2023 brought headline after headline to a community that desperately needed some action. Perhaps it all kicked off with the retirement of Army Legend Xing, insinuating the end of Templar dominance and leaving the top of rankings and tournaments up for grabs. The closeness in sizes and Top Ten finishes between many armies caused tempers to flare, which lead to World War IX; one of the most divisive wars in army history. The battles were a slog-fest, and the final treaty between the Sapphire Concordat and the Blue Sunset Alliance essentially made the result a wash. Of course, the result cannot be mentioned without acknowledging the Rebel Penguin Federation’s accidental treaty breakage, which saw them lose all of their land as a consequence. The year ultimately belonged to both the Army of Club Penguin- headed by the revered Calgocubs- and the “new” kids on the block: the revived Elite Guardians. While ACP’s highlight of the year was winning Legends Cup XIII, they defeated EGCP in a war shortly after, asserting themselves as the biggest army of the year. Despite this, EGCP sustained a stranglehold on the Top Ten, ending the year with the most first place finishes. But it was the Water Vikings who rode off into the sunset in the annual Christmas Chaos tournament, beating both ACP and EGCP en route to their first major tournament title. While the armies were busy dogfighting, a power struggle befell the Club Penguin Armies organization early in the year, culminating in the coup d’état of Spotty and Rowan at the hands of Wynn. She would go on to lead CPA until October, when she retired and promoted her replacements: Mchappy, the enduring legend, and Disha, the young prodigy.
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Former 2009 ACP veteran Calgocubs would rejoin ACP in 2021, officially joining the staff ranks in July of 2022. In just two months, Calgocubs would find himself at the helm of the army. Amid trying times for the ACP, Calgocubs essentially revived the army, bringing ACP out of S/M and reestablishing its status as a major contender. He would see his first of many #1s on the final Top 10 of 2022, just 3 months into his leadership. ACP would then become the #1 army of the year by 2023 Top 10 rankings, winning multiple league awards including Biggest Army of the Summer/Winter, Most Tactical Army of the Summer and Winter, with Calgo receiving awards such as the Best Major Army Leader of the Summer, Most Achieved, and the Bluesockwa Award (Biggest Influence). Calgocubs was known for his avid love for war, conquering the CPA map with the most land out of all armies in the 2023 iteration, fighting in multiple victorious wars against SWAT, Dark Vikings and the Elite Guardians. Despite being declared war on in June by 3 major armies-the Rebel Penguin Federation, Water Vikings, and EGCP- Calgo demonstrated his capacity as a war strategist, uniting the rest of the community under the Sapphire Concordat, garnering support from allies such as the Help Force, SWAT, PIC, Templars and Napalm Corps, walking out of an initially seemingly one-sided war- dubbed World War IX- unscathed. With multiple victories under his belt, he went on to lead ACP to victory in Legends Cup VIII, setting the highest max of 2023 with a total of 61 troops online and became one of the only five armies to have ever won a LC tournament. The win also served as ACP’s first Legends Cup win in its history. To crown his incredible year, he was voted as the Person Of The Year in 2023 by Club Penguin Armies; a testament to how legendary of a figure he was.