The candidate list for the 21st Council of Stellar Management is out. On 6 October Fenris Creations announced that 54 candidates have qualified, which opens a campaign season that runs until 21 October, with voting from 22 October to 3 November. On top of that, the Crimson Harvest event went live the same day, with a few details that weren't in the preview.
CSM 21 timeline
6 October: candidate list announced
6–21 October: campaign period
17 and 18 October, from 14:00 UTC: short candidate interviews live on FC TV (https://twitch.tv/fenriscreations), posted to YouTube afterwards
22 October – 3 November: voting
Every candidate has a thread in the official forum campaign section: https://forums.eveonline.com/c/council-of-stellar-management/csm-campaigns/71
The announcement doesn't give a results date; it only says campaigning continues until voting ends on 3 November.
Who is on the ballot
Going by the corporation and alliance listed next to each name, here is how the field breaks down (our own count from the official table):
Goonswarm Federation: 8 candidates (Adhamhnon, Ceema, hyprviper1, Mercilessguard, Reagalan, Sopleb, Taran Lazarus, Zintage Enaka)
The Initiative.: 8 candidates (HuntBuzz, Joilove Sunrunner, Nordpol The Extinguisher, Nyx 0, Pandoralica, Schadsquatch, sennett, Seraph Essael)
Test Alliance Please Ignore: 2 (Rathon Altol, tagknife)
Fraternity.: 2 (Arrowspeeed Bounty, DCTDN)
Sedition.: 2 (Misty Dawn253, Switch 4)
Pandemic Legion, Northern Coalition, Brave Collective: 1 each (Kenneth Feld, CruelCodex Owasso, Dujek Oneye)
No alliance: 4 (Mike Azariah, MILINT ARC Trooper, Sawdeth Ternius, Shivon)
The rest come from smaller alliances, wormhole groups, Faction Warfare and highsec corporations.
Two things stand out. First, the two biggest groups on the list are Goonswarm and The Initiative, which are in the middle of a messy null-sec year, and both are putting forward eight names each. Second, several of the less bloc-aligned candidates are running on very specific platforms: wormhole space, lowsec, Faction Warfare, highsec and new-player retention.
Some returning faces, based on their own pitches: Itaer (current CSM 20 member), Zintage Enaka (CSM 19 and 20), Dujek Oneye (CSM 19), Machiavelian, Pandoralica (former CSM), Drake Iddon (veteran, focused on economics and Ansiblex changes) and Mike Azariah, who says he has served six prior terms.
A few platforms worth noting:
Ansiblex and force projection: Drake Iddon and Pandoralica both mention the Ansiblex changes introduced with the Cradle of War update. Our earlier piece covers the mechanics: https://capsuleers.app/articles/ansiblex-overhaul-is-live-null-sec-reacts-as-cradle-of-war-rewrites-the-rules-of-jump-bridge-warfare
Nullsec structure rules: tagknife wants to end nullsec "MAD" with rules on structure size and who can kill what.
Industry quality of life: Kenneth Feld lists the 25,000 blueprint limit, the 2,000 ESI job limit and ACL folders.
EVE Vanguard: Sawdeth Ternius presents himself as a bridge between EVE Vanguard and EVE Online, with 24 years of FPS experience.
New players: Ankh Lai, Kshal Aideron, Tikka, Taran Lazarus and others make retention the centrepiece of their pitch.
Full list and pitches: https://www.eveonline.com/news/view/csm-21-candidate-announcements
Crimson Harvest is live: what the preview didn't say
We covered the announcement earlier (https://capsuleers.app/articles/crimson-harvest-2026-akoman-battlecruiser-90-pvp-loot-and-blood-raiders-in-pochven). Now that the event is running, the official post adds some detail:
Duration: until 3 November. A Totality Day on 13 October is teased with "Triglavian-themed surprises and offers", and the event escalates in its final week with extra rewards on the seasonal track.
Pick a side: the Blood Raiders are pushing into Pochven for a permanent foothold, and the Order of St. Tetrimon is opposing them. If the Blood Raiders win they keep a presence in Pochven; if the Order wins, the Triglavian minor victory status is cleared from some Amarr-space systems.
Akoman: the seasonal track ends with a blueprint copy for the Akoman, described as the first pirate attack battlecruiser, with battleship-sized weapons. For now it is only available through Crimson Harvest.
Criterion of Fitness sites: unlocked by Criterion Ciphers from combat and exploration sites. They are timed solo encounters of three waves, where faster clears make the next wave harder and the rewards bigger. They appear in null-sec, Pochven and wormholes.
Hollow Outbreak sites come in three classes: Class 1 for Tech I frigates (highsec, wormholes, Pochven), Class 2 for Tech II frigates and Tech I destroyers (adds lowsec) and Class 3 in lowsec and Blood Raider-controlled null-sec in Delve, up to Tech III tactical destroyers.
Loot: outside highsec, 90% of items from PvP-destroyed ships drop, and pod kills have a 50% implant drop chance.
Patch notes 24.01 (6 and 7 October): more Blood Raider and Order of St. Tetrimon roaming fleets in Pochven, more Extra-Pochven wormholes that now move when they respawn, and a rebalance of Pochven NPC lock times (most Drifter and Sleeper NPCs lock significantly slower, Drifter Cruisers faster).
The event is found in the Agency under Encounters. For a player's-eye walkthrough and screenshots, see The Ancient Gaming Noob's write-up: https://tagn.wordpress.com/2026/10/06/crimson-harvest-2026-lands-in-eve-online-today/
Also: Fanfest 2027 is asking for speakers
Fenris Creations is taking talk proposals for EVE Fanfest 2027, held at the Harpa conference hall in Reykjavik in May 2027. Send a detailed outline to [email protected] by 13 November 2026. Talks are up to 30 minutes plus 15 minutes of Q&A, and accepted speakers get a free ticket. Details: https://www.eveonline.com/news/view/present-at-fanfest-2027