I have found it very difficult to understand the rationality expressed by members in alliance wars not using 3 or more flags in wars because “I don’t have strong teams” response. A flag used that results in a 0 score is something nobody actively wants but I strongly feel that a 0 attempt is far better than 3 unused flags. Am I wrong? I don’t understand the logic to not using flags that could result in a 20 combo cascade if I don’t atleast try. Sure six teams is steep for many players under lv20 but everyone starts somewhere. Unused flags help nobody.
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Basically just keep a bunch of lower tier or non leveled heroes since you are relatively new.
Even heroes @ 1/1 can help but you gotta gamble a bit in the sense that you just do mono color teams in hopes of knocking at least the tank if the board goes well.
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I find myself constantly trying to convince newer players of this exact fact. Sadly many don’t grasp the fact that no attempt is never better than a failed attempt. One point can win a war. That is fact.
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No, you’re not wrong.
But I suspect some people so strongly don’t want to fail that they aren’t willing to try.
I think a good way to help people overcome that aversion to trying and maybe failing is to foster a positive and supportive environment that celebrates the efforts people make, and not just the accomplishments. If everyone consistently praises people for using their flags, even when the hits go poorly, and shares in understanding that 0 point hits have happened to all of us, that can go a long way to helping people overcome fear of failure.
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Trust me. I am a big believer in positive support. By no means do I believe in enforcing attacks per se but it is frustrating as a leader to see us loose wars by 100 points when we still got 15+ unused flags. It only fosters a negative attitude and morale is tough enough to keep up all the time. It is a recurring thing in many alliances I’m sure we are not alone in this respect.
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While our alliance always uses every flag, here is proof that one point certainly can be the difference lol
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You just made my deepest fear a reality. Yikes!
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It was very intense !!! The last player on the opposition had one flag left with a draw score and scored 0! So I guess we got a little lucky 
But hey, show that photo to your alliance members it may scare them into gear
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That’s enough to motivate just about anyone. Winning by 1 is sweet but a loss by 1 is probably the “best” loss anyone can never hope for.
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My alliance lost a war once in literally the last minute.
We were ahead by 50 points or so with a few unused flags. Popped open the figurative champagne.
Then 2 members of the opponent went into battle in the last 30 seconds. They scored enough points to beat us… 
So every flag counts, even in the dying seconds.
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In wise words of Depeche Mode:
“Everything counts in large amounts”.
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There’s no reason to waste flags and many alliances have strict “6 flags or opt out” rule. I used to hate wars when 4 out of 6 my teams were unleveled 3* but I was never bashed for low scores; on the contrary, leaders always emphasised every point counts.
Since they added the opt out checkbox there’s no excuse for wasting flags. Want the war chest loot? Earn it.
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Ditto this.
If I were you, in the alliance there would be a New Rule: Use all 6 Flags in war. Failure to do so in two consecutive wars = removal.
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Go monocolor with 5 unleveled 2* heroes can produce amazing results.
So yes, it’s a nonsense do not even attack.
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Been there, don’t want to do it again. Had a casual alliance and used to leave flags unused all the time. After we lost one by 7 then another by 1 it was time to tighten the screws. Not all were on board with going to a more serious level, so I took the motivated players and made another alliance with strict flag usage policy. Hasn’t happened again 
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I think this is really important, and it’s not just about using every flag but also general confidence in war. Not just for new players with smaller rosters but people who have been playing awhile that are worried about taking risks and hitting up in war. Maximizing points per flag as a group requires thinking about how our own individual hits can affect others.
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Keeping New players motivated is what drives our gears of war. It is not a simple matter of saying use six flags or face the boot out of boot camp. Older alliances can and do keep these standing rules often as a foregone rule but a new alliance like mine that actually was originally intended to work as a feeder alliance, then it becomes more intricate as the whole idea is to help newbies acclimatise to wars but at same time keep them long enough to not just benefit us but eventually have a shot in a bigger more serious alliance where everybody wins.
On paper it’s a great idea in reality it takes constant effort in almost a coach like fashion. Now some will say this is a game and that sounds like work but I’ve spent almost three years now recovering from a serious motorcycle accident so I had time on my hands and I saw that one big issue facing my main alliance was recruiting. This seemed like the next best option and a good way to learn the game in deeper sense. At times I’ve thought what did I think I was doing but then a day later we take down a rare titan for first time and then I know it was the right choice. Seeing your team’s grow in strength is great. Seeing an entire alliance of teams grow is awesome. I like the mono 2* idea but I prefer teams stacked 3-2 or 4-1. Safer. There’s the coach talking again…
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Basketball is big where I live, and we have a saying: You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Now, that can actually get you beaten in basketball, but not in AW. There is literally no down side.
One tip I’ve given - and used myself - is to remember the flee button. If there is a healer on the board or it’s a field aid war, flee before they fire. If it’s a hopeless battle for you, at least make sure you leave the enemy in worse shape than you found them!
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An execellent point but it’s hard enough getting them to take the shot so to speak than to understand the the benifit of guerrilla tactics in warfare!
Well, try telling them that the other side likely has people in a similar position.
In both of my early alliances we tried to encourage more flag use, and one of the retorts (in addition to team strength) was along the lines of “well the other side aren’t using all their flags either”.
And then you lose a war by 15 points because the other side got more of their small teams to throw the kitchen sink, and in the end it was the smaller teams that won it for them 
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