N-Day¹¹: Aftermath

Has anyone ever thought to ask how nuclear radiation clears out so fast every half-year? I read somewhere that fallout lingers for years after detonation; regular returners are well advised to be wary if they don't want to end up living a half-life.
Despite that, this N-Day looked like a return to old alliances and older trends, as familiar face Horsemen of the Apocalypse (HotA) returned to the top of the scoreboard with a bone-rattling 1,074,435 score. Toughing it out alongside HotA were Kingly Heathens Against Neighborliness (KHAN), who survived a merciless onslaught by Anime Nations Against Liberals and eventual third-place finishers Jellyfish Elite Fighting Force to rise back up to a second-place finish. The counterpunch by HotA-KHAN forces leveled their opponents, fulfilling the never-ending winner's curse by bringing Anime Nations Against Liberals down to 535,598 radiation and forcing Jellyfish Elite Fighting Force to eject their own nations in a gambit to escape the impending wall of fire and doom.
Even with an increase to the cost of "cross-shielding" and lowered efficacy on the part of the shieldbank, three factions soared over one million intercepts, with HotA reaching 3,219,886 intercepts, while 2,226,352 nukes were brought down by the shield bank. A reduction in the effect of radiation on faction score did, however, keep many those unfortunate enough to be targeted by the eventual winners above a negative score. If anyone's feeling sour about results, they can take solace in the fact that things could have been worse, and that we'll (probably) be back in half a year.
Congratulations to the top 10 factions and highest scorers by nation this event:

| Faction | Score | Nations | Region
1. | Horsemen of the Apocalypse | 1,074,435 | 10,668 Nations | Hell
2. | Kingly Heathens Asserting Neighborliness | 138,821 | 3,289 Nations | Kingly Heathens Asserting Neighborliness
3. | Jellyfish Elite Fighting Force | 105,592 | 2,353 Nations | Jellyfish Elite Fighting Force
4. | West Coast Coalition | 28,932 | 10 Nations | California Colleges and Universities
5. | European Defence Force | 22,446 | 121 Nations | Europe
6. | RAILGUN | 21,615 | 10 Nations | RAILGUN
7. | Trans Republic | 20,866 | 230 Nations | Ocalawaha
8. | Northern Kerbalia | 19,250 | 53 Nations | Kerbals of the North
9. | Nova Arctic Republic | 18,122 | 73 Nations | Arctica
10. | Grand Coalition | 17,742 | 0 Nations | Grand Coalition Control Room

Highest Scores Per Nation (min 10 nations):

| Faction | Score per Nation | Nations | Region
1. | West Coast Coalition | 2,893.2 | 10 Nations | California Colleges and Universities
2. | RAILGUN | 2,161.5 | 10 Nations | RAILGUN
3. | Commonwealth Defense Force | 574.2 | 29 Nations | Commonwealth of Sovereign States
4. | The RainDrop Pact | 379.8 | 44 Nations | Africa
5. | Northern Kerbalia | 363.2 | 53 Nations | Kerbals of the North
6. | Nova Arctic Republic | 248.2 | 73 Nations | Arctica
7. | European Defence Force | 185.5 | 121 Nations | Europe
8. | Hot Jambalaya | 150.8 | 112 Nations | Sophia
9. | Light of the Fellowship | 135.8 | 10 Nations | Declansburg
10. | The Cortexist International�Nuclear Wing | 119.9 | 17 Nations | The Cortexist International

And, of course, we can't leave out our obligatory stats for the number-crunchers among us!

490 factions were created.

35,787 nations joined a faction.

27,456,793 nukes were targeted.

22,701,396 nukes were launched.

7,874,198 nukes were shot down.

2,226,352 nukes were shot down by the shield bank.

12,602,613 strikes occurred for 1,975,281 radiation.

Thank you for playing!