So, because I was just sitting around in my new appartment and wanted to share the fact that I finally have wifi installed, I decided to celebrate it by making a PvC.

Apparently Render has some weird idea that I'd owe one from 2 rounds ago, when I wasn't even playing, and people want me to pay up with interest. NOT HAPPENING >:(. After this one I'll be back to lazily enjoying my round.

As an attacker one sees the round differently than bankers such as Rogue, thus I will attempt to share my view on things with you, and hopefully Rogue will be able to present us with a PvC of his own soon.

I'll be using the following ranks:

Ranks as of tick 13, 7

1    Serial Killers #Amateurs (6558) [37,76]    985    4837305    40634
Real NW (planets deducted): 4049305
2    -= Twilight Imperium =- (6553) [62,40]    775    4561369    35029
Real NW: 3941369
3    Fun is Infectious! (6560) [78,71]    775    3596626    29251
Real NW: 2976626
4    Thr let wor (6563) [60,59]    850    3484901    24643
Real NW: 2804901
5    We Are BooBs (6561) [21,13]    591    3027885    27536
Real NW: 2555085
6    Planes, Trains & Automobiles (6550) [21,35]    653    2810659    22496
Real NW: 2288259
7    Theme = TBO's Idea :S (6555) [40,17]    701    2796038    27227
Real NW: 2235238
8    NCIS (6551) [59,78]    630    2672224    22885
Real NW: 2168224
9    Haters Gonna Hate (6556) [79,15]    607    2483874    27204
Real NW: 1998274
10    NorfolkNChance V PW (6557) [3,52]    454    1843137    22496
Real NW: 1479937
11    bOTTOM fEEDERS (6552) [17,73]    540    1748745    15274
Real NW: 1316745
12     (6562) [43,36]    463    1710128    19866
Real NW: 1339728
13    we get high with a little help (6559) [59,19]    389    1121378    12507
Real NW: 810178
14    Underdogs (6554) [38,56]    238    647321    5708
Real NW: 456921

1    Serial Killers #Amateurs (6558) [37,76]    985    4837305    40634
Real NW (planets deducted): 4049305

The set in stone winners of PW round, Lee, Orbit, Aztek & co. have done well all round. They have been on point with infra, never having let go of their planet and NW lead (although lately 53 and the other fams seem to have gotten closer in NW), and their attacking crew is something that'd make many a PW fam shit their pants on sight.
Their setup with 2 poppers might be kind of frail, as an eager pax could quickly turn their pop to ashes. However, in the way IC is nowadays, and with the fact that Wendy is nowhere to be found in PW, I feel like this double popper setup is actually very save and sound with a lot of return on investment: no one would even dare lay their hand on this pop (unless TBO has one of his fits again).
I do not see anyone touching this fam in the future. If they ever fight the other fams in the Top 5, which will surely happen knowing how Lee loves his cancellation wars, it's going to be the other fam that'll have a soar ass afterwards. Only a really big mess up of epic proportions could lead to this fam losing control over the round.

Prediction: Contenders FTW.

2    -= Twilight Imperium =- (6553) [62,40]    775    4561369    35029
Real NW: 3941369

Render, Insane, IC Death and friends in second place, seemingly contending as Render's fams always do. They have been the "shady" fam this round, being involved in debatably dishonorable actions and not afraid to pick on planets a quarter of their size. They have tried to keep the fight for first place interesting and  through before mentioned tactics have succeeded in doing so.
Looking at the map, their spread seems a little lackluster. Their defensive spread is sublime, but their offensive spread is lacking. Their overall map presence is limited. This fam could easily be cleared and pushed back through CPFF's and such, however, this would have to be done before they really take notice and are able to strike back. No failures permitted, and therefore I think a lot of fams are willing to poke them and their spread a little, but not push them back fully, which I think is a mistake.
Their attacking power doesn't impress me as much as 58's attacker power does either, and I think that any future struggles between this round's two powerhouses (if they are not pNAPped already), will end up hurting them badly. Their planned EoR war with 60 should be interesting as well (if 60 manages to get their infra straight, otherwise I fear 60 will get slaughtered due to superior infra alone). Overall, I think they lack what it takes to win the round, especially with competition like 58, but they should be one of the top fams for the remainder of the round. However, the ICD curse lurks in the shadows...

