In preparation for March Madness, several armies have hosted practice battles with each other. These battles allowed the armies to practice and prepare for the upcoming tournament. Let us see how each battle went on.
Designed by Wynn & Edu
Army of Club Penguin vs. Water Vikings
The Army of Club Penguin and the Water Vikings have battled each other several times across 2023. They competed against each other in World War IX and Christmas Chaos XIII, with the Vikings winning the latter. As a result, a small rivalry formed, with both armies trying to one-up the other in the practice battle.
Stadium – Water Vikings
The Vikings were the first to enter the stadium, followed closely by the Clovers. After bombing the room, they both formed a plus formation. A few minutes later, ACP bombed the room, forming an upside-down T. Not to be outdone by the Clovers, the Vikings also bombed the room, forming an X formation. At this point, the Vikings held a slight size advantage, with 24 WV troops compared to 21 ACP troops. ACP was the first to move again, followed shortly by WV. Following the movement, ACP sat in a surround formation, while WV sat in an upside-down T formation. Therefore, due to cleaner formations and better coverage, the Vikings won this room.
ACP Battling WV in the Stadium
Inside Mine – Tie
ACP were the first to bomb the room this time, with the Vikings close after. The Clovers quickly formed a V formation while the Vikings sat in a surround. While in these formations, WV had better coverage of the room while ACP was much quicker with sending tactics. The Clovers proceeded to bomb and form an arrow formation. Seeing this, the Vikings decided to get in the same formation to cover them. This did not work out, as the Vikings were slower at sending tactics. ACP decided to rake while WV waterfalled, forming an I and upside-down T formation, respectively. Despite losing a few troops, the Clovers managed to cover while in this formation. Thus, the judges decided that room two was a tie due to similar performances from both armies.
ACP Battling WV Inside Mines
Cove – Army of Club Penguin
The third room started with the Clovers forming an upside-down V and the Vikings forming an arrow. Both armies had messy formations with a lot of bunching. The Vikings then bombed the room while the Clovers defended with a big word bubble. The Vikings formed an upside-down T, while the Clovers moved into an X. Although ACP’s X was lopsided, they managed to cover their opponents. Both of them proceeded to bomb again, with WV forming an X and ACP forming a V. Despite having troops out of formation, the Clovers continued to cover the Vikings, giving them the win for this room.
ACP and WV Battling in the Cove
This makes the practice battle between ACP and WV a tie, with both armies winning one room each. The battle showed the importance of coverage, speed, and tidy formations. During the battle, there were times that coverage beat speed and other times speed beat tidy formations. This battle is evidence of the importance of all three, but it also shows how excelling in one aspect can compensate for a lack in another.
Elite Guardians vs. Help Force
The Elite Guardians and the Help Force have not battled much in the past. During World War IX, HF assisted their ally, ACP, by sending troops to their battles, many of which were against EGCP. The Helpers and Guardians also battled in the New Year Bonanza 2024 tournament, in which the Help Force won the room.
Cove – Tie
EGCP was the first to enter the room, forming a triangle formation. The Help Force was close behind, making an X formation. The Guardians had a considerable size advantage of 25 to the Helpers’ 16. The Helpers were sloppy with their formation, allowing the Guardians to take control. HF proceeded to whirlpool, forming an upside-down V. EGCP followed suit, bombing and forming an arrow pointing to the bottom left. EGCP continued to cover HF while in this formation. Both armies raked the room, moving into a plus. HF managed to cover EGCP in the formation, taking control of the second half of the room. As a result, the room was deemed a tie as both armies controlled half the room.
HF and EGCP Battling in the Cove
Docks – Elite Guardians of Club Penguin
Both armies entered the room at the same time, with the Guardians forming a sideways L and the Helpers forming an upside-down V. They both had neat forms, but EGCP’s formation appeared larger and helped them cover. HF proceeded to whirlpool while EGCP bombed, before forming a V and H respectively. Later, the Guardians whirlpooled and sat in an upside-down T, allowing them to cover the Helpers yet again. EGCP was also faster and had fewer AFK troops, further increasing their control of the room. HF then bombed and moved into a messy X formation. Thus, EGCP won the room with faster tactics, neater formations, and a size advantage.
