Okay, we're a solid day or more into this domination era. Loads of alliance changes have been happening as the golden blamers swap around their minions for this next step. (It's actually comical to look at the points of the top 2 once they pushed their top players together, especially if you start looking at the discrepancy between that and BP earned during the server.)
There are a lot more domination islands than I thought there would be-- and strange gaps where I can't tell why the "sweeping" skipped over only a few random islands... but not nearly as many gaps overall as I anticipated. I didn't think they would reach as far out as they do here, or require as broad of actual world domination as they do. Likely others underestimated it as well, which leads us to this next phase. Unfortunately, everyone will have to sim at least a few more weeks before this can be over!
Here's my version of today's
EN110 Top 2 SWAP or HUG (interestingly, not very different from my Week 1 newspaper predictions)
Week Boring-Something -- Predictions:
1) Golden and TBG will continue to act as though they might each try to win alone, likely even misleading their poor minions into believing it, while continuing to attack the little guys, taking ghosts, and colonizing, until they have enough cities to merge the ones they want into the "winning" alliance. Just like all server, they'll still try to poach the top few players out there who could boost their numbers (instead of taking their cities, which seems way too much like "work"). They'll gently attack themselves to generate enough bp for new cities and to feel like fighters when they look at the stats. They might even get bored with themselves.
2) they'll wait for the threshold to drop far enough for the merge to work, in true warrior fashion
3) it won't be the top 60 players, it will be whoever has learned the secret handshake, so it will happen later than we think, lulling us into believing it may not happen...then when it does it won't be worth trying to take the cities because-- (a) they'll be well over the threshold, AND (b) those players will have been prepping their defense long before the switch, catching the server by surprise (though why, I don't know), rendering attacks useless as they can afford to lose many cities while defending and holding domination
4) there will be many people who feel shocked at this and have hurt feelings... then fall for it all over again next server
5) there will be no battles at all between the top alliances before this server ends
6) nobody will be making any popcorn to watch the rest of this sim-fest, even though it's cold outside in many places right now
...and...
7) some people will still think this is "great strategy" executed by "great players" (and I will continue to think those are the type of unwitting people responsible for the rise of sadistic dictators throughout history)
Even at this moment, after EVERYONE is fed up with this approach (even many in the Top 2 themselves), the leaders in these alliances could save a little face by actually squaring off against each other. But I'd bet my house it ain't gonna happen...