Less than a month after shutting down, the Blizzard Battalion announced their return to the community. Given the brief nature of their closure, we decided to explore the reason for their revival and their goals.
Designed by Master DS
The first Generation
The first, and most recent, era of the Blizzard Battalion began on July 14 this year. This initial generation, created by Shazam and Bilxo, started well – maxing 20 in their opening event. The newly created Battalion quickly formed connections, either allying or signing non-aggression pacts with multiple armies. Among these armies are the Templars, the People’s Imperial Confederation, and the Vanguard Penguin Federation.
During their debut week, the Battalion secured tenth place in that week’s Top Ten. We also saw them rank fourteenth on the Top Ten Armies of the Month in their first month open. Notably, they planned to participate in the fourth edition of the prestigious Beach Brawl tournament; however, they soon withdrew.
The opening event of the Blizzard Battalion’s original generation. Max: 20
Over the next few months, BB began to add new leaders to their ranks, among them Lord Romeo. However, this specific promotion ultimately led to the premature closure of the army. On September 4, less than a week after he was inducted as leader, the army was forced to officially close its gates.
This occurred after allegations surfaced about Lord Romeo, forcing the Battalion to immediately cease operations. Nonetheless, in an interview after the original cessation of operations, founder and leader Bilxo promised the community that the “Blizzards will be back soon!!!”.
The Revival
The promise of return proved to be true; on October 1, Bilxo sent a message to the army server, teasing a return. The next day Bilxo released an announcement, titled “The Great Comeback”. This message announced the revival of the army and detailed the new leadership’s aims to outdo the original generation.
Hello Blizzards! Bilxo here!
Today, we are going to do a big announcement, Blizzard Battalion, will be back!
Blizzard Battalion GEN 2 is here, and we will show the (lazy) gen 1, that we can max more than 10!
This announcement is optimistic about the army’s future. However, with their reopening event scheduled for this Saturday, it remains to be seen whether this generation will truly outdo the first one. It is also important to note that Bilxo is currently serving as a fifth-in-command of the Winged Hussars – begging the question, will he be able to lead an army alongside his duties in WH?
In suit with the previous generation, the Battalion was quick to make allies this time around. Before even having their opening event, they’ve solidified alliances with the Special Weapons and Tactics and VPF. Furthermore, they have also allied with the Templars.
Interview
Curious about the reasons for the revival, his plans for the future, and the general direction of the Battalion, Club Penguin Armies reached out to Bilxo for an exclusive interview.
We know that you promised to return the Battalion, but why did you choose to do it specifically now?
I’ve been thinking about my plans to Blizzard Battalion, and now that I’m part of WH, I think it would be a good idea to use BB as a way to train myself. I want to understand my leadership capacity and recruitment ability. I believe leading my own army will help me find these answers, but managing an army isn’t easy. An army should also be a welcoming environment and feel like a community!
You say that you aim to be better than the first generation of BB. What did they do wrong, that you wish to do better?
The first generation of BB was more experimental, something more ‘lazy,’ I would say. We didn’t recruit many people, and we didn’t hold events very often. Just as we were starting to get out of that ‘laziness,’ the Romeo scandal happened, and Eros stepped down from leadership. That discouraged me, and I closed the army.
Other than those, do you have any big goals in mind? Is there anything specific you wish to achieve in the future?
My goal at this moment is to train everyone in the Blizzard Battalion to recruit and lead, so they can become promising troops for our leadership. This will help BB reach the status of ‘Major Army.’ These are my only objectives right now, and I want to keep my focus on them until they are achieved.
Will you be inducting any new leaders soon? If not, will you be able to lead the army alone?
I already have people in mind to train. For those who don’t know, there are two very promising troops who could become great leaders: their names are Nick and Cyber_Fusion. I want to make sure they gain all the knowledge I have from the four armies I’ve been part of and am still gaining experience from (EGCP, SWAT, BB, and Winged Hussars).
Anything to add?
Thanks for Eros, without him, Blizzard Battalion would never exist.
Bilxo revealed that his reasoning for re-opening the Battalion is so that he can have a way to hone his leadership and recruiting skills. He elaborates on his future plans, saying that his aim is to help set the foundations for a successful major army, before inducting some of his promising troops as leaders.
Overall, there is still much to be seen from the Battalion. Their opening event, this Saturday, will mark a new generation in which the new generation may prosper. The community awaits, eager to see if this army will flourish once Bilxo’s plans are complete – or if it’ll shut down yet again. What do you think? Will Bilxo be able to set the foundations for a legendary generation? Will the Blizzard Battalion follow other prestigious armies on the path to glory?
FatChicken
Senior Reporter