in VTES is practically a game within the game, complete with its own timing windows, rules, and opportunities to say "wait, can I respond to that?" A stealth-bleed deck would've been a gentler on-ramp. Still, we all had fun. My friend wasn't discouraged by defeat and immediately suggested playing again. Who knows, in time he might turn out to be a competitive player after all. And if there's one thing vampires have plenty of, it's time.

As this was my last post of the year, it feels like a good moment to pause, take a step back, and appreciate how far this little journey has already gone. From first games and questionable deck choices to data dives and late-night theorycrafting, it's been a joy to write these thoughts down and share them. There's plenty more coming next year (more games, more experiments, and undoubtedly more mistakes) but for now, I'll let the cards rest. Thank you for reading, and I'll see you again after the calendar turns. Just remember, that the game never ends, only pauses!

Custodian Hargrave