Since 2020, one army reigned dominant over the community’s legacy year finale tournament, Christmas Chaos. Holding the greatest tournament-winning streak in all of the CPPS era of armies, the Rebel Penguin Federation comes into this year’s Christmas Chaos well-prepared and ready to win.

A Brief History of Christmas Chaos

First and foremost, it is important to cover some context regarding Christmas Chaos as a whole. The legendary tournament that we all have come to know began with humble beginnings back in November of 2011, hosted by the primary presiding news organization, Club Penguin Army Central. Numerous household-name armies took part in the first iteration: a total of 24 armies, with the finals being between the Nachos, Ninjas, and Ice Warriors. After a long, hard battle, the Nachos brought home the very first-ever Christmas Chaos victory.

With the conclusion of the first-ever Christmas Chaos, the annual tradition began, with the tournament taking place every single November/December until the closure of Club Penguin. This placed the tournament as one of the legacy tournaments, alongside the likes of March Madness and the Legends Cup, therefore making up the primary tournaments of the year, and it remains the same to this date. A total of six editions took place during the original era of Club Penguin Armies, with the Rebel Penguin Federation and Dark Warriors taking home the most victories, that being a total of two, perhaps a foreshadowing of the future in the former’s case.

As Club Penguin reached its conclusion, many felt as if armies would simply cease to exist. With that idea in mind, there was no way another Christmas Chaos could take place, as Club Penguin would be closing at the end of March 2017. Well, that could not have been further from wrong.

CHRISTMAS CHAOS IN THE CPPS ERA

The first ever armies to formally become a part of the CPPS era of armies were the Rebel Penguin Federation and the Underground Mafias Army. Soon came the news organization Club Penguin Rewritten Army Central. While the news organization did not last long, there was still hope that massive-scale tournaments could still happen.

Christmas Chaos VII, and the Controversies That Followed

This proved to be true, with the newly emerged Penguin Press news organization, directed by S/M Army Legend Ulysses Nardo, holding the first-ever Christmas Chaos in the CPPS era. While unconventional by previous standards, the Christmas Chaos 2017: Hunt and Kill marked the first major tournament to be held within this era.

In the following two years, both tournaments were extremely controversial. With allegations of rigging that resulted in the community rejecting the original winner in the former, and allegations of rigging regarding a tie, as well as a massive split in the community by the time of the latter. Therefore, the future of Christmas Chaos seemed a little bleak, to say the least.

A Return to Prominence

With the fall of Club Penguin Online in May, the community was once again unified with the merger between the Club Penguin Army League and the Club Penguin Army Media organizations, creating the controversial but extremely successful Club Penguin Army Hub. A return to normalcy occurred during this era, accompanied by the Third Golden Age of Club Penguin Armies, with much attribution to the COVID-19 pandemic. This era saw some of the largest tournament battles of all time.

Christmas Chaos X was massive, with many large armies being able to take part. As beforementioned, the Rebel Penguin Federation took home the victory, but it was not easy. They fought against one of their strongest allies of the time, the Ice Warriors, and reached sizes of 129. After it was all said and done, the Rebel Penguin Federation was given the victory, but that was just the start.

CPAHQ Christmas Chaos

Following the fall of the Club Penguin Army Hub in early 2021, a new organization known as the Club Penguin Army Head Quarters succeeded the organization. By the time of Christmas Chaos XI, the community was not as vibrant as it once was, but tournaments still sparked immense interest in the community, making any army alive. The tournament concluded once again with the finals being against the yearlong army titans, the Rebel Penguin Federation, and the Ice Warriors, to no surprise to many. However, this battle was fought with even more blood and sweat than before, as an overtime room was needed. Fighting tooth and nail, the RPF took home the victory once again.

The Latest Iteration

By the time of Christmas Chaos XII, the community had taken quite a large turn in terms of overall activity. From the extremely vibrant and alive community in 2020 to the rather dull – but still not small – community of 2022, the chance of tournaments reaching the scale of the older ones was bleak. Nevertheless, once again, tournaments proved to bring out the best and bring utmost activity in every army that took part. Once again, the Rebels made it to the finals, but this time, the Templars followed them. What came as a result of that was a well-fought battle from both sides, but the formations chosen and executed by the RPF became no match for the Knights on the opposing side. With that, RPF took home their victory for the third year in a row.

