Okay, here it is, my top 12.
My top 12 is based mostly on geographical location, rather than digging deeper into the diplomacy between certain alliances.
1/3 - The Rich Boys & Girls: These guys are almost double the size of their nearest contender in second place, Fake News. They are clearly making nice food of those in and around their core, feeling pretty sorry for the Holy Roman Empire right now - Julius Caesar would be turning in his grave!
All jokes aside, although the boys and girls are killing it, they are sandwiched by a bunch of other teams in the top 12 - a few behind closed doors handshakes and brown envelopes may be able to stop these guys in their tracks - may being the key word.
2 - Fake News: These guys are a strong premade and look like they have a lot of prospect to do some serious damage in this world. From an expansion point of view, both their east and now north look like smooth sailing - a lot of these factors will have been helped by the direct intake of some of Mischevious Ones top players. I will add more context on this soon. The only hindrance I can foresee for FN would be trying to grow and expand too quickly without any friends in this world - but they have shown they can do it before.
4/11 - Licensed to Kill / Ill: An alliance formed in the merger of Pearls of the West and Ill Tempered Sea Bass, these guys have a decent core and a solid group of players too - I noticed that FN took a few cities from them before though no further exchanges have been dealt. It appears that these guys alike with the rich boys and girls are sat in a bit of a crater between teams , no doubt they will have to chose their expansion plans wisely. They seem to be fairly untested at this stage.
5 - Saurons Elite: not my place to say, no doubt some of you guys will have a few things to say
6 - Magister Mortalis: I think these guys are positioned quite nicely on the south west of the worlds oceans. True Fear to their north (of whom they seem to be taking cities from) and the Holy Roman Empire to their East. If they play their cards right and do not start to fight on too many fronts they could get a nice foothold in this world. They are also pretty high up in the ABP leaderboards, so enjoy a good fight.
7 - True Fear: True Fear are an experienced bunch, an alliance built upon a team who have fought before, which is a great starting point. Their core however seems slightly scattered and they are highly engaged in combat with MM. I think a battle between these two alliances will be an interesting tale of events, though should someone else wish to intervene and start hitting TF from their north / east I feel they will struggle.
8 - Vacate of Die: A highly experienced bunch that seemed to be spoken about in here when they were in 20th place! As of recent they took on a bunch of players from Mischievous ones in a form of merger which left many players stranded or in the ranks of FN if they could make the cut. These guys are very much on the rim at this point, though seem to have their eyes set on north 44. It surprises me they have not pushed further south into 45, but perhaps they are avoiding FN, the demon MO seemed to have fled from in this merging process? Regardless, solid team, just not sure on their intentions.
9/10 - Holy Roman Empire: An alliance that is disappointing in my eyes right now. They have a large proportion of their ocean under control geographically speaking, but they seem to be taking a heavy pounding from the boys and girls. Perhaps they are planning an OP, something to surprise us. I somewhat hope this is the case, not because I am anti boys or girls, but because I feel they could do so much more with their numbers and positioning. Maybe they need to work on some diplomacy or hire a new head of offensive operations?
12 - TBA: Who? Haha, I am not too sure on these guys. They seem to just be chilling out on the eastern side of the world, doing their own thing. They seem to have a few experienced within their ranks, though I cannot seem to find traces of engagement between them and the rest of the top 12. Perhaps in a few weeks we shall see more from them?