Blog Post 02. The Secrets of Mass Recruiting 101
Our first post took an in-depth look at what is possibly the most talked about continent on externals, 44. This time we're going to take our microscope a little bit to the east and have a look at the current situation of the top 10 tribes in continent 45. This one is a little bit quieter, although there are still a few premades who have staked out a claim in this little corner of the world, some of whom have been included on this map despite not being in the top 10 on the continent just yet.
For those of you on k54 and k55, fear not! Your top 10 maps are coming soon. This write up process is fairly time consuming, as I need to analyse quite a bit of data to present to you in this nice, easy read, format. The last map will be a top 10 world tribes map, with some premades thrown in. Considering how much can happen to a tribe this early on in the game at a continent level, I think focusing on those first is going to prove more interesting and informative, than a more generic 'this tribe is going to be rank 1' map. Of course, feel free to share your thoughts with me. I love constructive criticism, and feedback of any kind!
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Now, that map truly is a little bit all over the place. Compared to k44, the top 10 tribes here are a lot more clustered, but there is also a lot more overlap between said clusters. This should hopefully make for some rather interesting map developments over the next few weeks, depending on how the various soon to be played out wars develop. At the time of writing, the premade tribe Elite is sitting comfortably at the top on score, with 77 players and a small point margin over the rank 2 tribe 4A. There is also NAM sitting over on the rim, and with DI hovering on the border of k45 and k55, who both may make their presence known in this continent over the coming weeks.
Let's get in to the tribe by tribe anlaysis. Feel free to skip the spoilered stuff and just go straight to reading the whole continent analysis, if you prefer. That's why this it is hidden away in a spoiler, after all.
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1. Elite This tribe is mostly clustered on the central West of k45, with a couple of members in k44 as well. All things considered, I quite like their spread. Considering that Elite is a premade that has stated its intentions as being to mass-recruit and teach newer players, I think they have plenty of opportunity to do so. I can see a showdown between this tribe and the rank 2 4A once nobles come out to play, with Am I? and MIB no doubt getting involved as well. Seeing as all 4 of these tribes share an area between them that covers approximately 1/3rd of the continent, early game alliances and player skill will no doubt be the determining factors on which one comes out on top. As far as skill goes, I can see the premade core of Elite giving them something of an edge over the competition. They will also need to keep an eye to the West, in case #HashT on k44 starts getting any ideas about k44 expansion. In my opinion they will be around for a while, and are unlikely to be going anywhere in the immediate future. If I were them though, I would be cleaning up my southern border and then pushing north into ACME and ~CIA~.
Score: 7/10
2. 4A What appears to be a mass recruited tribe, 4A is never the less appearing to do quite well for itself so far, with its early game. Some strong accounts hidden away in there, and a maxed out member limit means this tribe could well be a serious contender for rank 1 in continent 45, if it can turn those 4 Aces into a winning hand. Conflict with the other mass recruiting tribes that are mixed in to their cluster, MIB, Am I? and the premade mass-recruiter Elite is going to be inevitable for them. If they come out on top from the mess that is their cluster, then pushing further East into Rize and ~77~ would be a good move for them, depending on how long it takes for them to clean up their region, what Elite does and how the western region develops. This tribe seems competent enough, but time will tell just how good or otherwise they really are.
Score: 6/10
3. -RF- With a reasonably strong cluster on the southern border of k45, a strong rim presence in the north and another cluster to the East as well, this tribe seems spread a little bit too thin to me. The south group will find themselves fighting against 4A, Am I? and Rize, with poor odds numbers wise against each of those tribes. The east cluster is surrounded by ~77~ and Rize, which could lead to good expansion opportunities or being ganged on by both. In the north, they are in contention with ACME, ~CIA~ and the premade NAM for control, again with fairly poor odds. This tribe doing well is really going to depend on strong diplomacy, and competent game play by its members, if they intend to survive past the early game. I think one or two of the 3 main clusters will survive into the mid game, but the tribe as a whole is unlikely to do so.
