sugarvalves [1963573] —
Original article
SA / CR / IBB bring war to Animal Kingdom in the East. FTW take up arms against major new alliance in the west. R / JFK set to face off in Sector 2. Axiom-led alliance rips through northern factions.
War has erupted in every corner of the city this week, with two major alliances facing off against Hall of Fame factions in the east and west, a pair of heavyweights set to do battle by the island, and a number of smaller factions being trampled out in the rough pastures of Sector 7's northernmost boundary. Okay, that's not every corner, but three out of four corners is still a lot of corners.
Read on to find out which faction's members are desperate to side against IBB, why Relentless may be dealing with a severe shortage, how Forged Through War accidentally discovered a fifty-strong faction alliance, and why the little guys in the North are being put to the sword while Midknight is distracted.
Pictured: A suitably devastating scene of war to put you in the mood.
AK vs SA
Animal Kingdom will need to bear every tooth, claw, and miscellaneous appendage if they are to resist the latest assault upon their habitat. Having only just beaten back a bunch of bikini-clad babes late last month, AK is now facing a three-pronged assault from Subversive Alliance, Chain Reaction, and a renewed IBB hell-bent on revenge.
I've heard that SA's original objective was to take high-respect territories belonging to Destructive Anomaly and/or Dead or Alive, and that SA leader Midknight asked Little Stompers' Rekker to let his side through to achieve this. No response was forthcoming, so Subversive Alliance started to attack. Chain Reaction reportedly pledged to join in on the side of SA if AK got involved in SA's plans, and they were true to their word.
SA began their assault as IBB did last month, with an attack on the unaffiliated border faction of Anarquia e Morte's GZA on the 29th of January. Further attacks against Little Stompers, Healing Wings Medical, and AeM were launched and were successful, with SA One Punch also joining in on the action. Then came the bomb.
At one minute past midnight on the 2nd of February, a-BC-Airesslady of The Equalizer 3 United attacked SA headquarters with Dirty Bomb, injuring 516 people and removing 490,502 respect from the faction. SA won the territories they were fighting in at the time but were unable to respond when PnB, The Honey Badgers, and The Wolverines seized the opportunity to successfully assault SA's territories at IZG, GZG, and JZG.
SA soon hit back by taking QYG from Little Stompers and fighting off Destructive Anomaly over at JYG. On Friday, we saw SA involved in no fewer than eight wall battles against the likes of Little Stompers, The Wolverines, and Destructive Anomaly as the action in this part of the city ratcheted up. Early on Saturday morning, we noted that SA had taken Destructive Anomaly's MVG territory, having also nabbed SWG of Little Stompers overnight, and held off The Wolverines at KZG.
Pictured: SA's territory fights on Feb 5th. Fake battles vs SA One Punch are not counted.
MeanMike of Chain Reaction believes that SA is getting exactly what they wanted out of this situation, as he is confident they will take DA's territory and AK will suffer huge losses in trying to resist. He feels this fight could've been avoided, claiming that AK was warned of the consequences of going to war with the combined forces of SA, CR, and IBB.
As the above post shows, SA may not have any interest in fighting AK specifically, but any assault against DA was always going to draw them in. SA and CR leadership knew this, so to suggest that a war they initiated could've been avoided is like Prince Andrew saying he would've remained innocent if that little girl wasn't dressed so provocatively. Heasleys4hemp of WarBirds explains why they had to protect DA in this situation.
"While DA is not officially a part of AK, in terms of decision making and other internal affairs, they have been an ally to AK since the beginning of AK. They were a beneficial asset to the success of the AK vs Relentless war. When we found out SA was coming for DA, there was no question about whether we would help them or not. They helped us, it was our time to help them."
DA may not be part of Animal Kingdom, but they are most certainly allied. And at the time of writing, SA, CR, and IBB appear to be buddies too - at least for now. For those who are aware of the strength of feeling towards IBB by some factions, this is an interesting development. MeanMike readily admits that he is uncomfortable with the idea of holding hands with IBB leader MightyGoober, let alone having him jump into bed with himself and Midknight all greased up and ready to party.
"IBB jumped on the train late.. it was supposed to be just SA/CR fams, but I guess they wanted payback on AK and went to SA to get in on the fun. I can say with a great deal of certainty, that CR would never willingly enter into any sort of endeavor with IBB, but this is SA's battle, if they say IBB can join in, then so be it."
One anonymous AK member suggested that IBB are simply there to perform a cleanup job - I apologise for that mental image - and will be allowed to pick up any territories that SA and CR don't want. Regardless of their status, IBB has enjoyed several successes against PnB so far, with Chain Reaction stringing together four victories over PnB penguins too. And in the small hours of Saturday morning, SA One Punch added to their side's tally by taking ATG from Healing Wings Medical.
