Scandals and controversies are unfortunately common in armies, but some ultimately shut down permanently. One of these armies was the Ice Warriors of Club Penguin, one of the original armies to exist. However, in March 2023, following multiple allegations, they completely shut down and withdrew from the community as a whole. But what if the Ice Warriors were still an army?
Designed by Kedi Wain
Background
The Ice Warriors had remained a mighty army since 2007, but sometimes a single spark can ignite a full-scale fire. In this case, former staff member Swirl published an expose post on March 10, 2023. This post singlehandedly triggered one of the greatest diplomatic disasters of the CPPS era. After IceQueen1020 and Iceyfeet1234 saw the post, they banned leaders Subster and Josh from the IW server. Club Penguin Armies administrators banned the two, and multiple armies followed, essentially banning them from the broader community. Iceyfeet1234, the creator of IW, then released a statement outlining his perspective on the situation. Within hours, multiple Ice Warriors staff members resigned and joined the Water Vikings.
Multiple armies decided to declare the Ice Warriors an enemy for this controversy, including the Rebel Penguin Federation. This led to the end of the Black Ice Alliance, a staple in the community since the summer of 2020. After the debacle, IW announced that it would shut down as an army and transition into a pure gaming community. Although they still logged onto CPA Battleground for their anniversary and achieved a high max, they never returned to army operations. Today, the server primarily hosts Roblox and Minecraft events. With that background, we explore what happens if the Ice Warriors remained an army.
IceQueen’s announcement of the Ice Warriors’ shutdown as an army
Short Term
To assume the Ice Warriors did not close, we keep all events up to the moment of closure intact. Under this assumption, the entire community still declares them enemies, many staff members still leave, and the bans would stand. In the following days, multiple IW legends would likely continue shaming the army, and the staff exodus would continue. I do think the situation gets worse for the Ice Warriors with heavy pressure on reform. However, not all staff leave, especially since several remained in reality.
Within a day or two of the scandal, multiple armies would likely declare war on IW, and the army would face penalties for its conduct. In this emergency state, the remaining leadership would promote new leaders and issue an announcement attempting to recruit additional staff. Recruiting would go into overdrive, with the Ice Warriors still strong in recruiting new members. However, the newer staff are not as well-trained, causing the leaders to force less experienced members into such a situation.
Meanwhile, other armies start to declare invasions, and these invasions are all likely wins against the Ice Warriors. While they were strong, they were nowhere close to the combined force of all these armies. Instead, the war may be prolonged, with a term to remove IceQueen1020 specifically. While IceQueen stayed as a leader in reality, other armies likely do not accept that she stays after the exposé posts, including her to some extent. However, I doubt that IW shows up to all battles or that other armies continue the offensive for a while. The extreme effort from all sides to either continue this war or to rebuild is likely too much for any single army.
Long Term
I mentioned under short-term that IW retains at least some of its staff. This ties into a long-term position that IW remains in, which includes their overall gaming community. IW, by the time that they shut down as an army, already started straying away from the CPA community as a whole. Their community expanded during this time into Roblox events and some on a private Minecraft server. I think one of IW’s greatest strengths in terms of retention is that they hosted Roblox events frequently.
That said, the leadership and staff struggles would likely continue for approximately another three months. The trajectory changes on June 1st, as the Ice Warriors celebrate their anniversary. From what the community saw on the 17th and 18th anniversaries of the army, they maxed over 90 troops. That is no small thing, and I think that troops and staff are motivated by such an accomplishment. Additionally, while many staff left armies or went to other armies, some came back to help IW out as a gaming server. This includes Mogi4, a former leader in training before the shutdown. While the number of returning staff remains lower in this hypothetical, it is likely that this still happens, due to an emergency state of sorts that IW would still be in.
Ice Warriors 17th anniversary, June 2024
By this time, I can see Icey either bringing in a new slate of leaders or old leaders possibly returning once more. This change in leadership likely increases their reputation once more, although the scrutiny level of the community is not fully reduced. I do not think that the army participates in tournaments at any point during this rebuild until December, when they are moderately sized. The change in the community, combined with a return of old staff, would result in a more tolerable community and better kept in check.
With the rebuild over, I think the community settles down on the Ice Warriors. The army manages to stay alive, albeit fragile and less motivated than they are as a gaming server in reality. The sense of community may not be the same due to the sudden broken chain of leadership. Finally, I don’t think anyone from the Ice Warriors who left would come back for some time, and they would not trust them entirely unless it looked completely different. Eventually, I still see the army declining within the CPA community, regardless, leading to the same situation as they are now, simply delayed and less forced.
To be frank, I think the Ice Warriors travel down this path no matter what happens, ever since they started doing game events in 2022. With recruits interested in game events just as much as they may like armies, it doesn’t make sense to stress army events. The controversy simply hastened the process and prevented the army from returning any time soon. However, with the success that they are achieving now, they certainly aren’t complaining.
We have seen armies return out of nowhere, though, so it does seem more of a ‘When?’ than an ‘If?’. Perhaps if more people across the world paid attention to Club Penguin or some other MMORPG, it would be possible for the community to shift along with IW. What do you think happens if the Ice Warriors remained an army? Would they have declined faster or slower than what I think?
Pranav
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Eternal Lord of All Sith Empires. "Life is the enemy. Death is our solace. Darth Marr's creed. It is you who fears death, 'Valkorion'. I do not" - Darth Marr.