314: A-Spire-ations

“This has never happened in 10 years of doing these awards”

-The winners of the 9th Annual Black Mark Awards are revealed! Except for one historic exception…

-A daring cap ship escape from deep nullsec

-Drama in Querious as Phoenix Coalition takes some big Ls vs OnlyFleets

-INIT and Imperium clash with Fraternity: how effective are the revamped carriers in big fleet combat?

-Contract Update: The Spire

-Dronelands Destruction: War rages across multiple regions with The Spire being a major flashpoint

-Noir. Militia community thriving on the edge of known space

How do we settle the Rookie of the Year tie?
  • Fight to the Death 55%, 16 votes
    16 votes 55%
    16 votes - 55% of all votes
  • Give award to both Aster and Paul 34%, 10 votes
    10 votes 34%
    10 votes - 34% of all votes
  • Runoff Election 10%, 3 votes
    3 votes 10%
    3 votes - 10% of all votes
Total Votes: 29
January 28, 2026 - February 8, 2026
Voting is closed

DON’T JUST LISTEN, LIVE IT! JOIN NOIR. TODAY!

313: Black Mark Awards 2025

Let the voting begin!

-A new lineup joins the show for 2026 with returning voices Jimer Lins and Aster Iris!

-The Dronelands “honeymoon” is over as multiple regional conflicts erupt all over the place

-2 Kills, 1 Tril: SNUFF with a massive W vs FRT

-The hosts break down the top categories and contenders for the 2026 Black Mark Awards

-Battle Report: Alek takes Vengeances into Red Alliance’s top mining system for a series of exciting engagements

BLACK MARK AWARDS VOTING IS LIVE! CAST YOUR BALLOT HERE

CSM20: Declarations of War Ballot

Drag and drop your way to glory at the CSM Voting Page! Not sure who to vote for? Here’s our picks for CSM20:

  1. youngpuke2: A hot take considering Shadow Cartel and Sedition are often at each other’s throat, but the truth is youngpuke has stepped up big time since running for CSM last year and has grown into one of the best CSM candidates lowsec, faction warfare, and the game in general, could hope for. He has organized very active player feedback channels around topics, written white papers and open letters while circulating them around and editing to build consensus, he even helped wrangle other CSMs’ schedule for our incumbent roundtable. He puts the work in the find common ground among players most affected by the issues of the day, helps build a specific but widely acceptable recommendation, and has proven effective at delivering that to CCP in a way they’ll listen to.
  2. Itaer: Speaking of getting CCP to sit down and listen to important changes that need to be made, few outside the CSM have done that. Itaer is one of them. His work on Skyhook raiding balance/re-balance was recent and singular, but Skyhook raiding has been the best new content CCP has added since the FW rework. It could serve as the model for helping to balance Metenox, make other sov and Citadel mechanics more interactive for small gangs, and more. Itaer knows this content model and what makes it great, and has already proven effective at influencing CCP.
  3. The Oz: “Won’t someone talk about the economy?!” Honestly if we don’t re-elect The Oz, probably not. He’s also won the Brisc Rubal Award for Best CSM Representative in convincing fashion. Detail oriented, extremely knowledgeable about the game and economics, and extremely accessible to players for feedback. The only reason Oz isn’t #2 on this list is because Itaer may need a bit more of your help to make it on as a first timer than Oz does as an incumbent. But we definitely need to send this man back to Iceland.
  4. Gideon Zendikar: Gideon is a bit of a Renaissance man, with elite small gang experience, small sov holder experience, large sov holder experience, and wormhole experience. He’s a roamer, a big fight fighter, and an alliance tournament veteran. And he’s got big, well thought out ideas for all of them to make EVE a more exciting and engaging place, even though it might mean some short term discomfort for the currently very comfortable (cough, Ansiblex enjoyers, cough). Power Projection KEEPS coming up in our conversations with everyone passionate enough to run for office, and very few have thought as long or hard about how to solve that as Gideon.
  5. Mick Fightmaster: What youngpuke has done for FW and lowsec space, Mick paved the way through his manner of organizing and doing outreach to wormhole space. He is an extremely proactive CSM and an accessible, effective advocate for a core EVE constituency. Again, only reason he’s lower on this is list is that hopefully WH space at large agrees and will already send him back with their full voting power behind him (and if you, WH player, are reading this put him in your #1 spot)
  6. ThePuce Moose: We need some fresh blood who understands the most important issues facing small/medium PVP groups with fresh ideas and perspective on how to come at them. Puce ticks that box for us and did extremely well in the Challenges Roundtable, where he demonstrated a calm yet confident communication style which will serve him (and us!) well on the council.
  7. Kshal Aideron: Another recent guest, Kshal isn’t just passionate about new players she is experienced and proven effective at building new player organizations that keep them around and engaged. New players and FC are the life bloods of EVE, and she is both. Her tag line this year is my favorite out of any candidate BY FAR: “Getting players to undock.”
  8. Mike Azariah: One of, possible THE?, most experienced CSM players in the game. Ironic considering he spends most of his time focused on new players. But the main reason he’s here is for the time he spends reporting out on the activity of the CSM to the player base on a regular basis. CCP may not get more value out of him that the names higher on this list, but players will.
  9. Janstina Urthadar: A first time candidate from Shadow Cartel, Jan has a very visceral understanding of some of the less visible or glamorous aspects of game design that other candidates are talking about but none the less hold us back from the EVE experience we all deserve. He’s also demonstrated he can hold his ground and maintain composure while going toe to toe with strong personalities and strong opinions.
  10. Dujek Oneeye: From a major nullsec alliance, he’s a very active and reliable CSM rep who collaborates well with everyone regardless of their backgrounds. If you add only one nullsec bloc aligned candidate to your ballot, make it Dujek.

Honorable Mentions: Rots Mijnwerker (if Gideon and Puce weren’t running he’d be in their spots) Drake Iddon (Pochven, very well thought of amongst other CSMs), Limited Liability (Marketing/EVE Growth)

No matter who you vote for, good hunting, citizens!

CSM20 Roundtable: Challengers

The fiery upstarts looking to bring new blood to the CSM! For this panel we are joined by:

-Itaer

-Gideon Zendikar

-Janstina Urthadar

-ThePuce Moose

Call outs are named, spice flows and/or projects, and cases made why these candidates deserve your vote.