Welcome to the ninth edition of Army Rivalries, a column in which we examine army relations of the past. In this week’s edition, we will look at the conflicts between the Elite Guardians and Crusaders in recent history.
Designed by Wynn
BEGINNINGS OF CONFLICT
Following Club Penguin‘s closure, a few armies remained alive, and most shut down in March 2017. Consequently, the community was in a state of limbo between different media organizations and maps. Most armies used a variety of Club Penguin Private Servers that included Club Penguin Rewritten, OldCP, Club Penguin Online, and Penguin Oasis. Two active armies during this time were Elite Guardians of Club Penguin and Templars formed in October 2017 and April 2018, respectively. Quickly after the Templars’ creation by Xing, raids took place on the Crusaders’ land due to allegations of various offenses. For these allegations, the Elite Guardians declared war on Templars shortly after on April 9, 2018.
First Great Holy War
After the declaration, many invasions took place on Templars’ land such as the OldCP servers of Deep Freeze and North Pole. Next, the Guardians invaded Abominable and Sleet. During the war, the Guardians also successfully defended their territories of Oasis and Glacier. Finally, EGCP invaded the Templars’ capital as a conclusion to the war. While EGCP claimed successful invasions of all Templars’ territory, both sides claimed victory despite the Guardians’ invasion of the Crusaders’ capital. At the same time, EGCP maxed a significant amount more than Templars in the war. Subsequently, a period of peace lasted for several months between the two armies.
EGCP Invasion of Templars’ Deep Freeze
EGCP Invasion of Templars’ North Pole
Final Battle of the Great Holy War
Club Penguin Online Era
Creation of CPOAL
In the meantime, Army Legend Waterkid101 founded Club Penguin Online Army League (CPOAL) in May 2018 after CPR started a crackdown on armies. Accordingly, CPO became the central hub for the largest armies armies up until the shutdown of the game on May 15, 2020. Several months after its creation, the first CPPS iteration of Christmas Chaos on CPO featured a tense battle between EGCP and TCP in the quarter-finals. Following the battle, the judges declared the Templars the winners in a controversial decision. Immediately, the Guardians accused the Crusaders of using allies. After comments from Xing, the Guardians declared war on the Templars.
Christmas Chaos battle between EGCP and TCP
Third Great Holy War
The conflict functioned as several raids of Templars’ events by the Guardians. Simultaneously, EGCP and TCP both received a second chance in the tournament where the Templars tied with the Guardians in a semi-final rematch. Later on, both armies – surprisingly – agreed to boycott the final battle as they felt the tournament proceedings were biased towards the Pirates. On the other hand, the war concluded with an EGCP victory as a peace treaty was signed by both parties. Overall, 6 battles took place over a 17-day period as the Sleet raid acted as the last battle. After the treaty was signed, the Templars officially became an EGCP colony for some weeks.
First Raid of TCP by EGCP
EGCP vs. Templars in semi-finals rematch
Treaty between TCP and EGCP
EARLY 2019 CONFLICTS
Templars Exodus & Move to CPR
Firstly, Templars experienced turbulence quickly into the new year. Disagreements over leadership style came about after Xing briefly left the army for a week. Consequently, Dagyr3, TCP Staff, exited the army and created Winged Hussars with the help of other former TCP members. WH’s association with the Guardians in the New Viking Alliance further exacerbated the months-long conflict between the two armies. Lastly, CPO banned both TCP and EGCP after they criticized the CPOAL administration for alleged corruption. Following their bans, the two armies moved to CPR as it was the largest alternative server.
February/March 2019 War
Soon after their leave from CPO, EGCP declared war on TCP due to strong disagreements with Xing’s leadership. Therefore, the war began with two raids of Templars by the Guardians. In the second raid, NVA and Rebel Penguin Federation aided EGCP in the effort against the Crusaders. Next, EGCP successfully invaded Templars’ server of Oasis. Afterward, the Guardians achieved two victories in their invasions of Sleet and Beanie. Lastly, EGCP conquered the Antarctic due to a no-show from Templars.
EGCP raid of Templars
EGCP’s invasion of Oasis
The month of March kicked off with a successful defense of Oasis by EGCP. Secondly, the Guardians defended Zipline with higher sizes than TCP. After several defenses against RPF, the war continued with EGCP’s two successful defenses of Oasis. Finally, the war ended with an EGCP victory as Templars returned to CPO. As a result, the two armies did not interact for a time until TCP returned to the CPR army community.
Templars’ invasion of Oasis
Templars’ Invasion of Sleet
November 2019 War
In response to Templars’ return, EGCP declared war on November 26, 2019. During the first battle, EGCP outmatched TCP in the defense of Flurry with higher sizes. As a follow-up, EGCP invaded Icebox successfully. Thirdly, the Crusaders failed to invade EGCP’s Oasis as EGCP achieved their third victory of the war. The war ended with an EGCP victory as the army lost no territory. A month later, EGCP closed its doors due to a decline in sizes.
EGCP’s Defense of Flurry
Templars’ Invasion of Icebox
EGCP RETURN & 2ND GEN WARS
World War IX & Christmas Crusade
Four years later, EGCP held a return event where they maxed 32 penguins. Following their return, EGCP and TCP found themselves in conflict with one another again after they were on opposite sides of World War IX and the Christmas Crusade. In both wars, the war score favored the Guardians, although no official winner was recognized as per the treaties.
Christmas Crusade Last Battle: EGCP vs. ACP-TCP-PIC
Operation: Saladin War
Invasions of Ventilador, Sabertooth, and Christmas
However, the two did not face each other directly until May 2024. On May 10, EGCP declared war due to unfinished business from the previous generation. Although there was already a new server map, the war ended up mapless as it needed more time to be fully completed. After a demotion to the Small/Medium category, the war aided greatly in helping EGCP rebuild to its previous heights. Thus, the war started with the Templars’ invasion of Ventilador. Both armies achieved similar sizes but the Guardians came out on top. Next, EGCP automatically gained Sabertooth after a no-show from Templars following technical difficulties. After two wins, EGCP rode the momentum to another win with a large-size advantage on Christmas.
EGCP vs. TCP on Ventilador
EGCP vs. TCP on Christmas
Invasions of Alexandria, Deu Branco, and Cookkygrado
Following these three battles, EGCP had a smaller size advantage in the fourth battle. However, the army still successfully invaded Alexandria after a relatively close battle ended in a three-room sweep by the Guardians. Next, EGCP successfully defended Deu Branco from the Crusaders. Moving on, the last battle of Cookkygrado ended in a tie after a very close battle. Finally, the war ended with an EGCP win due to Templars’ no-show at the next three invasions by the Guardians. Consequently, Templars claimed victory and accused EGCP of botting their server. Despite these allegations, the result stayed a Guardians victory in the historical record. After some time, the Templars officially retracted the accusations.
EGCP’s Invasion of Alexandria
Templars’ Invasion of Deu Branco
Templars’ Invasion of Cookkygrado
Conclusion
Throughout the past seven or so years, EGCP and TCP’s rivalry survived through many ups and downs for the community. Their conflict was especially interesting as they each experienced times of being the top dog of the community. Their controversial natures also led to significant conflict that influenced army relations and the overall community to this day. What do YOU think of the EGCP-TCP rivalry? Who do YOU think was the winner?
Aurora
Reporter