This is a short announcement about two cards. A full announcement about Vampire: The Eternal Struggle cards and rules on the watchlist will be published towards the end of the year. No changes are expected for cards that are currently banned.
Life Boon The card Life Boon joins the watchlist.
Why? This card is very 1994 with its design as it breaks one of the fundamental rules of the game, the Predator-Prey relationship. It has similarities with Kindred Restructure and Dramatic Upheaval.
What next? The card is under watch and the Design and Rules teams will continue listening to feedback on Life Boon. An update in this matter is expected in May 2026.
Veil of Darkness The card Veil of Darkness joins the watchlist and is expected to be banned from organised play.
Why? The card provides a limited effect, and it is problematic to handle at the table with a large amount of rollback issues on tables despite its limited use. It was created based on the old Gehenna End Times storyline, so it is difficult to change in the current storyline.
What next? The card will not be banned before May 2026. The Design and Rules teams will continue listening to feedback, but it is not expected that any errata would be viable for Veil of Darkness.
The official Vampire: Elder Kindred Network Tournament Rules for Vampire: The Eternal Struggle has been updated. These are the major changes:
– Change of governing organisation from White Wolf inc to Black Chantry Productions limited.
– Clarification on when releases are legal (Section 2.1 Event Knowledge Responsibilities).
– Changes to the multi-deck system (Section 3.1.5 Multi-Deck System).
– Reminder when proxy cards are allowed and that custom cards are not allowed unless representing token cards (Section 4.5 Proxy Cards).
– Introduction of the V5 constructed format (Section 6.4).
Version updated 21th September 2025, effective immediately.
Illustration: Art by Michele Bertilorenzi for Soulgrinder, a brand new card in the upcoming Path of Caine Sabbat preconstructed deck, in stores October 25. For a peek at the actual card and the full deck list, check out the Path of Caine page at Blackchantry.com.
It has now been five years since the release of the Vampire: The Eternal Struggle Fifth Edition (“V5”) boxed set. After that, Black Chantry Productions have made 28 products that players have come to recognise as “V5” products, i.e. non-Legacy products.
The V5 format is intended to serve the needs of new player groups and local game shops who don’t have access to the full range of Vampire: The Eternal Struggle cards spanning over 30 years of sets. Many of these cards are not available in game shops or have yet to be made available through our print-on-demand partners.
The V5 format is intended as an alternate option and will not replace the Standard Constructed format. The Standard Constructed format will remain the format used for major VEKN-sanctioned tournaments, including Continental Championships, National Championships, and Grand Prix tournaments.
The V5 format includes all cards found in the following:
Other releases (3 packs): Fall of London Shadows of Berlin 30th Anniversary
In addition, the following promotional cards not yet printed in other products are also included: Aching Beauty (Promo pack 3 – Icons) Bolesław Gutowski (Promo pack 4 – Rebels) Conquer the Beast (Promo pack 4 – Rebels) Depravity (Promo pack 4 – Rebels) Fiorenza Savona (Promo pack 3 – Icons) Gabriel Tremblay (Promo pack 4 – Rebels) Gilbert Duane G6 (Promo pack 3 – Icons) Island of Yiaros (Promo pack 3 – Icons) Jake Washington (Promo pack 4 – Rebels) Karl Schrekt (Promo pack 3 – Icons) Maila (Promo pack 4 – Rebels) Malkavian Rider Clause (Promo pack 3 – Icons) Mind of the Wilds (Promo pack 4 – Rebels) Nosferatu Bestial (Promo pack 3 – Icons) Okulos (Promo pack 3 – Icons) Tegyrius, Vizier (Promo pack 4 – Rebels) The Meddling of Semsith (Promo pack 4 – Rebels) Tremere Convocation (Promo pack 3 – Icons) Victoria Ash G7 (Promo pack 3 – Icons)
New releases that will be added upon their release date: Sabbat Fifth Edition preconstructed decks (26th October 2025): Path of Caine Path of Cathari Path of the Dead and the Soul Path of the Power and the Inner Voice
New Blood packs (Release date to be confirmed): Ravnos Salubri Tzimisce
Clarifications Any Vampire. The Eternal Struggle legal print version of the above cards is legal e.g.: – A Latin Govern the Unaligned from Malkavian Fifth Edition New Blood – legal – Govern the Unaligned from 1994 Jyhad base set – legal
For an easy way to check on what cards are in what products, try vdb.im.
The official VEKN tournament calendar tool has been adjusted – just pick “V5 Constructed” if you run a V5 format event.
Don´t forget: At the European Championship 2025 in Aarhus, Denmark, there will be a V5 tournament on Friday October 17!