But could the tide be about to change with the introduction of a fourth person to this military ménage à trois? I asked Natural Selection's leader Stretch whether his side would be involved in this war, or indeed any of the major battles taking place right now. He was adamant they would not be partaking, for the time being.
"At this point, NS has no plans to get involved in any of the current fracases. We have been a proponent of the 1v1 dynamic and while the map is far from healthy it doesn't really make sense for us to jump into any of these current situations, at least not yet."
However, much like a single person buying a meal for one and an industrial-sized tube of lubricant, Natural Selection's members are frustrated at the prospect of an action-free Valentine's Day. One NS informant told me that so thirsty are their members, some have even threatened to go it alone and start a war themselves. And their targets?
Whether this mutiny results in NS entering the conflict remains to be seen. For now, this war is taking place solely on the south-eastern border of Sectors 5 and 6, along the small stretch of coastline which sits just beneath the Military Base. We shall see if and where it spreads over the coming days.
JFK vs R
Rumours of a face-off between JFK and Relentless have been brewing for a while, and a post by Relentless' Hank on the 3rd of February confirmed plans for a headline tussle between the two heavyweights. He even included a handy countdown timer to show us how long is left until they fight, with hostilities set to begin at around 2pm TCT on Saturday.
A source in Relentless tells me that JFK declared war upon his faction last Monday, and communicated their intentions for hostilities to begin on Saturday the 6th, thus honoring an agreement to give their foes at least three days' notice. JFK's motive for this fight is their long-held desire to Sector 7 Relentless, and their leader Z_junior confirmed this in a brief interview with The Times.
"There is a longstanding rivalry between JFK and Relentless, pretty much the same kind of rivalry that exists among all top factions. This war would have come at one point or another and there are no terms included. It will be a war between 2 families, JFK Main and 2.1 representing us and R1 and Helvete representing them."
Hank of Relentless elaborated on this rivalry by pointing out that their hatred for each other began in 2015 when Relentless was known as Calculating. They were fighting a faction called Trigger Happy when one of their guest warriors, CindyFury, returned to JFK partway through the battle. JFK then declared war on Calculating, a move which Hank believes CindyFury contributed to.
Whether or not she did this is something we are unable to verify, but it appears that JFK's declaration forced Calculating to concede to Trigger Happy and allow them to claim a large respect bonus. The fallout from this dispute remains to this day, as Hank continues the story below.
"Whilst Z did eventually offer us a 1-day non-aggressive pact, the damage was done and Calculating set itself a goal to defeat JFK and take our revenge. For JFK I'm sure this war and events meant nothing but to Calculating (now Relentless) but it set into motion a desire from our core members to eventually beat JFK, we used this loss to fuel our growth, development, and recruitment until we were ready to fight them. To date, Relentless hasn't had a true 1 vs 1 war with JFK despite many skirmishes occurring during the Insurgency conflict (necessary because of their number of allies)."
But as Z_junior stated earlier, this fight will be a 2v2, not a 1v1, and Hank admits that his side is not currently at its peak. My anonymous source in Relentless also concedes that Helvete is no match for JFK 2.1, and believes that this 2v2 is more like a 2v1 fight. I have also heard rumours that Relentless is struggling to find revivers in time for their war, given the number of other major battles being conducted right now.
Nevertheless, Relentless plans to defend their territories to the death, even though they aren't particularly happy at being positioned between JFK and Natural Selection at the moment. At the time of writing, Relentless and JFK were staring at each other across the border between Sectors 2 and 3 to the north of the western island bridge. There were three hours left to go before the conflict was set to start, and Z_junior seemed to be anticipating it greatly.
"The fight should be intense, close, and fun to watch. Hopefully, the Torn audience and most importantly all the participants in this war get to enjoy themselves, learn something and improve their gameplay as a result."
FTW vs Proxy Alliance
Animal Kingdom isn't the only major alliance in town if Chupacabra's thread is to be believed. In fact, it may not be the largest, and by some margin! Forged Through War has been seen fighting many different factions of late, but their leader Para claims that the alliance which opposes them may be as many as FIFTY FACTIONS strong.
Para provided me with a list of supposed members of this group, which has been dubbed by some as "The Proxy Alliance" due to the presence of several major faction proxies among its ranks.
