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Welcome to another edition of the eRepublik Power Rankings! Here are the rules; the efforts of the top five countries this week will be recognized, and the five worst performances will be mocked, no exceptions! Countries are recognized for many things, including successful defending, securing strong alliances, and, of course, conquering rivals. Without further ado, let's begin!

Updated as of 23:00 New World Time, Day 1,782

Rk (Last)

WINNERS

1 (NR) Albania

Albanians have the capacity to work miracles, don't they? Back in the Serbian revolution era, Albania held off FYROM, Montenegro, and Serbia all at once to draw fire away from their allies. And while it's more for themselves this time, their magic certainly hasn't disappeared. Against a much more massive enemy in the Macedonians, Albania has not only freed two-thirds of their nation (only Tirana remains in enemy hands), but also helped a liberation of Italy to their west, capturing the crucial point of Apulia from Macedonian forces. Albania will need their help to continue, but it looks very good for the mighty underdog.

Week rating: 9.4/10

2 (NR) China

Have the 5000 year legacy and hundreds of stereotypes taught people nothing? There's no way to beat China even after eRep was blocked in China mainland, bar none. (I'll kill anyone who shows any evidence to the contrary) And Serbia was no exception, as the Balkan nation struggled to make any breakthroughs against China, losing campaign after campaign despite dominating all three lower divisions. China has pushed Serbia back to the brink of defeat, as well as keeping their mainland from invasion with a Pakistani RW. China looks invincible. Or just how they normally look.

Week rating: 9.2/10

3 (B1) Belarus

Freedom has been hard to come by for the Belarusians, but they're taking advantage of every second of fresh air they can breathe. Escaping the talons of Hungary, they went on a campaign to destroy Lithuania as the Swedes retreated, and it's been working so far. Though Lithuania has had some minor success in RWs, Belarus has kept initiative, and has thus progressed into enemy territory. Ukraine is keeping Hungary away from Belarus for the time being, and Belarus is taking full advantage. Belarus looks to complete the rebirth of its nation and expand westward, and both seem possible, even plausible.

Week rating: 8.5/10

4 (NR) USA

Free provinces courtesy of FYROM! America continued their adventure into the depths of Europe, marching their troops through formerly French areas into Macedonian Italy, beginning a siege on the foot of the mountains. The Americans won't be getting any points for degree of difficulty, as FYROM refuses to fight a traditional war, but they get mad props for determination. Not one to let its pray go, the Americans at one point even attacked a French meatshield just to get to more FYROM lands. It remains to be seen what America will do when they reach Albania, but one thing's for sure: up until that point, there will be no mercy from 'murica.

Week rating: 8.1/10

5 (NR) Argentina

And Chile thought that they could escape...Accused by many Australians as disloyal players that only fought only for self-benefit, the Argentinians proved the critics wrong, at least for the moment, swallowing tiny New Zealand with little effort and finally chasing down their mortal enemy. Despite being harassed by various RWs, Argentina held strong, keeping their South American empire strong while making their way into a new stadium against an old opponent. They may also get some help from an Aussie nation bent on freedom and revenge. If Argentina makes their moves sagaciously (woot!), they may defeat their Chilean foes once and for all.

Week rating: 7.7/10

Honorable Mentions: Slovenia, Mexico

LOSERS

Just barely good enough: Italy, Hungary

B5 (4) Sweden

As Belarus headed north, Lithuania changed its attention to push out Sweden, first cutting off supply to the captured provinces and then recapturing the others at a rapid pace. Sweden eventually was forced to retreat back across the sea to Scandinavia, where they saw themselves attacked by Lithuania once again, losing Scania. Although this allows Germark to get their say in the grand war, it's very upsetting for the Swedish to have to fall back and get someone else into the fight, as the Swedes weren't able to hang on by themselves. While it's by no means the worst thing to happen, Sweden needs to shrug off their string of losses.

Week rating: 3.5/10

B4 (1) Colombia

If anything, be impressed that Colombia is still alive. Unfortunately, they're hanging on by a thread. All the two-front battles that Colombia hav been thrown into have forced the Colombians to merely cut their losses instead of looking for gains. And to be fair, Colombia has been doing rather well for a nation standing alone against two others. However, the fact remains that Colombia has lost all progress made into Venezuela, and has been invaded in the north by Mexico. Unfortunately, barely holding off their invaders seems to be all that Colombia can do at this point.

Week rating: 3.3/10

B3 (5) Serbia

For all that effort they went through to reach China, the grand battle hasn't gone very well for the Serbs. Despite the first strike, Serbia lost a very close fight in the Pakistani mountains, and it's been nothing but retreats ever since. Serbia has lost all four battles against China, and furthermore, they are now blocked off from mainland China by the Pakistanis. This has been an utter disaster for the Serbs, and they don't seem anything like the superpower that's destroyed Croatia and Bosnia countless times. Unless Serbia can get its act together, it's back to the Balkans for them.

Week rating: 2.7/10

B2 (NR) New Zealand

Looks like allowing Chile to attack Australia wasn't a good idea for their own health. Argentina stormed into the island nation, and it was ugly. New Zealand was completely decimated by the Argentinians, and were completely wiped. While helping Chile was an act of loyalty, their scheming may come back to haunt them, as they don't look like they'll be free from Argentinian control for quite some time. New Zealand will look to recapture some provinces through RWs, but for now, they'll be confined into merely battling from the shadows. Will Chile save them or follow in their footsteps?

Week rating: 2.4/10

B1 (L1) FYROM

Having fun, FYROM? They've had two disastrous wars at the same time, and neither look very promising. First off, the America front. FYROM has done nothing but run away and throw obstacles in the way, attempting but only succeeding once in revolting French provinces to nullify America's NE and force them to waste time. Regardless, America has powered through, starting their descent into Macedonian Italy. And on the other front in Albania things haven't been any better. Albania has captured not only SE Albania, but has made their way to the coast. Though it does cut America off from potentially invading FYROM Prime, it also led to Apulia falling into Albanian hands. FYROM is a mess.

Week rating: 1.2/10

NOTABLE EVENTS

Welcome back: Belarus, Czech Republic, Indonesia

Sayonara: Philippines, Ukraine

Other notable events:
Portugal escapes and is captured...again
Norway and Netherlands begin a short training war
Congrats to all new CPs
What the hell is Israel doing?
Niger continues their quest to border Angola

MUSIC OF THE WEEK
Structure:
Japanese Music
Instrumental
Mainstream Music
Video Game Music

That harmonica...

The Instrumental Song

Recommendation: 10/10