The full, illustrated rulebook of Vampire: The Eternal Struggle is now available for free PDF download in the following languages at blackchantry.com > utilities > rulebook:
The translation to Brazilian Portuguese is by Fernando “Sydnelson” Cesar with Alexandre Marçal, Kleber Bertazzo, Marcelo Oliveira and Wiliam Fonseca Lino. BIG thanks to you guys!
Effective immediately for pre-release tournament play. Effective date for normal tournament play to be determined.
NEW RULES The Sabbat do not identify themselves with or align themselves as clans. Instead, they identify first and foremost as vampires, second as Sabbat, and then with a Path of Enlightenment (“Path” for short). Each new Sabbat vampire follows a Path, indicated in their card text. The four Sabbat Paths are as follows: – Path of Caine – Path of Cathari – Path of Death and the Soul – Path of Power and the Inner Voice
A vampire can only follow one Path. If a vampire follows a new Path, they no longer follow their old Path but follow the new Path instead. A vampire must be Sabbat to receive the benefits of the above Paths. If a Sabbat vampire following a Sabbat Path changes their sect, they lose the benefit of the Path until they change their sect back to Sabbat.
During your influence phase, each of your Sabbat vampires not following a Path can burn 1 blood to follow a Sabbat Path from the above list.
Following a Path does not change a vampire’s clan, nor does it prevent that vampire from meeting the requirements for their clan’s cards. A Sabbat vampire of a given clan is not a member of the antitribu clan. For example: – A Sabbat Ventrue can play cards requiring Ventrue, just like Camarilla Ventrue and Anarch Ventrue. – A Sabbat Ventrue cannot play cards requiring Ventrue antitribu.
NEW TERMS Stun: lock a minion and put a stun counter on them. A minion with one or more stun counters does not unlock as normal at the beginning of their controller’s unlock phase; during that unlock phase, burn all stun counters they had at the beginning of the turn. Queue a combat: set up a future combat during the resolution of an action. – If a combat is queued during another combat, the queued combat will start after the current combat ends. – If a combat is queued before action resolution, the queued combat will start after resolving the action, but still as part of the action resolution: — if the action is blocked, the queued combat will start after the block resolution, that is after the combat resulting from the block ends (if any) — if the action is successful, the queued combat will start after the effects of the action have taken place. Combats always occur during the action resolution. It is not possible to queue a combat after the action resolution, and it is not possible to queue more than one combat.
ERRATA Cardinal Benediction: Now prevents non-Sabbat vampires from casting votes and ballots (instead of affecting only Camarilla vampires). Mind Numb: Now stuns the minion (see NEW TERMS). Private Audience: Now costs no blood (instead of 1 blood). Rutor’s Hand: Now enters play locked and requires to lock the card to unlock (similar to Clotho’s Gift, to make it easier to track whether it has been used or not). Wall Street Night, Financial Newspaper: The card is now locked when the minion attempts the action to move counters (instead of earlier during the minion phase).
CLARIFICATION Catatonic Fear: The damage is explicitly inflicted by the vampire.
DEVELOPER NOTES Given that the Sabbat Kindred in Fifth Edition Vampire: The Masquerade do not identify with clans, we will no longer be developing the antitribu clans in Vampire: The Eternal Struggle. Instead, new Sabbat vampires will be of the standard clans with the Sabbat sect and their Path listed in their card text. They keep their clan affiliation on their crypt cards as it’s still relevant for cards like The Embrace, Consanguineous Boon, and for “clan hoser” cards – the blood is still the blood. They will be able to play cards requiring those clans (and not those of the antitribu clans), but we will not be creating clan-specific cards that require the Sabbat sect.
Existing vampires of the antitribu clans (Brujah antitribu, Ventrue antitribu, etc.) remain as they are and do not have their clans changed.
The Sabbat-specific titles – Bishop, Archbishop, Cardinal, Priscus, and Regent – remain as normal.
The Black Hand and Seraphs are no longer separate entities in Fifth Edition Vampire: The Masquerade and are merely nicknames for the Sabbat. They won’t receive further development in Vampire: The Eternal Struggle. The existing cards for the Black Hand and Seraphs will remain unaffected and still legal for tournament play.
The existing cards Path of the Scorched Heart, Path of Tears, and Path of the Void already have a Path keyword and mention that a vampire can only have one Path. We’ll be doing updated versions of those cards, and we’ll list those Paths in the “Legacy” section of the Vampire: The Eternal Struggle rulebook. These Paths will not require the Sabbat sect. There are no plans for further developing them beyond that.
Other existing cards with “Path” in their names, such as Path of Bone, Path of Night, Path of the Feral Heart, and Path of Evil Revelations do not cause vampires to follow a Path. They simply function according to their card text as usual.