Subversive Alliance, The Brotherhood of War, Elysian, The Masters, Onion Smugglers, Impulse, Winter is Coming, Heart of a Pirate, Brahmastra, Dopeheads on Mopeds, Epic Mafia, The Dominion, Hooligans Reborn
Endless Endeavor, The Iron Fist, Undecided, Hidden Shadows, HOOLIGANS, Brave Survivors, The Collective, Man Down, The Hero, The Fortunate Sons, Ferocious, ShadowSpire, Medical Deliverance, The Night’s Watch, Trisolary, Druggies in Snuggies, UPHEAVAL, SA - Cookie Jar, Medic!!, SA Infinite - Recruiting, The Masters Juniors, The Corleone Family, OS Medical, SA Igloo, The Collective Syndicate, SA One Punch, Caledonia, Eternal Eclipse, The Thought Police, Impulse 13!, BoOtCaMp, THE FOUR TWENTY, Wolf Pack, Equilibrium, Get Stuffed, The Fellowship of LOL, New Sith Order, BoW Subversive Generation, BoW 2.5 Medical, BoW 4.20, S.W.A.T, Nomads, HeLa
Update: Trigger Happy Devils, We Are Reviving, Stoners Reeking Havok, Karma Chameleons, and Inquisitors are now being suggested as additional members. THD's leaderMrMickRi says this isn't true. At this stage, just assume everyone and their mother is a member of this alliance.
An unnamed member of one of these factions did not deny that the alliance existed but refuted claims that all of the members above are involved. My source says that some of these factions are merely helping with group attacks or fake walls because they have nothing better to do. Furthermore, he denies this group is called "The Proxy Alliance". If I were in charge, I'd call it Fifty F***ing Factions, because that's a catchy name. But until such time as we hear differently, we are going to continue to refer to this organisation as The Proxy Alliance, so there.
My source tells me that there is no real leader in this group, but there are those who are higher than others. He described it as a pyramid scheme without the top triangle, a coalition of the leaders and co-leaders of the factions involved. Yet despite there being no outright leader, I have heard that Mary of ShadowSpire and Steven of The Masters were responsible for much of the blockade against Forged Through War. It also appears that while SA is friendly towards this alliance, they are likely not a full member.
Para says that their war against this group began because FTW was bored, had just gone through a change of leadership, and decided to head for a random spot on the map. My records show that FTW was booted out of EFC and SHC by Mentos and Cola in late January, so this may have also played a role in FTW's decision to move.
FTW's initial plan was to head east and then north to find a new home. But having spent too long on the island, Para admits they were completely unaware that the mainland was divided by two major alliances; Animal Kingdom to the east, and the Proxy Alliance to the west.
"Our plan wasn't to ask for passage, it was just to create mischief and cause some wars on our way. Immediately a lot of the factions here got angry, which is understandable. Then SA contacted me asking what we were doing in their protected lands. As old allies, we had no idea this area was controlled by SA. We explained we were passing through and not after any rackets and wouldn't touch them. It was explained that SA protect the rackets, the rest of the land is of no interest to them. So we continued."
From their perspective, a member of the Proxy Alliance told me that this war truly began when Sport Club took territories belonging to Order Through Chaos. This act prompted Forged Through War to join OTC in a retaliatory attack alongside Valhalla and Orchestrated Mayhem. FTW then raided ShadowSpire, claiming the attack was "for test purposes", which further provoked the Proxy Alliance into fighting back aggressively.
We've counted sixteen successful attacks by FTW in this region since late January, but there have been a few defeats too. The Proxy Alliance hit back against FTW on the 1st of February, and their apparent allies OM, and VB, clearing the latter two completely and taking several territories from Forged Through War. FTW then started to negotiate terms but soon began assaulting the territories of Elysian instead, using the negotiations as a smokescreen.
Pictured: When smokey eye makeup gets out of hand.
This was rather apt, as some on the Proxy side have called this The Smoke War, given their propensity for using smoke grenades to weaken FTW's members in group attacks. A member of Proxy told me that their main concern was FTW's refusal to tell them where they wished to pitch up and that this war could've been avoided if they had simply communicated their intentions.
Communication was also blamed for Subversive Alliance's war with Animal Kingdom, and one wonders if SA might get involved here too if their battle with the beasts comes to a premature conclusion. Several members of the Proxy Alliance have denied that they are proxies of SA, but given that they said this without me even asking, I would be inclined to believe that they are. It's like turning up to a murder scene completely unannounced and shouting "I DID NOT VIOLATE THAT CORPSE!"
A member of one Proxy faction clarified by saying that most of their members have never held rackets for Subversive Alliance, but they are nevertheless protected by them. Heasleys4hemp contends this claim, and says that Subversive Alliance extort proxy cash from many of the factions on the west side of the map. Racket investigations led by the Torn City Times in 2019 revealed that nearly half of all Torn's rackets were either controlled by or extorted by Subversive Alliance. We do not know whether this remains the case today, but we strongly suspect it might be.
