I think we're all maybe being a bit too quick to judge here. We don't know yet which continent will be closed and it still might be that more than one of them bites the dust. And as much as we might all want to defend our particular favourite islands, I don't think it's helpful to start bashing on the others. Different continents offer different experiences and there are things going on in places people love all across the worlds of BattleMaster. A 'who shouts the loudest' discussion isn't going to do us any favours.
Whatever island gets closed, it is being done for a practical purpose. I don't think anybody is chomping at the bit to see an island sunk, but player/character density isn't a patch on what it once was. It's not all doom and gloom though. The proposed 'invasion' mechanic from a dying continent could be something that radically alters the surviving game worlds and has the potential to change every island. Losing a continent will hurt, but it could also be fun.
When War Islands was deleted people tried to recreate the realms cultures and religions on Dwilight. Keep in mind this was a brand new continent with no established rival cultures, realms or religions to give them trouble. The end result is that almost every trace of those transplanted cultures disappeared. Torenism was wiped out by SA, and people basically stopped talking about their former countries. I think the only one left who mentions War Island is Karibash.
It will be different this time though, because if a continent (or continents) get sunk this time, mechanics are actually being put in place so realms can migrate en masse to another island to establish themselves through war. In your example, a handful of folk who had fun playing War Islands together joined in the Dwilight gold rush when the continent was founded. Sadly though, every man and his dog was trying to found new realms at the time. The Torenists ended up in a difficult spot and although we can bemoan that a realm with a decent culture and religion was lost, it came at the hands of one of the most successful and vibrant religions ever to grace BattleMaster.