Score: 5/10
4. ACME A strong k44 rim tribe, based in the North West, this tribe is actually looking to be in quite a strong position to do well during the early game period. It's main competitors for the North East will be the 10th ranked tribe ~CIA~, NAM and the northern cluster of -RF-. I can see them nobling out a lot of the ~CIA~ members and really solidifying a strong cluster in the north, that could put them in a position to really threaten the premade tribes NAM and Elite, if left unchecked for too long. If they can successfully take out ~CIA~ and contain or noble the NAM and -RF- in their area, this tribe would probably be best served by pushing west into k44 rim, or further East to expand their rim dominance. This tribe should last through the early game, and possibly well into the mid-game if they are left alone, in my opinion.
Score: 5/10
5. Rize This tribe is based in the central south of k45, and appears for the most part to be mass-recruited. Considering the average points and apparent growth of its members in comparison to the tribes above, this tribe doesn't really seem to be in too favourable a position, in my eyes. Considering how it is wedged in between the premade tribes GLORY and DI, I can see this tribe being the target of both of these groups, as well as possibly being targeted by 4A and the western -RF- cluster. Probably the smartest move they could make would be a rimwards push into the marginally weaker ~77~ and focusing on wiping out the group of -RF- to their east. Even if they were to do this though, I doubt this tribe will exist as a strong entity on k45 post nobles.
Score: 3/10
6. MIB A mass recruiting tribe that is mixed in with Elite, 4A and MIB. They have a fairly strong cluster, but have fallen a bit behind the ball on growth, and will likely be targeted by Elite and 4A. If they pick their alliances well, they could survive a bit longer, but ultimately I see this tribe being wiped out or hugging it up with one of the other three in the next few weeks. Smart moves for them would be to pick an alliance with either 4A or Elite, and focus on ganging one of the other 2 tribes in that clustered up mess they are in. Should they survive past that, then they will be having to keep an eye to the west for possible incursions from the strong premades on the k44 border looking to push in and claim a chunk of k45 for themselves.
Score: 2/10
7. Am I? I almost feel like I should just copy and paste what I wrote for MIB above, for this tribe, as they have such a similar spread, location and tribe composition. That would be unfair to Am I? though, so I will attempt to add something new analysis wise, just for them. This tribe has a scattering of more rimwards players in the south east of k45, and could develop a few decent clusters down there, but ultimately I think they are destined to be destroyed by either 4A, Elite, MIB or some combination of the above. It honestly would not surprise me in the slightest to see a new tribe composed of stronger players from all four of the tribes in this area emerging, and nobling out the rest. For now though, it's a pretty volatile region, and should make for some interesting blog posts over the next few weeks.
Score: 4/10
8. ~77~ A mass recruiting tribe that is spread pretty thin across the eastern portion of k44, they appear to have a reasonably unopposed spread. They will need to watch out for lower ranked tribes and in particular -RF- and GLORY, if they want to keep that region. NAM is also going to be a threat to some of their more eastern players, and even the scattering of DI players in eastern k45 could be an issue for ~77~. No real high hopes for this tribe to be bluntly honest, but I have been surprised before and this tribe could do well with proper coordination and some good choices as far as allies go. Were they to get into talks with someone like ~CIA~ or ACME for an eventual hug, or even short term alliance, they could quickly turn the tables on NAM or -RF- through sheer force of numbers.
Score: 2/10
9. GLORY A smaller premade tribe, this one is spread across the central and eastern areas of k44. Considering the member count, they actually appear to be doing quite well for themselves, and with some good choices for wars and diplomacy may even come out on top in the continent. The early game for them will no doubt involve a lot of nobling against ~77~ and Rize, and possibly some fighting with 4A, MIB and Am I? in the big clustered blob of tribes to the west. I can actually see this tribe surviving in to the mid-game if they play things right, and work on connecting the more Eastern players in their tribe with those in the centre. Pushing North is probably going to be their best option once that is done, so they can establish a strong enough presence to keep the other premades of DI, Elite and NAM from coming after them.