So where is this war heading? Chupacabra told The Times that he feels FTW has found a good respect farm in this part of the map, as they have thousands of newbies joining walls just waiting to be cleared. He also notes that their opponents have given up a great deal of land and respect in this fight and that despite the overwhelming force of numbers against them, FTW has secured massive respect gains.
FTW find themselves fighting in Sector 6, in the south-western corner of the city along the coastline.
WAR IN THE NORTH
There is a lot of activity in the north-west right now, with several factions led by aXiom and Total Domination looking to break up the 420 family. Their reasoning is that 420 has become too large, but given that many of those who are attacking them possess much larger faction families, this is clearly just an excuse to take 420 lands. A member of 420 sent me this message a few days ago.
"Yesterday at 11AM EST, the 420 Family (Sacrifice, 420 C-K-A, 420 Vengenace, and THE FOUR TWENTY) received word that an alliance made up of aXiom, In Memory of the Fallen, Total Domination, Aperture Science, and Rabid Chihuahuas had declared on our land. They’ve been mostly friendly neighbors. Well, quiet ones at least, so you can’t say we weren’t surprised. Unfortunately, they had caught us with our pants down - leaders either abroad or offline."
In an interview with The Times, Kylar of aXiom explained the true reasons for their attack.
"aXiom and a few of our friends just didn't want to be left out of all the warring happening across Torn right now. We have no personal beef with 420 Family whatsoever - they have many territories and we have a need. Total Domination, In Memory of the Fallen, Aperture Science and aXiom are making up the main assault force, with RxC Family, -Aurora- and Dead Body Crew providing support. We are all good friends with simple goals: growing and protecting our factions."
aXiom took CHF and XGF from 420 factions on Friday and followed up by taking KGF and SHF early on Saturday. Total Domination focused on Sacrifice and picked up JJF, PGF, and EWB over the past two days. In Memory of the Fallen also enjoyed victories at EGF, GGF, YHF over 420 factions. Just before going to print, we noticed that a Peace Treaty had been arranged at QGF between Total Domination and Sacrifice. This may or may not signal the end of this conflict.
To the north of this fight, IA: Iron Rose is involved in what appears to be a multi-faction war against Unwavering Ruthless Loyal. Iron Rose took NHF from URL early on Saturday morning, and the likes of Vault 76, Lucifer X, and Dynamic Chaos have all been seen attacking URL territories in recent days, leading to the loss of KIF, AGF, and BDA by the defenders.
IA's leader, TheProletariat, says his faction is trying to expand in the area to grab at least four more territories. He also made it clear that the other factions currently attacking URL are not allied with his side, and are merely dogpiling on URL for their own individual gains. This war is currently taking place just below the airport in Sectors 6 and 7, and TheProletariat says it was timed to coincide with an attack by In Memory of the Fallen against the 420 family.
TheProletariat tells me that he is friendly with the leader of In Memory of the Fallen, 84N3, and that the two sides both pulled the trigger on both of these wars at the same time. He went on to tell The Times that they did so in order to be neighbours on the map, which is rather cute when you think about it! Yet despite this arrangement, it seems that aXiom is calling the shots in this war, with everyone else following their lead as they seek to remove 420 from the area.
This situation has forced 420 to through their lot in with Dynamic Chaos, despite the fact that 420 and DC only signed a peace treaty a few days ago - I have received several disparaging messages from DC members about 420, so there is clearly still a great deal of animosity between the two sides. Several factions in this area have become embroiled in this conflict through no fault of their own, with both Global Domination and Mile High Club being mistaken for allies of the 420 family too.
Update: A member of Rabid Chihuahuas contacted The Times to add a small correction regarding Global Domination:
"We knew from nearly the beginning they weren't apart of 420 as they informed us they paid them 10 Donator packs to try and pass through their TT's to get next to el condor, when we started waring with 420 this obviously interrupted their deal and they decided to attack 420 with us for free passage to el-condor."
Despite all this strife, my source within 420 does not blame their rivals for this fight, or aXiom either. Rather interestingly, this member of the 420 believes that the person responsible for their current predicament is none other than SA leader Midknight.
"You know how SA got into that big spat with AK and 50,000 more factions? That’s left our little section of sector 6/7 open to opportunists and big, fat turf wars. Midknight and all of them used to keep an eye on wars and make sure they were somewhat fair in terms of proper reason and warning."
Update: Unlike my source, 420 leader Skinny-pete420 does not blame Midknight for this situation, and angrily refuted such claims. He wished to state for the record that Midnight is friendly towards the faction and has only ever helped them in the past. The number of angry messages I received from 420 members about this issue suggests my source may be stirring up trouble, or has told me a very inconvenient truth.