Prediction: Pretenders FTW, Contenders top 3.

3    Fun is Infectious! (6560) [78,71]    775    3596626    29251
Real NW: 2976626

My own fam, shared with the likes of GxReborn, Arby3, Kuwait, and Khorinis. The agressive bulldog fam this round, barking at anyone who dare walk past them, and making them feel it with a firm bite to the lower leg. They have sought out conflict, and had their fair share of it so far. This has provided them with favorable naps with most fams. However, their infra has suffered under their continues state of war, and therefore they are slacking slightly behind the top 2.
It must be said that so far in this round, GxReborn has been  sublime player. One's reputation might proceed them, and that was the only way I had known of GxReborn before this round, aside from the little contact I had had with him fighting him and his fams in MW. Gx has been honorable so far, ran diplo soundly (with me meddling with it a bit), feisty, and incredibly active, making up for my own slacking activity the past weeks. As mentioned before however, I now have my wifi installed in my appartment, and hope to provide my fam with a valuable addition.
However, Gx's fams do have the tendency to implode. I very much hope this is not going to happen to our own, and from what I have seen from Gx so far, I should think that this round will be an exception. However, unless they get their infra sorted out quickly and find the connection with the top 2 fams, cancellation wars with 58 and 53 will cost them heavily and will diminish their (already very slim) chances of winning the round.

Prediction: Contenders top 5.

4    Thr let wor (6563) [60,59]    850    3484901    24643
Real NW: 2804901

Sol Invictus and fam have just pulled an amazing comeback. For some time they were quite low in rankings after some early conflict with 60, but all of a sudden they have made a jump in the rankings, to my surprise. Even Sol himself seemed to be surprised, although a lot of their comeback can probably be attributed to the willpower of Sol.
Their recent successes have left them planet fat, and at this moment they should be concentrating on getting their infra up asap, just the same as 60. That way they could possibly make the jump to top 3, as their direct competition is not far ahead from them.
However, this fam does have another big flaw: in most of the map their spread is non existant. They are very prominent in the sector that harbors their home system, even having spread to the HS of another fam (nice one Sol ), but outside of it they are fragile. They should start spreading out slowly and steadily, not exploring to far from their previous line of portals, as not to lose those planets instantly. This may become a very tedious task for this fam, but give them time to infra up and leave them with a very nicely defended core with a large buffer zone. Hopefully the other big fish will leave them alone in the meantime.

Prediction: Pretenders FTW, Contenders top 5.

--- The top 4 seems to be set. I think the fams outside of the current top 4 are just contending to see who gets 5th place. ---

5    We Are BooBs (6561) [21,13]    591    3027885    27536
Real NW: 2555085

Speaking of big fish, last rounds big fish has been a complete disappointment this round. The failures in Flashy's fam started on the second day, when DaDevil botched up their first sci build by building over 250 lasers, breaking the piggy bank and putting them behind. Their attackers have never even tried to spread out, and seem barely active.
Now this fam seems to have fallen into a state of limbo: they have neither recovered nor slipped really. Their infra is ok, not impressive but certainly not bad. Their only big, and when I say big I mean gigantic, drawback is that they have zero attacking power. We all know Flashy as being a solid, little above average attacker, but he is sitting on 4 planets this far into the round, when a lot of attackers have at least 30+ planets of spread. Due to this, they have zero map presence, their core is tiny, they have no buffer zone around them.
I am sorry to say this, as there are a lot of players in this fam that I like, but they stand no chance to make it into the top. Seemingly the big fams have sowed their seeds, and are now just waiting for the piggies to fatten, the fruits to ripen, and the corn to be ready for plucking. To summarize: they are a farm waiting to happen.

Prediction: Pretenders top 5.

6    Planes, Trains & Automobiles (6550) [21,35]    653    2810659    22496
Real NW: 2288259

I do not really have a lot of info on this fam. They seem like a ragtag bunch of people thrown together, not quite organised or whatever. The only person I recognize that I find worth mentioning, may be Dweeb. Their infra is nice for the size of the fam, they have quite a big popper sitting at 18mil pop. However, this could also be a huge backdrop and lead to their demise, as a fam this small will have a hard time protecting against a pax from a larger fam.
Map presence isn't all that good either, bad even, but it would be unfair to expect it to be good from any fam that is not currently in the top 5. 
Theme is overused.

