League and media titan DMT collaborates with the Club Penguin Armies media team to produce his ranking of the ‘Top 5 Armies of the CPPS Era’.
DMT has been a familiar face within the top community organisations since early 2019, first helming the second generation of Club Penguin Armies. He held an advisor position in CP Army Media and CP Army Hub, and returned as the Director in Chief for CP Army HQ, before serving for short period in Club Penguin Armies as Chief Executive Producer.
With these positions accredited to his name, there may not be anyone more suitable to rank the Top 5 Armies of the CPPS era. Of course, this is only his personal opinion and not a definitive ranking.
It is paramount for me to define how exactly I came to these five armies. Of course, there were the standard things I looked for: awards, war wins, tournament wins, and high sizes. But two other things that were significant factors in my research were consistency and influence.
These things can be inherently subjective; what is one’s definition of being consistent? What is one’s definition of being influential? To me, a consistent army had sustained success and relevance within the community. Sizes can fluctuate during this time, as long as a size decrease didn’t push an army out of the top of the pack.
As for influence, a surface-level way to measure this is by looking at how many legends the army has produced. Probing further, one can find just how many wars and battles an army was involved in, especially if they were the driving force behind them. An ally joining in on a war is a lot different from an army being an aggressor.
With this, though, it is important for me to note that wins will always be above being an aggressor. An army that strikes the balance between those two things will rank very highly in my eyes.
An Honorable Mention
This post really can’t exist without an explanation for the non-inclusion of one army. The Help Force is a strange case in this conversation.
They’ve consistently been a major army since 2018. But, outside of the argument that they were stronger than the Pirates in 2019 (which is an impressive feat that it is even a conversation), they do not have much else to show for that consistency. They’ve always been involved in major conflicts within the community but were rarely the first domino to fall. This isn’t a bad thing, but their limited aggression in comparison to the armies ahead of them shrank their opportunities to showcase their power.
They also lack a definitive tournament win. This, in turn, reduced their amount of representation in the legends department. Their consistency in being good is impressive, but we’re still waiting on them to flex their muscles in the community. With their final March Madness battle looming against the Rebel Penguin Federation, perhaps that time could be sooner rather than later.
5. Army of Club Penguin
The Army of Club Penguin needs no introduction. When they were revived in the Fall of 2019, they instantly rose to the plate to challenge the Rebel Penguin Federation when no one else could.
They ended the Rebels six-month streak as first place in Club Penguin Armies (2019) and proceeded to pull out a narrow victory against them in the Holiday Championship. Since then, ACP has promoted a culture of excellence in both achievements and relevance, pumping out notable legends such as Koloway, CSY, and Max.
Their extensive war history is far too long to recount here- especially considering they tend to declare war with the ‘noblest’ of reasons-, but their record is solid. The things that hold them back from being any higher are somewhat complex; they are one of the only armies on this list that has had serious drops in size, as they notably became a small/medium army for quite a period of time in 2022. They also lack tournament wins in comparison to the armies higher on this list.
Though Project: Conquest is my baby, it must be recognized that that major tournament did not include many notable contemporaries, such as RPF and IW. But the army is on the rise once again. Under the guide of Calgocubs21, who seems to be etching his name into history in real-time. That – in addition to the closure of a certain army ahead of them on this list- it is quite possible ACP will climb further in the coming future.
4. Pirates of Club Penguin
Well, this is a surprise for those that know my history. I hope people will appreciate the character development I’ve undergone that has resulted in the notorious Pirates army placing high in these rankings.
Whether one likes the methods they were able to reach success by or not, it is simply undeniable that the peak of the Pirates is in the running for the most dominant army ever. This aforementioned peak began just about immediately upon their return and never really stopped. In 2018, they were able to manage multiple wars with the Rebel Penguin Federation, Templars, and more, as well as a Christmas Chaos title run simultaneously. This removed any doubt that they were the top dog of that year.
Of course, 2019 is when the chasm in the community widened, but the competition on their side of the universe was- let’s be real- more challenging. The Help Force rose to be their biggest rival and also became their next victim. They also racked up more tournament wins over formidable foes, even if under more dubious circumstances. They remained a dominant force in 2020 until their unimaginable downfall after a multilogging scandal in Legends Cup X.
Though this tarnished the army’s reputation in many people’s eyes, the thing that must be remembered is that none of the drama with the Pirates was ever even needed. The fairly obvious collusion with the CPO Army League in multiple wars and tournaments, alongside the frankly idiotic multilogging in LCX. These things were self-inflicted wounds placed upon an army that was capable of greatness regardless of them.
Furthermore, the usage of coins to motivate the average CPO user to attend their events can only go so far without great leadership. Yes, it is immensely easier than the struggles other leaders had to undergo for success, but it still takes talent to organize over 100 people and have them perform at a high level. The only thing that keeps the Pirates from being even higher is their relatively small sample size. Had they not cocked up their introduction to the unified army world, who knows where they would be now.