Score: 6/10
10. ~CIA~ A fairly weak mass recruiting tribe based in the north west of k45, sharing a spread that is very similar to that of ACME. They also have some players out in the actual rim of k35 and k34, but ultimately I think they will lose out against ACME for control of this area, as they are developing a lot slower overall. These guys are also going to find themselvesd fighting against NAM, who to my knowledge has a number of very experienced players. time will tell if numbers or skill will win out in this case, but I don't think ~CIA~ really has what it takes to survive up here for long. An interesting move for them diplomatically could be to form a temporary alliance with ACME, GLORY or ~77~ and attempt to target the NAM villages in the North West, but I don't really see this happening at all.
Score: 2/10
*Extra* NAM A premade tribe that is primarily composed of members from Music! on w71 and 1 UP on w69, this tribe has a lot of things going for it. The spread is a fairly 'typical' quarter circle, across the edge of k45 and the bordering rim continents, with a decent number of players across the whole area. In the short term, I think this tribe is going to be very busy with potential threats like ACME, ~77~ and ~CIA~, as well as the small (and unpictured) premade Taco in the south east. Whether or not they come out well with the spread they have will depend very much on individual member skill and how they deal with the larger, more mass recruiting tribes that are mixed up in their spread. I can see NAM growing fairly comfortably in the early game, safe out on the rim with only ACME as a real potential danger. Mid-game wise they will no doubt run in to GLORY, Elite, or whatever tribe emerges from the mess of western k44.
Score: 7/10
*Extra* DI My own tribe. This tribe is a premade composed of a number of older w2 players and various others that have been picked out by the leader to make a fairly strong team going in to world 77. This tribe is one of the favourites at this early point for a world win, but that could well be biased as I am in this tribe. DI has a somewhat unusual position, straddling the border between k45 and k55, with the majority on the k55 side. They also have a small cluster of players in the east of k44, surrounded by NAM, GLORY, ACME and ~77~. If DI does push up and across the border into Rize and -RF-, then they could quickly establish themselves as a southern k45 power, especially if the players they have in the eastern part of k45 can also successfully grow and push south. This will all depend on what kind of competition DI faces in k55 though, which will most likely receive more of their attention than the northern continent of k45.
Score 6/10, for k45[/spoil]
My k45 Predictions
I predict that the western part of k45, with Elite, 4A, MIB and Am I? is going to be a complete mess for at least the next few weeks until a dominant tribe emerges from that area, or someone hugs someone else. If I had to put my money on any one of those four tribes, it would go on Elite, since they have a fairly strong position in the north of that cluster to work downwards from. Regarding the rest of the continent, I reckon GLORY will grow fairly comfortably into the area currently occupied by ~77~, while NAM does much the same further east and in the north as well. The North East looks pretty locked down by ACME, although NAM or Elite could well do something about that if they choose to go that way.
The south of k45 looks like it will be fought over by Rize, -RF- and possibly DI, if the premade chooses to go north, rather than south. The western part of k45 is going to need to get its act together pretty quickly, if it doesn't want to become a target for Within or #HashT to the west in k44.
Top 5 Prediction (1 week after nobles):
1. Elite
2. ACME
3. GLORY
4. 4A
5. NAM
That's it for k45. Stay tuned, because for our next issue we will be jumping back to the west of the world and having a look at k54. Spoiler below, for some silly forum stuff and my current AMV.
[spoil]AMV of the day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBixv2U8RS4
This time, I want you guys to try and come up with some cool *legible* sentences, including at least 5 of the names of the tribes talked about in this blog post. Full names or abbreviations are fine. The best/funniest one will earn themselves a cool avatar/CoA or Signature of their choosing, designed by me.
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