If this current spate of wars has taught us anything above all else, it is that Subversive Alliance holds a tight grip on the reins of power in Torn City. Whether it's a racket to the south, a small faction family to the north, or a high-respect territory to the east, Midknight's men have an interest. It seems you can't step anywhere in Torn these days without seeing the SA flag planted in the turf.
Read on to find out which faction's members are desperate to side against IBB, why Relentless may be dealing with a severe shortage, how Forged Through War accidentally discovered a fifty-strong faction alliance, and why the little guys in the North are being put to the sword while Midknight is distracted.
Pictured: A suitably devastating scene of war to put you in the mood.
AK vs SA
Animal Kingdom will need to bear every tooth, claw, and miscellaneous appendage if they are to resist the latest assault upon their habitat. Having only just beaten back a bunch of bikini-clad babes late last month, AK is now facing a three-pronged assault from Subversive Alliance, Chain Reaction, and a renewed IBB hell-bent on revenge.
I've heard that SA's original objective was to take high-respect territories belonging to Destructive Anomaly and/or Dead or Alive, and that SA leader Midknight asked Little Stompers' Rekker to let his side through to achieve this. No response was forthcoming, so Subversive Alliance started to attack. Chain Reaction reportedly pledged to join in on the side of SA if AK got involved in SA's plans, and they were true to their word.
SA began their assault as IBB did last month, with an attack on the unaffiliated border faction of Anarquia e Morte's GZA on the 29th of January. Further attacks against Little Stompers, Healing Wings Medical, and AeM were launched and were successful, with SA One Punch also joining in on the action. Then came the bomb.
At one minute past midnight on the 2nd of February, a-BC-Airesslady of The Equalizer 3 United attacked SA headquarters with Dirty Bomb, injuring 516 people and removing 490,502 respect from the faction. SA won the territories they were fighting in at the time but were unable to respond when PnB, The Honey Badgers, and The Wolverines seized the opportunity to successfully assault SA's territories at IZG, GZG, and JZG.
SA soon hit back by taking QYG from Little Stompers and fighting off Destructive Anomaly over at JYG. On Friday, we saw SA involved in no fewer than eight wall battles against the likes of Little Stompers, The Wolverines, and Destructive Anomaly as the action in this part of the city ratcheted up. Early on Saturday morning, we noted that SA had taken Destructive Anomaly's MVG territory, having also nabbed SWG of Little Stompers overnight, and held off The Wolverines at KZG.
Pictured: SA's territory fights on Feb 5th. Fake battles vs SA One Punch are not counted.
MeanMike of Chain Reaction believes that SA is getting exactly what they wanted out of this situation, as he is confident they will take DA's territory and AK will suffer huge losses in trying to resist. He feels this fight could've been avoided, claiming that AK was warned of the consequences of going to war with the combined forces of SA, CR, and IBB.
As the above post shows, SA may not have any interest in fighting AK specifically, but any assault against DA was always going to draw them in. SA and CR leadership knew this, so to suggest that a war they initiated could've been avoided is like Prince Andrew saying he would've remained innocent if that little girl wasn't dressed so provocatively. Heasleys4hemp of WarBirds explains why they had to protect DA in this situation.
"While DA is not officially a part of AK, in terms of decision making and other internal affairs, they have been an ally to AK since the beginning of AK. They were a beneficial asset to the success of the AK vs Relentless war. When we found out SA was coming for DA, there was no question about whether we would help them or not. They helped us, it was our time to help them."
DA may not be part of Animal Kingdom, but they are most certainly allied. And at the time of writing, SA, CR, and IBB appear to be buddies too - at least for now. For those who are aware of the strength of feeling towards IBB by some factions, this is an interesting development. MeanMike readily admits that he is uncomfortable with the idea of holding hands with IBB leader MightyGoober, let alone having him jump into bed with himself and Midknight all greased up and ready to party.
"IBB jumped on the train late.. it was supposed to be just SA/CR fams, but I guess they wanted payback on AK and went to SA to get in on the fun. I can say with a great deal of certainty, that CR would never willingly enter into any sort of endeavor with IBB, but this is SA's battle, if they say IBB can join in, then so be it."
One anonymous AK member suggested that IBB are simply there to perform a cleanup job - I apologise for that mental image - and will be allowed to pick up any territories that SA and CR don't want. Regardless of their status, IBB has enjoyed several successes against PnB so far, with Chain Reaction stringing together four victories over PnB penguins too. And in the small hours of Saturday morning, SA One Punch added to their side's tally by taking ATG from Healing Wings Medical.
But could the tide be about to change with the introduction of a fourth person to this military ménage à trois? I asked Natural Selection's leader Stretch whether his side would be involved in this war, or indeed any of the major battles taking place right now. He was adamant they would not be partaking, for the time being.
