A Belated ACC 2025 Account

Today, veteran players from Metro Manila are descending upon Calamba, Laguna, to participate in a local tournament, Pangil sa Pangil. Unfortunately, I am unable to attend due to stuff needed to do in the house, so I will try to catch up on V:TES stuff.

Last year, the Philippines hosted the Asian Continental Championships (ACC), and it was held in Whimsy Cafe last September 6, 2025. About 40 players, with three coming from Japan and one from Taiwan, participated, making it one of the largest numbers of players in the region. After three rounds and a finals table, local player Micon Garcia won it using a weenie-Computer Hacking deck, which basically blazed its way through to the finals.  

As luck would have it, there were a number of similarities between Micon's deck and the deck I used in the ACC, as both of us relied on weenies and Computer Hacking. However, in my case, I opted for a little more combat flavor, as well as a slight sprinkling of Dominate. 

I focused on using group 2-3 vampires with a capacity of 1-2. To bring them out, I had cards such as Effective Management, Powerbase Montreal and Information Highway to facilitate their coming into play. 

For the pool management, I included Tribute to the Master and Autarkis Persecution; the latter would always be a gamble, since I didn't have votes to push it, and instead relied on the need of the players' on the table for pool. 

For the forward movement, I added an Anarch aspect, with Anarch Revolt and Constant Revolution available to put some pressure on players. I also added Antedeluvian Awakening for the same purpose. Naturally, Computer Hackings were readily available, with some Camera Phones for the extra bleed push.  

Since I had a number of vampires with basic dominate, I also included some Deflections just in case an opportunity came to bounce a bleed. 

Of course, I added a combat module consisting of .44 Magnums and Wooden Stakes, with Concealed Weapons, Fake Outs and Lucky Blow all included to put some hurt, as well as the occasional torpor of an opposing vampire.  

When I look at the deck list, I realize what a toolboxy deck it was. It had some bleed, and some combat, and relied on sheer numbers to overwhelm the opposition. While it wasn't as single-minded as Micon's deck, which I believe focused solely on bleeding opponents out, the Ewoks deck was fun to play. (decklist below) 

The deck worked relatively well, especially when opposing players were not ready to deal with so many minions in play. I was fortunate that I didn't encounter Aranthebes, the Immortal, which would nerf the bleed of my minions, or had to face a referendum of Ancilla Empowerment/Anarchist Uprising, which would have knocked me out. In the end, I had a GW, and around 7-9 VPs, which landed me in 9th place. Not enough to make it to the finals, but respectable.

All in all, last year's ACC was fun, as I got to play against a lot of different players, which made me think hard and plan ahead on how to best use my deck. This year, the ACC will be in Japan, so I will likely participate in the local CACC (Cannot ACC) tournament. 

The ACC 2025 field. Image from the Philippine VTES Community feed. 

Deck Name: The Ewoks 1.1
Author: greyet

Crypt (22 cards, min=4 max=8 avg=1.73)
======================================
1x Almiro Suarez                     2 aus          Tre:3
1x Arnold Simpson                    2 pot          Bru:3
1x Boy Toy                           2 dem          !Mal:2
1x Carter                            2 cel          !Tor:2
1x Christine Boscacci                2 dom vic      Pan:2
1x Doris McMillon                    2 val          !Sal: 2
1x Jesús Alcalá                      2 cel          !Gan: 3
1x Kanya Akhtar                      2 cel          BanH:2
1x Krid                              2 obf          Nos:3
1x Marciana Giovanni, Investigator   2 dom          Gio:2
1x Mustafa Rahman                    2 dom          Tre:2
1x New Blood                         2 san          BBro:ANY
1x Ohanna                            2 dom          Mal:2
1x Samson                            2 dom          !Ven:2
1x Sasha Miklos                      2 chi          Rav:2
1x Zip                               2 ani          Rav:3
2x Anarch Convert                    1              Cai:ANY
1x Huang, Blood Cultist              1 pro          Pan:2
1x March Halcyon                     1 for          Pan:2
1x Royce                             1 dom          Pan:2
1x Sandra White                      1              Cai:3

Library (90 cards)
==================
Master (27)
------------
6x Anarch Revolt
1x Antediluvian Awakening
1x Archon Investigation
6x Effective Management
2x Information Highway
1x KRCG News Radio
2x Parthenon, The
1x Powerbase: Montreal
1x Seattle Committee
4x Tribute to the Master
2x Twilight Camp

Action (14)
------------
12x Computer Hacking
2x Constant Revolution

Political Action (4)
---------------------
4x Autarkis Persecution

Equipment (14)
---------------
5x .44 Magnum
4x Camera Phone
5x Wooden Stake

Reaction (6)
-------------
4x Deflection
2x Delaying Tactics

Combat (25)
------------
10x Concealed Weapon
5x Fake Out
8x Lucky Blow
2x Target Vitals

 

 

Rising Out of Torpor 2026

I didn't realize it's been almost three years since my last post. So much has happened in the game since then. 

