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 

 

 

 

 

Resources for the Game, Revisited

Thanks to various V:TES Facebook pages, I've been able to take a look at a number of other blogs and websites dedicated to the game. Here are a few of the more interesting ones, in no particular order.

VTES ONE - managed by extrala, this blog has been one of the primary news sources for the game, posting reports on various tournaments, as well as news of new releases and products. It also has a number of posts on deck archetypes, which are helpful for those who need inspiration for building decks. It is, by far, one of the most comprehensive sources of news and information on the game.

Bindusara's Jyhad Diary - managed by Stu McLeod, the Diary provides, as it notes, "oral histories" of those who have worked on or played V:TES. Posting interviews with such luminaries as former rules master LSJ, among others, the Diary provides a colorful look at those who involve themselves in the Jyhad, from insights on the game to the manner by which they play.

Information Highway -  managed by a coterie of 3, the Highway provides interesting articles about the game, from reactions to changes in the game (Parity Shift!), to reviews of upcoming products, to deck-building strategies. All in all, it's a grab-bag of whatever interests the coterier the, and what they post is interesting, indeed.

The Secret Library - Before the Amaranth, there was the Library. Like Amaranth, the Library
 provides tools for building one's deck: the database, an inventory tool, and a deck-builder, all of which are online. I'm not too familiar with it, since my default program for VTES is the Fragment of Elder Library Deck Builder, but, for those who prefer to work online, both the Library and Amaranth provide the online means to explore the game.

And, that's all for now. For those who are looking for resources for the game, I hope you find these useful. As for my own writing, there are one or two posts I'm working on, and, hopefully, I'll be able to post them later this week.

Rising From Torpor

When V:TES went out of print eight years ago, it was a sad day for many of us who had enjoyed the game.

However, happily, players did not take the game's apparent demise sitting down. Despite the game going out of print, players from around the globe kept the game alive, and continued to hold tournaments, such as the Asian Continental Championships (ACC) and the European Championships (EC).
 
During the game's hiatus, the Vampire Elder Kindred Network (VEKN), the game's governing body, with the help of dedicated players, came out with several PDF card sets, wherein players could download the files, print them out, and, after sleeving them with valid VTES cards, players could use them in tournament play.

Then, during the EC tournament in Berlin in 2017, a 100-card anthology set, made up of popular cards, as well as cards from the PDF sets, was distributed to participants. This was a milestone, since it marked the first time new cards were printed ever since the game went down in 2010. What was even more exciting was that there were leftover anthology sets available, and players such as myself snapped them up.

Thanks to the efforts of Hugh Angseeing and others, the game came back in a big way last year with the formation of Black Chantry Productions, which now oversees the publication of the game. To start of the game's resurrection, the company came out with several reprint sets of the most recent expansions, Keepers of Tradition and Heirs to the Blood, followed by a new set for the bloodlines, Lost Kindred.

Then, late last year, it announced that it would be coming out with preconstructed decks, focusing on four clans of the Sabbat:

• Parliament of Shadows, featuring the Lasombra;
• Den of Fiends, featuring the Tzimisce;
• Libertine Ball, featuring the Toreador antitribu (!Tor), and
• Pact with the Nephandi, featuring the Tremere antitribu (!Tre).

The release of the deck lists caused some consternation among veteran players, because of the number of previously rare and expensive cards, such as The Embrace and Nephandus (Mage), in the decks. The fact that there are 9 Embraces in the !Tor deck, and 8 Nephandi in the !Tre deck is sure to bring the individual card prices of these cards way down.

Still, the major difference between the Black Chantry decks and previous "starter" decks is that the new decks are more playable out of the box. Unlike the older starter decks, which needed several (to many) cards to be added for them to be competitive, the new decks appear to have been designed to stand up and hold their own in standard play.

With the release of the new decks this month, and with the promise of deck designs for new players in the making from Black Chantry, it's an exciting time to come back to, or get into, Vampire: the Eternal Struggle.