"At this point, NS has no plans to get involved in any of the current fracases. We have been a proponent of the 1v1 dynamic and while the map is far from healthy it doesn't really make sense for us to jump into any of these current situations, at least not yet."
However, much like a single person buying a meal for one and an industrial-sized tube of lubricant, Natural Selection's members are frustrated at the prospect of an action-free Valentine's Day. One NS informant told me that so thirsty are their members, some have even threatened to go it alone and start a war themselves. And their targets?
Whether this mutiny results in NS entering the conflict remains to be seen. For now, this war is taking place solely on the south-eastern border of Sectors 5 and 6, along the small stretch of coastline which sits just beneath the Military Base. We shall see if and where it spreads over the coming days.
JFK vs R
Rumours of a face-off between JFK and Relentless have been brewing for a while, and a post by Relentless' Hank on the 3rd of February confirmed plans for a headline tussle between the two heavyweights. He even included a handy countdown timer to show us how long is left until they fight, with hostilities set to begin at around 2pm TCT on Saturday.
A source in Relentless tells me that JFK declared war upon his faction last Monday, and communicated their intentions for hostilities to begin on Saturday the 6th, thus honoring an agreement to give their foes at least three days' notice. JFK's motive for this fight is their long-held desire to Sector 7 Relentless, and their leader Z_junior confirmed this in a brief interview with The Times.
"There is a longstanding rivalry between JFK and Relentless, pretty much the same kind of rivalry that exists among all top factions. This war would have come at one point or another and there are no terms included. It will be a war between 2 families, JFK Main and 2.1 representing us and R1 and Helvete representing them."
Hank of Relentless elaborated on this rivalry by pointing out that their hatred for each other began in 2015 when Relentless was known as Calculating. They were fighting a faction called Trigger Happy when one of their guest warriors, CindyFury, returned to JFK partway through the battle. JFK then declared war on Calculating, a move which Hank believes CindyFury contributed to.
Whether or not she did this is something we are unable to verify, but it appears that JFK's declaration forced Calculating to concede to Trigger Happy and allow them to claim a large respect bonus. The fallout from this dispute remains to this day, as Hank continues the story below.
"Whilst Z did eventually offer us a 1-day non-aggressive pact, the damage was done and Calculating set itself a goal to defeat JFK and take our revenge. For JFK I'm sure this war and events meant nothing but to Calculating (now Relentless) but it set into motion a desire from our core members to eventually beat JFK, we used this loss to fuel our growth, development, and recruitment until we were ready to fight them. To date, Relentless hasn't had a true 1 vs 1 war with JFK despite many skirmishes occurring during the Insurgency conflict (necessary because of their number of allies)."
But as Z_junior stated earlier, this fight will be a 2v2, not a 1v1, and Hank admits that his side is not currently at its peak. My anonymous source in Relentless also concedes that Helvete is no match for JFK 2.1, and believes that this 2v2 is more like a 2v1 fight. I have also heard rumours that Relentless is struggling to find revivers in time for their war, given the number of other major battles being conducted right now.
Nevertheless, Relentless plans to defend their territories to the death, even though they aren't particularly happy at being positioned between JFK and Natural Selection at the moment. At the time of writing, Relentless and JFK were staring at each other across the border between Sectors 2 and 3 to the north of the western island bridge. There were three hours left to go before the conflict was set to start, and Z_junior seemed to be anticipating it greatly.
"The fight should be intense, close, and fun to watch. Hopefully, the Torn audience and most importantly all the participants in this war get to enjoy themselves, learn something and improve their gameplay as a result."
FTW vs Proxy Alliance
Animal Kingdom isn't the only major alliance in town if Chupacabra's thread is to be believed. In fact, it may not be the largest, and by some margin! Forged Through War has been seen fighting many different factions of late, but their leader Para claims that the alliance which opposes them may be as many as FIFTY FACTIONS strong.
Para provided me with a list of supposed members of this group, which has been dubbed by some as "The Proxy Alliance" due to the presence of several major faction proxies among its ranks.
