And for triple posting
Here's my top 12:
1. Pax Britannica Warriors- An alliance that has become #1 through a merger. From what I've been told, they have a formidable defense and are probably the reason DB&G is still around. They could pick up their ABP but with the 3rd best average they don't have too much fat to trim.
2. AweShock- My alliance, so I'll only state the facts. #1 in ABP, ABP per member, ocean 55, and #2 in average points, DBP, and total BP. Currently winning the war with AE by 10 conquests.
3. The Purging- In my mind the second best rim alliance outside of the core, the question is if they can hang with the core alliances or if they've only been growing due to the relative lack of competition. From what I've been told they did force NEMESIS to go their separate ways, so they have 1 fight under their belt, but considering that NEMESIS only lost 4 cities to them before falling apart, it seems to have been an easy fight. Good ABP though, I'd like to see them up against AE or Pax, they're in ocean 46 so 45 would be the closest core ocean.
4. -VVV-- With 2 players from AE as their main competition, it's no wonder these guys are #1 in ocean 56. I expect them to fall to a core alliance or a good rim alliance.
5. ASSASSIN ELITE- They're good at picking out less active players, which is most of their conquests against AweShock. This may be biased, but in my mind they'll be falling apart any second. Petrika Grosi was pretty much tricked by King into ghosting, and now it seems very much like InVaDeRs is the only thing holding them together. Some notable players are Rabbit211 for his ABP and ego, InVaDeRs for his leadership and ABP, Kreldor for his DBP, and Ninji for his leadership and ABP before he had several cities taken from him, and now can be noted for his DBP.
6. Swamp Fox Brigade- Pffft. Noobs. Only have the best average points, second highest ABP per member, and #1 in their ocean. They've only fought 3 different alliances so they've got no experience with war under their belt. Doomed to fail.
7. Solar Winds- Have members (plural) that attack with birs and swords. Do I have to say more?
8. Naughty Nutterz- I'd consider these guys the best rim alliance. 4th best average points, nice low member count, not much competition where they are, but they've rimmed one of -VVV-'s players and I think they could be the ones to bring -VVV- down, if they recruited or conquered -VVV-'s top 2 players there wouldn't be much competition to take the rest of their cities.
9. Devil Bar and Grill- Losing their fight with SFB 19-5, they're actually a formidable alliance, still holding their ocean, and have gained some good DBP. I still see them falling apart, but they've got some good pacts helping them out right now.
10. ARMIS DEIBUS- In ocean 54 & 55, DB&G's only opponent for the #1 spot in 54 really, yet they seem to be allied, which is a great disappointment, as they could easily take control of the ocean while DB&G was being hammered if they weren't. Haven't been tested, but have poor average points and fat to trim. In my mind, eventually they'll fall and their vets like Lady Acacia will go to a better alliance.
11. Dominion- We (AweShock) have been letting them grow in 55. Recently, we've made the decision to ally them and see if they deserve to be left alone or if we'll take their decent players and clean up the rest. We'll see how they do playing with the big boys.
12. DokDo Island Rep.- I like these guys, but they're spread out, they're in 55, 65, 54, and 64. They're strongest ocean is 54, but they're ranked the highest in 64. They're decision to be in 55 and 65 may not be a good one, although I could see them taking Solar Winds down. Should work on ABP.