The Battle vs Fort War was based on the then Commander's ideals to make a lasting impact on Thera.

I might have my Commander's a little confused but I'm fairly confident that this was during the Akedeh/Tia era which was adopted by the rest of the Battle Village.

We just happened to have a very loud Dwarven bard at the time who managed to be vocal about presenting that initiative to the rest of Thera. I was in full support of the mortal decision because I feel dynamics like that are good for the mud.

I also feel like Black Jaguar was good for the mud, as are powerful forms, AP's and Liches. An important aspect of CF is the mega Anti-Hero who inspires fear in their enemies based on skill and in some instances rare (rewarded) abilities. Battle just happens to be the cabal that is the direct antagonist to those mega (magic) characters.