After WWB (Beeitnam) ended, the question was in the air of what the next war would entail. Many bet that Goons would wage war against TEST. Others theorized that Fraternity would move against their long-time rival Army of Mangoes (AoM). After many skirmishes and mashups, we can finally say that the latter scenario is coming to pass.
Fraternity has planned to go after Mangoes for a long time. However, the main barrier for FRT had been Mangoes’ place in the Legacy coalition. Then, starting in July of 2020, the war in Delve created the PAPI mega-coalition; Fraternity found themselves unable or unwilling to take action on their AoM plans, due to diplomatic reasons, with their attention turned on Delve. After the war ended, TEST moved to Outer Passage, and AoM made the decision to leave Legacy and stay in Esoteria. This move left the door wide open for Fraternity. On the September 17, Fraternity really kick-started a new war.
A1-AUH
The fight initially started as a medium-sized Fraternity group using wormholes to travel to the Esoteria region, with the intent to get kills and cause havoc amongst Mangoes. In the system of Q0OH-V, which is next door to A1, the Fraternity fleet caught a Mango Nyx on the gate. With no backup, the Nyx died to the Fraternity fleet, as the wormhole was situated in system and the Nyx did not have adequate time to prepare. After this victory the fraternity fleet went to A1, where AoM attempted to kill them with supers. The Fraternity FC then attempted to kill some of the supers and also kill any subcap forces that came in. Due to the rising number of AoM FAXes and supers coming onto the fight, the Fraternity fleet now just attempted to hold what they could, pinging for HICs and light tackle to reinforce the fight. AoM intended to kill this Fraternity fleet, as retribution for the super loss, and they fielded ever-increasing numbers of supers.
However, AoM made a critical error in judgement. With almost no subcap presence on field and super fighters being exterminated by Fraternity, AoM had given Fraternity the room they needed to continue to fight. Further, Fraternity found the numbers they needed in order to turn the battle from simply holding the Mangoes to eliminating them. However, things grew confusing, as along with regular escalations, third parties became involved.
With these escalations, the battle was in full swing, with local spiking rapidly as even more people came in. At one time local saw over a thousand pilots. By this time, the chaos increased considerably, as “third party” groups were blasting everyone. INIT arrived with a Muninn fleet; a X.I.X Nado fleet showed up and even some TEST pilots arrived. However, amidst the mashup, the FRT forces continued to hold grid control.
What Went Wrong
What turned a simple subcap roam into almost half a trillion super fleet loss? What could Mangoes have done differently? They lacked control of the grid; they also underestimated the nature of the rising problem. Throughout the early stages of the fight, the only significant attempt at pushing the FRT fleet off by means other than supers was a Mango Legion fleet and the X.I.X Nado fleet. The Legion were immediately targeted by the FRT Munnins, as they fed through gate. The Nado fleet did not feed; however, the choice of Nados was a poor due to their lack of a significant presence on the field. Had something like Munnins been formed to counter the FRT dictors and to keep the FRT fleet from getting almost free reign, more Mango supers would have escape and the loss would have been much less.
Additionally, the choice to bring in increasingly more supers was catastrophic, as it did not fix the problem, but created an even bigger target for further intervention by other third party interlopers. This seems like a dubious decision in normal circumstances, but considering AoM’s current diplomatic situation, this decision seems reckless. AoM has no major allies subsequent to their departure from Legacy.
The Impact on the Upcoming War
So what does the event of A1 mean for the upcoming Mango war against Fraternity? A1 acts like a catalyst for the declaration of war. If it had never happened, it is entirely possible the war would have been postponed, giving Mangos more time to find friends and cement themselves in Esoteria. Additionally this event has severely damaged AoM’s morale and highlighted what a precarious situation they are in. Fraternity will certainly take advantage of this event and has already anchored structures in nearby Stain in preparation for the advance into Esoteria.