HF and EGCP Battling in the Docks
Inside Mine – Elite Guardians of Club Penguin
The Guardians entered the room first, quickly forming an L. Right behind them were the Helpers who hastily got into a T formation. This formation combined with EGCP’s faster tactics allowed them to dominate the Helpers. The Guardians then raked before forming a sloppy X formation that was quickly neatened. HF then waterfalled and formed a plus formation. EGCP continued to have a size advantage of 20 compared to HF’s 14, and they were also faster at sending tactics. Then, the Helpers and Guardians both moved, making an upside-down V and an underlined V, respectively. Overall, EGCP won the room due to being much faster with tactics.
HF and EGCP Battling Inside Mines
This gives EGCP the win, claiming victory in two rooms. The battle showcased the importance of fast tactics as well as neat formations. It also showed how messy formations can be fixed, as demonstrated by EGCP several times in the battle. Both of these are necessary to win a battle, and this practice battle emphasizes that.
Penguins of Madagascar vs. Winged Hussars
The Penguins of Madagascar and Winged Hussars do not have much of a history with each other. Other than their battle at New Year Bonanza 2024, which the Hussars won, they have not battled with one another much. This made their practice battle more interesting, as there is not much history to analyze when trying to predict a winner.
Forest – WingED Hussars
The Hussars entered the room first followed by POM. WH quickly got into a V formation while their orange opponent got into an upside-down T. Both armies had similar sizes, with POM having 9 troops against WH’s 8 troops. POM proceeded to spam jokes for a while with several gaps of no tactics between them. Some of the judges had trouble distinguishing WH’s messy formation, making this part of the battle somewhat close, as both armies made mistakes. Afterward, the orange penguins raked the room while the Hussars bombed. WH then moved into a horizontal line, while POM slowly moved into an unclear formation, with several troops seemingly out of formation. The Hussars increased the rate of sending tactics, greatly outspeeding POM. After that, WH raked the room, putting focus on POM’s messy formation. POM proceeded to bomb the room.
POM Battling WH in the Forest
The Hussars got into a diagonal formation, with POM doing a diagonal wipe to cover them. POM then bunched in the middle before spreading out into a plus. This plus was POM’s best formation yet, although they were bunched a bit in the middle. The judges noted that POM started to reuse tactics. WH then waterfalled before going back into a diagonal formation. At the end of the room, POM bombed and did not make another formation. As a result of POM’s inconsistent formations and tactics, WH won this room.
Iceberg – Tie
POM was the first to enter the second room, quickly forming a diagonal. WH followed behind them, forming an L formation. Although POM was bunched, they had a size advantage of 13-8. The Hussars waterfalled while POM bombed, forming a horizontal and diagonal line respectively. POM continued to have a size advantage of 14-9. Shortly after getting into formation, POM bombed again and formed a V. WH also bombed, forming an H formation. There was a gap in the middle of WH’s formation, allowing POM to cover them. Just before the end of the room, WH raked and got into a neat plus formation. The room was deemed a tie due to the back-and-forth nature of who was in control.
POM Battling WV in the Iceberg
Docks – WingED Hussars
WH entered the last room first, forming a reverse L. POM tried to form a plus, but later decided to cover the Hussars in their L. Despite POM’s larger size of 13-8 and the use of big word bubbles, they were unable to cover WH. The Hussars were more tactical in their formation choice, opting for forms that fit their smaller size. They were also quicker than POM, allowing them to overcome their size disadvantage. As a result, the Hussars were awarded the victory in this room, as they were much quicker and had neater formations.
POM Battling WH in the Docks
WH were victorious in the practice battle, winning two out of three rooms. The battle put on display how significant speed and neat formations are to winning a battle. The event proved that being faster and tidier is enough to beat an army with a bigger size. It also showed how detrimental an untidy formation can be, as it can negate the benefit of having a size advantage.
Preparations for March Madness IX are fully underway. With many armies doing judged practice battles with each other, it seems that both Major and Small/Medium armies are taking the tournament seriously. Should armies do more practice battles in the build-up to tournaments? What is the value of having a judged practice battle compared to a regular one?