In a stunning and unprecedented case, the Rebel Penguin Federation managed to take home the victory three years in a row, making them the first and only army to do so. This also has placed the Rebels as the overall champion of Christmas Chaos, with a total of five victories out of the, so far, twelve tournaments. This brings us back to the original question: how did they achieve this status of dominance over the past three years?

Analysis

As mentioned previously, the RPF was the first major army to become a part of the CPPS era of armies. The army grew substantially throughout 2017, reaching confirmed sizes of around 50+ at their highest points. From 2017 until late 2018, they remained the largest army in the community. The army notably became a household name across the Club Penguin Rewritten community, owing much of it to their family-friendly status and really tight community.

The leadership of the army at this time changed quite a bit, but the most notable figures were xxToysoldier, Elmikey, Popsiclebeak, Chip, Twitchy543, and Silverburg. These names are quite familiar, because, in the case of most of them, they were all seasoned veterans of armies at this point, with Popsiclebeak learning the ropes from the likes of the others. Under the experienced leadership, the army trained its successors. This was an era of armies that was highlighted by spacious and pretty formations.

The army was, controversially, very isolated at this time. The only notable alliance the army had was with the Romans, one of the main S/M armies of the time. The army refused to actively partake in the Club Penguin Army Syndicate project as well. This isolation, however, perhaps allowed them to train in the event of any massive conflict and build their community to become even closer and closer. RPF would later go onto max nearly 100 in the spring of 2018.

Legends Cup VIII

With the fall of Club Penguin Rewritten, the Rebel Penguin Federation, along with many other armies, moved to Club Penguin Online. There, the first-ever wide-scale tournament took place, the Legends Cup VIII. This tournament helped revive the community quite a bit, and the Rebels, under the leadership of Left and Popsiclebeak, took part in it. RPF was able to defeat opponent after opponent, making use of their strong sense of clean formations and clean tactics. While the finals were fought between the Elite Trackers & Activities and the Rebel Penguin Federation, the primary fight was in the semi-finals, where RPF fought against the Elite Guardians. After a controversial and well-fought battle that led to overtime, the Rebels were victorious and went on to be the official winners of the CPPS era’s first-ever Legends Cup tournament, setting the stage for their future success.

A Period of Decline & Growth

The army had a period of slowed activity and smaller sizes for a while, due to their initial closure in late 2018 and subsequent defacing. However, due to RPF‘s family-friendly nature and historically tight-knit community, they returned to most of their previously held glory by 2019. Soon, UltipenguinJ took over leadership and sought to develop RPF into a no longer isolated diplomatic and tournament powerhouse, far more than before.

Fast forward to 2020, and he succeeded. The Rebel Penguin Federation was once again a superpower, but this time, ready to take the community by storm each step at a time. The leadership was passed down to Crazzyhead and Cosmo, who both would lead until 2021. Under their leadership, they led RPF through one of the biggest tournaments ever, Christmas Chaos X.

Christmas Chaos X

Christmas Chaos X occurred right at the tail end of the Third Golden Age of Club Penguin Armies. This golden age, as mentioned before, was marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the unification of the community. It was not uncommon to see armies hit sizes into the 100s during tournaments and major events. Compared to the rest of the army history, this age was undoubtedly the largest ever, and Christmas Chaos was amongst the many pieces of evidence there is to prove it.

Round One

The first round saw the Rebel Penguin Federation fight against the Fighter Pilots. There is not a whole lot to analyze about this battle, as the battle was a victory practically given to the Rebels, as the Fighter Pilots stood no chance against the massive sizes of the RPF.

Round Two

Round two saw the Rebels take on a larger opponent, the Silver Empire, which was, according to them: “an S/M powerhouse”. Indeed, while smaller, the Silver Empire managed to nearly match the speed and precision of the Rebels, but they managed to still defeat them, as SE could not perfectly match the formation execution, speed, and size of the Rebels. It is important to note that by the time of late 2020, battles began to really emphasize speed, as opposed to the extremely neat and often photographic battles of the years prior.