Subversive Alliance, The Brotherhood of War, Elysian, The Masters, Onion Smugglers, Impulse, Winter is Coming, Heart of a Pirate, Brahmastra, Dopeheads on Mopeds, Epic Mafia, The Dominion, Hooligans Reborn
Endless Endeavor, The Iron Fist, Undecided, Hidden Shadows, HOOLIGANS, Brave Survivors, The Collective, Man Down, The Hero, The Fortunate Sons, Ferocious, ShadowSpire, Medical Deliverance, The Night’s Watch, Trisolary, Druggies in Snuggies, UPHEAVAL, SA - Cookie Jar, Medic!!, SA Infinite - Recruiting, The Masters Juniors, The Corleone Family, OS Medical, SA Igloo, The Collective Syndicate, SA One Punch, Caledonia, Eternal Eclipse, The Thought Police, Impulse 13!, BoOtCaMp, THE FOUR TWENTY, Wolf Pack, Equilibrium, Get Stuffed, The Fellowship of LOL, New Sith Order, BoW Subversive Generation, BoW 2.5 Medical, BoW 4.20, S.W.A.T, Nomads, HeLa
Update: Trigger Happy Devils, We Are Reviving, Stoners Reeking Havok, Karma Chameleons, and Inquisitors are now being suggested as additional members. THD's leaderMrMickRi says this isn't true. At this stage, just assume everyone and their mother is a member of this alliance.
An unnamed member of one of these factions did not deny that the alliance existed but refuted claims that all of the members above are involved. My source says that some of these factions are merely helping with group attacks or fake walls because they have nothing better to do. Furthermore, he denies this group is called "The Proxy Alliance". If I were in charge, I'd call it Fifty F***ing Factions, because that's a catchy name. But until such time as we hear differently, we are going to continue to refer to this organisation as The Proxy Alliance, so there.
My source tells me that there is no real leader in this group, but there are those who are higher than others. He described it as a pyramid scheme without the top triangle, a coalition of the leaders and co-leaders of the factions involved. Yet despite there being no outright leader, I have heard that Mary of ShadowSpire and Steven of The Masters were responsible for much of the blockade against Forged Through War. It also appears that while SA is friendly towards this alliance, they are likely not a full member.
Para says that their war against this group began because FTW was bored, had just gone through a change of leadership, and decided to head for a random spot on the map. My records show that FTW was booted out of EFC and SHC by Mentos and Cola in late January, so this may have also played a role in FTW's decision to move.
FTW's initial plan was to head east and then north to find a new home. But having spent too long on the island, Para admits they were completely unaware that the mainland was divided by two major alliances; Animal Kingdom to the east, and the Proxy Alliance to the west.
"Our plan wasn't to ask for passage, it was just to create mischief and cause some wars on our way. Immediately a lot of the factions here got angry, which is understandable. Then SA contacted me asking what we were doing in their protected lands. As old allies, we had no idea this area was controlled by SA. We explained we were passing through and not after any rackets and wouldn't touch them. It was explained that SA protect the rackets, the rest of the land is of no interest to them. So we continued."
From their perspective, a member of the Proxy Alliance told me that this war truly began when Sport Club took territories belonging to Order Through Chaos. This act prompted Forged Through War to join OTC in a retaliatory attack alongside Valhalla and Orchestrated Mayhem. FTW then raided ShadowSpire, claiming the attack was "for test purposes", which further provoked the Proxy Alliance into fighting back aggressively.
We've counted sixteen successful attacks by FTW in this region since late January, but there have been a few defeats too. The Proxy Alliance hit back against FTW on the 1st of February, and their apparent allies OM, and VB, clearing the latter two completely and taking several territories from Forged Through War. FTW then started to negotiate terms but soon began assaulting the territories of Elysian instead, using the negotiations as a smokescreen.
Pictured: When smokey eye makeup gets out of hand.
This was rather apt, as some on the Proxy side have called this The Smoke War, given their propensity for using smoke grenades to weaken FTW's members in group attacks. A member of Proxy told me that their main concern was FTW's refusal to tell them where they wished to pitch up and that this war could've been avoided if they had simply communicated their intentions.
Communication was also blamed for Subversive Alliance's war with Animal Kingdom, and one wonders if SA might get involved here too if their battle with the beasts comes to a premature conclusion. Several members of the Proxy Alliance have denied that they are proxies of SA, but given that they said this without me even asking, I would be inclined to believe that they are. It's like turning up to a murder scene completely unannounced and shouting "I DID NOT VIOLATE THAT CORPSE!"
A member of one Proxy faction clarified by saying that most of their members have never held rackets for Subversive Alliance, but they are nevertheless protected by them. Heasleys4hemp contends this claim, and says that Subversive Alliance extort proxy cash from many of the factions on the west side of the map. Racket investigations led by the Torn City Times in 2019 revealed that nearly half of all Torn's rackets were either controlled by or extorted by Subversive Alliance. We do not know whether this remains the case today, but we strongly suspect it might be.
So where is this war heading? Chupacabra told The Times that he feels FTW has found a good respect farm in this part of the map, as they have thousands of newbies joining walls just waiting to be cleared. He also notes that their opponents have given up a great deal of land and respect in this fight and that despite the overwhelming force of numbers against them, FTW has secured massive respect gains.