Prediction: Pretenders top 5.

7    Theme = TBO's Idea :S (6555) [40,17]    701    2796038    27227
Real NW: 2235238

A fam that, based on their line up, should have done a lot better. With the likes of Primo and King, one would expect the fam to be at least in the top 5 of a gal like PW. With disappointing ranks, they have seemingly decided to try out other ways to make themselves known throughout the gal, namely by being (one of) the biggest whiners, however, had there been a police fam like they requested, this fam would've been first to be punished. Raids in the 2nd week of PW are not all that uncommon, especially with the length of the gal itself being only 6 weeks, so even if you disagree with the raids it'd be best to at least protect yourselves against them.
Perhaps their recent struggles against 60 hurt them harder than they expected. I very much would've liked to knock this fam down more in the rankings, but Gx wouldn't let me. Now their spread is lacking, although better than quite a few other fams. Their infra is quite nice, although having taken a beating it isn't what you would expect from a fam who's entire plan was to infra for the first 5 weeks as if this were MW.
Unless they get their attacking game together, I doubt they will even get into the top 5. I believe, however, that with their players, they might be able to just pull it off. They could easily bite away chunks of planets from the likes of 50 and 61 if they adapt their strategy a bit.

Prediction: Pretenders top 3, Contenders top 5.

8    NCIS (6551) [59,78]    630    2672224    22885
Real NW: 2168224

This fam seemed quite promising before the round started, getting their theme done quickly and seemingly being overall organised. However, as soon as the round started it became clear that they were not what they may have seemed.
Still, with players as LnSect (who is from before my time, but I have heard good things about him) and Colorado, they should be able to do better than they are at the moment. They definitely have the chance to pass fams such as 50 and 61 in the ranks, if they play their cards correctly. However, I definitely fear that they'll just end up as just another fam for top fams to steal some planets from.

Prediction: Pretenders top 5.

9    Haters Gonna Hate (6556) [79,15]    607    2483874    27204
Real NW: 1998274

Luster's fam has dropped in the ranks like everyone expected it to do. Their lack of reliable attackers and just overall skill and activity has cost them, and they are now hovering around the ranks that I'd imagine them to keep for the remainder of the round.
I do not see any recovery for this fam, they will just stagnate further. Bigger fams may just grab some of their planets to give them the pNAPs they definitely need to survive the rest of the round, and it is up to this fam to keep the damages to a minimum. That alone should keep them busy for the remainder of the round.

Prediction: Pretenders top 5.

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The families under this line are just fighting amongst themselves to see who can get into the top 10 and who will not become last. I will not spend time talking about them, except for a few minor things that I wanted to add.

10    NorfolkNChance V PW (6557) [3,52]    454    1843137    22496
Real NW: 1479937

Not an interesting fam whatsoever, just a farm. BBWolf can be a useful player, but needs mentoring that I doubt this fam could provide.

11    bOTTOM fEEDERS (6552) [17,73]    540    1748745    15274
Real NW: 1316745

Bottom Feeders is what they call themselves, and bottom feeders is what they are. It is probably just Airwing having some fun pestering the other bottom fams. However, this fam shows some potential to climb up in the ranks to possibly rank 9, mainly due to their aggresiveness.

12     (6562) [43,36]    463    1710128    19866
Real NW: 1339728

The only thing worth mentioning about this fam, is that Dixie is in it, who, with her large mouth, has gotten her fam killed more than necessary. She needs to tone it down a bit for her fam to survive any further, otherwise I foresee their future to be even bleaker than it already is.

13    we get high with a little help (6559) [59,19]    389    1121378    12507
Real NW: 810178

Frenzy has returned, and joined people like Spam and Pickle Army, perhaps with the hopes of getting their fam back into the top 10, or at least a few ranks higher. For them, I would very much like to see this happening, but I doubt it will. Instead they should watch out that they do not get eaten alive by 52 or 62.

14    Underdogs (6554) [38,56]    238    647321    5708
Real NW: 456921

Calling these guys underdogs is very much an overestimation.