Semi-finals

Round three, the semi-finals, saw the Rebel Penguin Federation take on the well-established tournament titans, the Help Force. According to Club Penguin Army Hub, the first room was fairly close, with size differences being nearly non-existent. What did exist, however, was a slight contrast in the quality of tactics. The RPF was able to edge out the victory in the first room through their usage of extremely high-quality tactics.

By the second room, the size difference became far more apparent, with the Rebels taking said advantage. With a continuing trend of high-quality tactics and immense speed, the Rebels were able to, comparatively, decisively take the victory in this room. The third room saw similar trends, but this time, the Help Force put up their greatest fight. Still, in the end, the judges ruled that the Rebels would win the third room.

Finals

The final battle was fought between the Rebels and their extremely close ally, the Ice Warriors. This battle was huge, with the Rebels maxing 129 and the Warriors maxing 114. A fairly close battle, it ended in a 2-0-1 [W-T-L] score, in favor of the Rebels. The Rebels managed to defeat IW through their creative and more expansive use of formations, coupled with their immense speed once again. With the victory in the Rebels’ hands, it was safe to conclude that the Rebel Penguin Federation was the champion of 2020.

Christmas Chaos XI

The community had completely exited the era of its recent Golden Age. This tournament was comparatively shorter than the previous Christmas Chaos, containing a total of three true rounds and a one-off first round.

Round Two

Round two, sometimes referred to as the real first round, saw the Rebels fight against Special Weapons and Tactics. Like many times before, the Rebel Penguin Federation maintained a large size over all of these years, composed of new soldiers and veterans alike. With a 28+ size advantage, the Rebels were able to swiftly and easily take home the victory in their first battle of the tournament.

Semi-finals

The semi-finals brought several flashbacks, as the Rebel Penguin Federation once again faced the Help Force. In a similar nature to the previous Christmas Chaos, the Rebels were able to successfully beat HF with a 3-0 score, owing to their superior tactics and speed once again. Although a well-fought battle, it was regarded as a clean sweep, and signs were pointing in a direction that said the Rebels simply could not be defeated.

Finals

This proved to be true. The finals also brought several flashbacks, as the Rebel Penguin Federation faced the Ice Warriors once again! This time, however, it was a battle far closer than before. The Rebels entered the first room with a larger boom and managed to create flawless formations, although the Warriors could cover them with bombs. The Rebels obtained the victory in this room.

The following room was not as decisive; both armies began to show some major weaknesses. While the Rebels were able to hold a slight advantage in terms of size, this advantage was not enough to guarantee a victory against IW, and it ultimately was ruled a tie. The third room completely switched things up, with the Warriors entering with a crushing entry, as well as carrying out even further crushing formations, holding a size advantage. Due to all these aforementioned reasons, the Warriors were declared the winner in this room.

The victory the Ice Warriors achieved in the third room would cause overtime, which saw the Rebels realize their mistakes and step it up. The Rebels sped up their pace immensely, and their formation choices were once again crushing, with an anchor formation being one of the highlights. At the end of the battle, the Rebels obtained victory, taking home another consecutive victory in the Christmas Chaos tournaments.

Christmas Chaos XII

Sadly, Christmas Chaos XII saw yet another decrease in the size of the bracket. A trend in the community has certainly appeared to have shown at this time, that being that the community was moving away from the once huge activity it once had. However, tournaments still continued to bring the best out of armies, even if the best was a max of 50+ instead of 100+. By this point, Christmas Chaos had developed a trench of rematches inside of the bracket. After years, it became abundantly clear who the titans of the tournaments were.

Round One

In an even shorter tournament than before, the first round of Christmas Chaos XII, once again, saw the Rebel Penguin Federation face Special Weapons and Tactics. In a bit of a surprise, SWAT put up quite a fight against RPF, tying the final room. However, the speed that the Rebels portrayed was far faster, as they made use of their size advantage, and had extremely clean tactics.

Semi-finals

The second round was the semi-finals, which saw the Rebels fight, once again, the Help Force. While still a massive battle, the Force managed to put up an even bigger fight than ever before, managing to win one room and tie the third! Overtime took place, but the Rebels only are fueled by overtime. Not intimidated. The overtime room ended in a Rebel victory, due to, as predicted, their clean formations and clean tactics.