FTW find themselves fighting in Sector 6, in the south-western corner of the city along the coastline.
WAR IN THE NORTH
There is a lot of activity in the north-west right now, with several factions led by aXiom and Total Domination looking to break up the 420 family. Their reasoning is that 420 has become too large, but given that many of those who are attacking them possess much larger faction families, this is clearly just an excuse to take 420 lands. A member of 420 sent me this message a few days ago.
"Yesterday at 11AM EST, the 420 Family (Sacrifice, 420 C-K-A, 420 Vengenace, and THE FOUR TWENTY) received word that an alliance made up of aXiom, In Memory of the Fallen, Total Domination, Aperture Science, and Rabid Chihuahuas had declared on our land. They’ve been mostly friendly neighbors. Well, quiet ones at least, so you can’t say we weren’t surprised. Unfortunately, they had caught us with our pants down - leaders either abroad or offline."
In an interview with The Times, Kylar of aXiom explained the true reasons for their attack.
"aXiom and a few of our friends just didn't want to be left out of all the warring happening across Torn right now. We have no personal beef with 420 Family whatsoever - they have many territories and we have a need. Total Domination, In Memory of the Fallen, Aperture Science and aXiom are making up the main assault force, with RxC Family, -Aurora- and Dead Body Crew providing support. We are all good friends with simple goals: growing and protecting our factions."
aXiom took CHF and XGF from 420 factions on Friday and followed up by taking KGF and SHF early on Saturday. Total Domination focused on Sacrifice and picked up JJF, PGF, and EWB over the past two days. In Memory of the Fallen also enjoyed victories at EGF, GGF, YHF over 420 factions. Just before going to print, we noticed that a Peace Treaty had been arranged at QGF between Total Domination and Sacrifice. This may or may not signal the end of this conflict.
To the north of this fight, IA: Iron Rose is involved in what appears to be a multi-faction war against Unwavering Ruthless Loyal. Iron Rose took NHF from URL early on Saturday morning, and the likes of Vault 76, Lucifer X, and Dynamic Chaos have all been seen attacking URL territories in recent days, leading to the loss of KIF, AGF, and BDA by the defenders.
IA's leader, TheProletariat, says his faction is trying to expand in the area to grab at least four more territories. He also made it clear that the other factions currently attacking URL are not allied with his side, and are merely dogpiling on URL for their own individual gains. This war is currently taking place just below the airport in Sectors 6 and 7, and TheProletariat says it was timed to coincide with an attack by In Memory of the Fallen against the 420 family.
TheProletariat tells me that he is friendly with the leader of In Memory of the Fallen, 84N3, and that the two sides both pulled the trigger on both of these wars at the same time. He went on to tell The Times that they did so in order to be neighbours on the map, which is rather cute when you think about it! Yet despite this arrangement, it seems that aXiom is calling the shots in this war, with everyone else following their lead as they seek to remove 420 from the area.
This situation has forced 420 to through their lot in with Dynamic Chaos, despite the fact that 420 and DC only signed a peace treaty a few days ago - I have received several disparaging messages from DC members about 420, so there is clearly still a great deal of animosity between the two sides. Several factions in this area have become embroiled in this conflict through no fault of their own, with both Global Domination and Mile High Club being mistaken for allies of the 420 family too.
Update: A member of Rabid Chihuahuas contacted The Times to add a small correction regarding Global Domination:
"We knew from nearly the beginning they weren't apart of 420 as they informed us they paid them 10 Donator packs to try and pass through their TT's to get next to el condor, when we started waring with 420 this obviously interrupted their deal and they decided to attack 420 with us for free passage to el-condor."
Despite all this strife, my source within 420 does not blame their rivals for this fight, or aXiom either. Rather interestingly, this member of the 420 believes that the person responsible for their current predicament is none other than SA leader Midknight.
"You know how SA got into that big spat with AK and 50,000 more factions? That’s left our little section of sector 6/7 open to opportunists and big, fat turf wars. Midknight and all of them used to keep an eye on wars and make sure they were somewhat fair in terms of proper reason and warning."
Update: Unlike my source, 420 leader Skinny-pete420 does not blame Midknight for this situation, and angrily refuted such claims. He wished to state for the record that Midnight is friendly towards the faction and has only ever helped them in the past. The number of angry messages I received from 420 members about this issue suggests my source may be stirring up trouble, or has told me a very inconvenient truth.
If this current spate of wars has taught us anything above all else, it is that Subversive Alliance holds a tight grip on the reins of power in Torn City. Whether it's a racket to the south, a small faction family to the north, or a high-respect territory to the east, Midknight's men have an interest. It seems you can't step anywhere in Torn these days without seeing the SA flag planted in the turf.
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