The reason I never went on Strat battles before this round was because I'm so crappy. I felt guilty that I was getting killed so much and getting so few kills. So I stopped applying.
Now I have my own armies, so I don't feel as bad for wasting other people's ticks when I quite happily waste my own. Plus having lots of bad players is better than not having enough to defend your flags or to kill enough enemy ticks when attacking. Better having a guy get killed 50 times than losing all your ticks due to timer running out.
The reason there are two factions is because people want guaranteed roster support. I've been trying to sign up for whichever side has the least mercs, and that pretty much has been the Squid side everytime. Fortunately the ASA guys don't care, because they know I'm trying to keep strat fun, but mainly cuz I don't make much of a difference.
Personally I think too many people have personal grudges from previous strats, plus the desire to win at any cost. People say they want even battles, but they really don't. They want to capture all the gear and not lose ticks, and they get quite angry when they lose a huge, expensive army due to bad roster support. Which is understandable.
I think Strat battles should be put on NA1, and you should be able to earn gold. Then people would have to play. Of course Admins would have to be on battles to boot any trollers. Also, if you lose a battle due to timers or getting your flag captured, you should be able to keep at least 50% of your surviving men and gear, and not teleport. This all or nothing bullshit has got to end.