Finals

In complete shock, the finals did not have a battle between the Rebels and the Ice Warriors. The year 2022 was an extremely successful year for the Templars, and they managed to beat back the Warriors, taking the previously consecutively held spot in the finals from them. This battle was extremely well fought and brought the most out of everyone involved. TCP had not reached this far since Christmas Chaos VIII, marking a pivotal point in their history. Perhaps one of the Rebel’s biggest challenges in a while, the Templars fought tooth and nail in the first room, with the Rebels managing to edge by a victory due to their ability to cover the Knights through their clean and wide variety of tactics.

The second room did not meet the same fate. Strangely, both armies were reported to have gone practically idle, barely making any move towards one another. While it did not look too good for TCP, they managed to turn the tide by winning the third room, entering the room far quicker, and, for the first time in a long time, outdoing the Rebels in terms of formations!

The overtime room was where it all mattered, and the Rebels took advantage of this very moment. Historically speaking, overtime rules are the diesel to their motors, and they turned over successfully once again. Through clever formation usage, they managed to surround the room, capture the inside, and cover the enemy, alleviating any chance for a Templar victory. In the end, and even after a review, the Rebels took home the victory.

Evaluating the Trends

It is safe to conclude that the Rebels are motivated by all-or-nothing scenarios, or in basic terms, overtime rooms. Not only that, but it is abundantly clear the Rebels have trained their troops extremely well in the battle aspects of armies, such as strategically clean and expansive formations, and extremely clean and fast tactics. Trends seem to point that the Rebels have such a massive pool of veterans and troops (a byproduct of their massive size over the years), that they will never have an issue gathering the size needed to win. However, most of what can be concluded from this analysis so far is purely based on battle aspects alone. How do the Rebels get into the position to execute their decisive and crushing battle tactics?

In a recent interview with RPF leader Link3000, the Rebel Commander stated some methods of how they usually prepare to make use of their well-trained soldiers and veterans:

We’re preparing as normal and I’m sure in a similar way as other armies. We’re increasing our recruiting efforts, making sure troops know and are hyped for the upcoming tournament as well as planning plenty of training events to improve our form and freshen up on our battle prepardness.

Club Penguin Armies managed to get an exclusive interview with Gabgeirl, RPF Second in Command, with the goal of gathering more information about the Rebel’s historic tournament success, specifically in Christmas Chaos.

Historically speaking, how has the Rebel Penguin Federation prepared for Christmas Chaos?

When prepping for Christmas Chaos, RPF usually utilizes a number of different training methods. This includes practice battles, regular voice led events, just anything that really sets the tone for the tournament! This helps not only the troops brush up on their speed and skills, but also allows the HCOM team to become well drilled.

What do you think has contributed the most to the victories that you guys have achieved in Christmas Chaos?

We really couldn’t have won these tournaments without the hard work of the troops and vets who log on for us! Leadership can only do so much – without the numbers that the wider army provides we would struggle a lot more. We’re very lucky to be in the position where both our troops and vets enjoy tournaments and the hype can take on a life of its own! Without everyone who is willing to log on and take part we wouldn’t be where we are!

Conclusion

It is safe to assume that the success the Rebels have seen over the years can be attributed to a wide variety of factors. In terms of preparation, it can be concluded that the massive outreach of veterans has been a guiding factor, alongside the several extensive training routines that are carried out by the hard-working and dedicated troops of the army. Alongside the guidance of leaders and high command who have become seasoned veterans of the game, it is safe to conclude that in terms of a well-prepared professional competitor in the community, the Rebels are among the top.

When looking at the battles alone, the Rebels have historically been masters of clean tactics and expansive, decisive formations. This ties directly into their roots from when armies emphasized these factors above all. However, it is impossible to overlook the Rebels’ ability to make use of speed as well. It is clear they have adapted well to the times like the other armies, but perhaps even a bit better in many cases. A truly professional army, the Rebels have shown time and time again that they will always be a contender in warfare, tournaments, and in this case, especially Christmas Chaos.

With Christmas Chaos around the corner, several armies have begun preparations. Will these preparations pay off for the Rebel Penguin Federation, and therefore, continue their winning streak? With the rise of several armies this year to the number one position threaten the Rebel’s winning streak? 

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