What is to stop a powerful alliance saying " We can only kill the fortress once, so we'll not do it quickly, we will wait until our friends (other accounts we control) and allies are big enough"? This will prevent any alliance killing the fortress for a very long time and stop anyone but 'friends and allies' getting a 2nd or 3rd place badge - or any other place badge.
An alliance that is strong enough and organised enough to win the 1st place badge is strong enough and organised enough to control the order of who hits the fortress. If you're not in a 1st, 2nd or 3rd alliance then you either play for fun or grow big enough over time. You don't deserve a badge until you can beat the 1st, 2nd or 3rd place alliance to control the centre.
