Here goes another top 12 judging from what I have seen so far. Take it with a grain of salt please.
1. All Worship Violet - my own alliance. Most people don't write comments about their own alliance out of fear of coming across as biased, but I figured there's no harm in writing down what we think of ourselves, that way everyone else can judge by that as well.
I think we were/are in a good position to start off. We have ONE EMPIRE to our NE who are a steady source of BP/cities and The Border Reivers to the SW. BROSSR is to our south. War there hasn't really taken off yet. BS is right to our north but no major fighting is going on there as they are currently very occupied with JFL. I believe our team does have the skill and experience necessary to take over ocean 55 entirely and stay a top contender for far into the server. Therefore I'm giving us a biased
SWIM
2. Bedtime Squad.
I have a feeling these were the server favorites to start off with. A very solid premade, filled with top quality players, but unfortunately in a nasty location. They have JFL to their north who are not going to budge anytime soon, and All Worship Violet to the south. Personally I believe their only chance of survival is running to the rim to their east, and holding ground in their core. They can also decide to have a go at o44 but that would mean sooner or later they'd come into contact with The Plague, and be boxed in by top contenders on 3 sides. Not an ideal situation. I'm giving them a
SWIM if they manage to establish a solid core to the east, and a
FLOAT if they decide to stay where they are.
3. Bad With Names
Another favorite and solid premade. They are currently arguably in one of the best positions of the server, with only The Plague directly threatening them. The northern o45 coalition is providing them with a fast flowing stream of cities, which allows them to creep up the rankings and I wouldn't be surprised if they took number one fairly soon. They are growing faster than anyone else, and only once their food to the north dries up will they need to worry about a serious war with The Plague or All Worship Violet if they eat away Skulls as well. Regardless, they have a clear as could be path to the rim if they ever decided to go there. This alliance is a danger to look out for, and if they are playing wonders are in a wonderful position to do so.
SWIM
4. The Plague
Started off very strong, but will probably slow down in expanding as they further come into contact with BWN and the o44/o54 border alliances. Good players, who are definitely capable of holding their own in a drawn out war. I just don't think with all the top contenders in the core that they will ever be able to fully control one ocean. But they definitely deserve a
SWIM
5. Just For Laughs
The shining star in the fight against BS. I primarily want to say that I'm almost sure they will survive as they are a tight knit group ready to take a heavy beating and come out of it stronger. They are probably the biggest threat to BS right now, not offensively speaking, but in terms of limiting BS's possible expansion. They also have a path to the rim, which means that in worst case scenario, they can always regroup there if they beat The Elites. They do plan to take over 55 entirely and it will be interesting to see how their war will play out. Either way,
SWIM
6. Old School.
I don't really know this alliance. They are fighting with Two Bit Hit and JFL right now. They are not in an ideal position, and judging from the roster they have good/decent players, but not excellent like others. This is a highly competitive server and personally I'm not sure they will permanently hold out. As I said, I don't really know them so my judgement is probably clouded. They do have the option to expand north. For now I'll just give them a
FLOAT
7. Two Bit Hit.
More or less same story as Old School, but a bit more severe. They do face an invasion by Bedtime if they ever decide to dabble in o44, and TP is soon going to be threatening their rear, along with BWN making their steady advance to their south. I myself don't think we will see this group remain for long. Perhaps if they started in a better location they would have managed, but in the area they are in I personally don't see them surviving. Also, pawcio is leader
SINK
8. BROSSR
An alliance in the south of 55 with a good chance of survival, but whom I feel will eventually be pushed out of 55 by All Worship Violet. They are aleady expanding southwards but are facing issues with inactivity (Bibor isn't around anymore, lucky for them
). They have a fair amount of good players, who won't budge easily. Personally I see their fate as a black and white result: either they break apart due to unwillingness to play (that is, when a new high speed revolt world opens), or they decide to get rid of their dead weight and have a good run at the rim. 50/50
SINK/SWIM
9 Skulls.
I don't think this alliance has the possibility to go anywhere, even if they were a top notch team. They will be fully boxed in soon by BWN and AWV, therefore I don't see them staying around for very long. Unless their motivation is very high and they decide to establish a new core elsewhere, they will not remain where they are. It will however be interesting to see what will happen when they are gone, as AWV and BWN will be in direct contact with each other.
FLOAT/SINK
10. The Iron Alliance
Currently primary food source for BWN, and without options to escape or reform anywhere else. Player quality is also questionable apart from a few. As of now it seems like this will be a definite
SINK
11. ONE EMPIRE
This may be harsh, but I see them as The Iron Alliance of o55. They have joao and some others but the majority is not able to defend or work together properly. I don't think they have the necessary motivation or team bonding to make a move to elsewhere, therefore I believe they will fall apart sooner or later.
SINK
12. The Elites
They find themselves to the north of JFL. I don't know this alliance at all so have no idea what they are capable of, however if a major war would break out between JFL and The Elites, I believe JFL would come out victorious, unless BS starts hitting them very hard from below. Also, judging by the name I am more inclined to give them a float than a swim in any case.
SINK if in direct contact with JFL/BS,
FLOAT/SWIM if they expand towards o53 or o64.