yes kd, most of us know how good sin is, but that was hardly a dark horse alliance. everyone knew from the beginning that they were a group on the rise; and that it was only a matter of time before a merger with them and the reckoning, the early front-running alliance, eventually happened. i'll just say i MIGHT know a little bit about the topic

this world is a little bit different though. i know it's early, but there isn't an alliance lower in the rankings that i can point to and say "watch out for these guys". i'm sure (or at least hope) that 1 will develop, because i can't think of anything more boring than having the world decided by a war that starts less than a month in.
edit: i realize the merger for them wasn't necessary to reach number 1, but we all know nobody wanted to start a real war with them while they were still growing because of that very well known pact.