3. Ice Warriors
One of many legendary armies to make their return on Club Penguin Online, the Ice Warriors continued their long-standing tradition of success virtually from day one. Filling the void left by the exodus of the Help Force and the Templars from the CPO Army League earlier in 2019, IW became a household name in the league right next to the Pirates. But their legend grew bigger in the Club Penguin Army Hub era, as the unification of the community prompted a massive growth into arguably the biggest army of 2020 in pure size.
They were one of the only 2020 CPO armies who were able to not only translate their success over to a completely new CPPS but sustain it for years to come. Their success in 2020 was mostly limited to their firm grip on the geopolitical affairs of the CPAH map, but they did pick up a trophy from the August Sadness mini-tournament. The real success came in 2021, in the infamous March Madness hosted by yours truly.
Though there is much to contest about that tournament, one thing that cannot be contested is the sheer dominance of IW during that run. They would also prove it was no fluke a year later, winning the much better run 2022 edition of March Madness. Of course, all this success was made possible by countless notable names, with those receiving legend being Regan, Flamez, and Kally.
Unfortunately, the army began a slight decline as 2022 progressed, and was subsequently put out to pasture after the recent leak of “Project: Pandora” files. Though this hurts their long-term standing on this ranking, the Ice Warriors undoubtedly left their mark on the community. Infamously stubborn- and for good reason- they were damn near unmatched at their peak.
2. Templars of Club Penguin
Is it recency bias to have the Templars listed as the second-best CPPS army ever? No. The Golden Knights have humble beginnings. Unlike most of their contemporaries on this list, they began as a small/medium army, rather than instantly becoming a major player. But that does not mean they were ever irrelevant among the major scale.
They became a key player in the early days of the CPO Army League (2018) in the hotly contested World War VII, taking the Rebel Penguin Federation head-on at times with formidable size. In 2019, they fought through tumultuous periods of exiting and re-entering CPOAL, but remained competitive with the Help Force and the Pirates in terms of geopolitical affairs and size. When TCP moved over to CPATG, they continued to be tenacious in war, defeating notorious players before falling at the hands of the Army of Club Penguin.
They remained around the same size in 2020, but once again engaged in a plethora of conflicts, with many ending up as successful ventures. In all of these years, the Templars remained a fringe major army that overachieved solely because of their dedication to the craft. In 2021, they finally broke through as a top major player. They got into hot spats with just about every army and won even more impressively than before. In a year that was mostly dominated by the CPAHQ-CPAN divide, Templar’s creator Xing cemented himself as Person Of The Year in 2021, as he propelled the army to grow in a time where everyone else would rather try to bring others down.
Then, of course, the Templars absolutely dominated 2022. In what could be called a depression for most of the community, the opposite happened for them. They grew further in size and established countless records and numerous war and tournament wins under the new CPA organization. It was no question that Xing would once again win POTY in 2022, simultaneously becoming the first person to ever win it twice and the first person to ever win it back to back.
Racecar4 also received acclaim with his 2022 legends induction. When it comes to the Templars, they rise to the near top of the list because of the sheer volume of their time as a CPPS army. They were never ‘out’ for long, and that remains true to this day.
Though it took them longer than others to reach dominance, their sustained presence in the community- especially amidst the controversies they’ve caused themselves- is insanely impressive. Combine that with the trophies they’ve collected and their massive list of war victories, and that gets them to second place for me, which will surely generate clicks for CPA!
1. Rebel Penguin Federation
I mean, was it ever in doubt? It’s almost boring to articulate since one could just list the never-ending list of achievements they have obtained. The Rebel Penguin Federation virtually never stopped existing after Club Penguin closed down in 2017, thus dominating the first bite-size year of CPPS armies.
They remained a top player in 2018, winning the first Legends Cup in the CPPS era handedly and returned to dominance in 2019 after their entrance into Club Penguin Armies. They immediately won the Summer Circuit and proceeded to establish themselves as the biggest army on CP Rewritten. They held the then-longest streak of first-place finishes on the weekly Top Ten for six months, making sure that all foreign affairs were influenced by them as well. Though they would lose the Holiday Championship to start 2020, RPF earned the title in both Legends Cup X and Christmas Chaos X.
They also remained ever-powerful on the map, working with the Ice Warriors to conquer the gambit. 2021 was more of the same, winning LCXI and CCXI, and then continuing that success in 2022 with the AUSIA Arena. They remained the only army that could challenge the Templars in their momentous year, claiming a third straight Christmas Chaos title against them.
Now, they have outlasted both their greatest ally and perhaps their greatest enemy, as they approach a final against the Help Force in the 2023 edition of March Madness. If the record-high amount of tournament wins is not enough, then look at the record-high amount of legends.
With 6 CPPS army legends- highlighted by 2020 POTY Crazzy- they easily outshine any other army in terms of representation. Never mind the countless names that never got that label that were a part of the greatness. The Rebel Penguin Federation truly has no weakness in this conversation.
That concludes DMT’s ranking of the ‘Top 5 Armies of the CPPS Era’. Do you agree with his opinion? Which army would be in your top five, and most importantly, take the number one spot?