V5 Expanded

When the 5th edition of the role-playing game (RPG), also known as V5, Black Chantry Productions (BCP), which publishes the card game made major changes to the cards. In particular, BCP tried to streamline the game to make it easier for new players to jump in. 

In doing this, clans such as the Ravnos, Tzimisce, Lasombra, the Followers of Set (now known as the Ministry), the Assamites (now known as the Banu Haqim) and the Salubri had their unique Disciplines (Chimerstry, Vicissitude, et al) removed and replaced with the more standard Disciplines (Click here for the summary of changes.). To keep the unique flavor of the affected clans, clan-specific Discipline cards, such as the Hunger of Marduk (specific to the Banu Haqim) were introduced. 

At the same time, the number of the clans' default sects were changed, with the introduction of more Anarchs. The Ravnos, the Tzimisce, and the Ministry all joined with the Brujah and Gangrel, while the Lasombra and the Banu Haqim joined the Camarilla, although a number of the Lasombra remain independent. Also, along with the Pander, the Caitiff are now considered a unique clan. 

Meanwhile, for the Lasombra and the Giovanni, along with those clans and bloodlines using Necromancy, a new Discipline, called Oblivion, was introduced. This replaces Obtenebration and Necromancy, and retains the flavor of both Disciplines. In addition, the Giovanni, along with related bloodlines such as the Nagaraja, the Samedi, and the Harbingers of Skulls, were reorganized under a new clan called the Hecata. 

One sect, though, remained undeveloped until recently. In V5, the Sabbat are largely absent, being involved in the Gehenna War that is ongoing in the Middle East. Recently, BCP released new Sabbat starter decks, and introduced a new mechanic, the Paths, which, in the game, are alternate moral guidelines to illustrate the inhumanity of the Sabbat vampires. So far, four Paths have been introduced: Caine, Cathari, Death and the Soul, and the Power and Inner Voice. Each Path has a specific focus; for example, the vampires of the Path of Caine are combat oriented. 

The Path decks also introduce two-way cards, wherein a vampire can use the card if it possesses either Discipline on the card. This is because the Path crypts are made up of vampires from different clans; the antitribu label will no longer be used in V5. However, one can still use antitribu decks alongside the Path, as a vampire can burn a blood during the influence phase in order to follow a Path. Given the potency of some of the Path cards, this is a welcome mechanism for those who are loath to give up their antitribu decks.  

BCP has released two types of sets for each of the clans: a starter deck, and a New Blood set that helps expand the starter; the Sabbat will receive its New Blood sets in the future. The starter decks, though, are playable right out of the box, so new players can jump right into a game with a minimum of expense.  

The release of new decks and cards has reinvigorated the local scene, with several play areas emerging from the darkness. From Laguna to Metro Manila to Iloilo, the game has proliferated and come alive. 

The Tournament Scene

With the release of V5, along with the end of the pandemic, the local tournament scene is lively and vibrant, with several set tournaments happening every month or year. 

For example,

V5 only - Introduced by the play group in Hobbies and Sheets Play Center in Makati, this is a monthly tournament wherein players bring decks composed of V5-legal cards only. This makes it easier for new players to get into the tournament scene as they don't need to know the long legacy of the card game in order to do well. I haven't played in these tournaments because my own knowledge of V5 is still a little shaky; I haven't played many V5-type decks, and I'm not sure if I can play cards from older sets that are V5-legal, for one. 

Basagan ng Bungo (BnB) - formerly known as the King of Combat tournament, the tournament is a celebration of the birthday of the Prince of Quezon City, Richard Barnett, the King of Combat. In addition to the regular victory conditions, BnB includes a new mechanism: players get points for torporing and burning vampire and minions. The player with the most kill points at the end of the bloodbath is crowned the King of Combat.

Philippine Nationals - This is the annual national tournament, where players from all over the country compete for the national crown. This year's national was held in June, but I was unable to attend because of personal reasons. This year, Dr. Roy Caamud won the national title with his Anarch Barons deck.  

Cannot ACC (CACC) - Another innovation by Prince Barnett, the CACC is organized for those players who are unable to go abroad to compete in the Asian Continental Championship (ACC). Last year, there was no CACC, because the Philippines was the host of the ACC, so a lot of local players managed to compete. This year, the ACC will be held in Tokyo, so there will definitely be a CACC this year. 

And that should cover the last three years in a nutshell. Moving forward, I hope to write a regular post at least twice a month; my desired schedule would be once a week. 

Also, please note that I am not an expert in the game, only an enthusiast, so if I post deck concepts and other musings here that aren't quite kosher, let me know so I can correct myself and improve. 

Here's to the game that I have enjoyed and loved for more than two decades. Let the bleeding begin once more. :D