Didn't a bunch of Wardens show up with Marcone?

I'll have to go back and check, but I don't think so.  Even if they did, that right there is grounds to sue for the council vote to be invalidated.  What the hell did the wardens do, not kill the enemy?

Now that I've had a few days to cope with my new trauma, thanks Jim,  I have had some thoughts regarding the Black and White council.

1. Carlos, definitely something not right with him.  We know from over the years, that Carlos was a representative of the new age of wizards, and they preferred the way Harry did things.  We also know, that EVERYONE knows, but does not speak of the Black Council.  Carlos brought it up with Harry, calling them Black Hats.  Carlos used to be fun loving and arrogant, but he has done a complete overhaul character wise.  Changes happen in wars yes, but a complete change with his character doesn't really track.  So my thinking is perhaps he was Black Council from the start.  After all, the wizards that were taken off the board in this book were mostly ones that had a favorable impression of Harry.

2. The Black Council has been background for far too long.  Harry has been dealing with Monsters for how many books now?  If Christos is not BC then whomever pulls his strings is imo.  It will be interesting to see just how they managed to corrupt the WC so thoroughly since Turn Coat.

3. The White Council, yeah, where to start?   Leadership.  It always comes down to leadership with an organization.  Langstry has completely screwed himself, if he is still alive/not nemesis etc...  They had the BC spy pegged to what 3 or 4 high level people, how many years ago, and since then the WC has become even more of a dumpster fire?  That tells us that either A) The BC is leagues/galaxies smarter than the Senior Council wizards, or B) the BC has already taken complete control of the WC, and are just hiding in plain site from the normies.

4.  The good guys on the WC.  We are fairly safe to assume that the majority of the WC and a good portion, at least, of the Senior Council, are still "good".    If they were all corrupted, they would not be able to hide from Rashid, or the Unseelie Court, mostly Mab and Odin.  So, that then leads me to WTH are the good guys doing?  They (K)now that Harry is a good guy.  Rashid spoke for him even after GS.   Martha Liberty, LTW, Eb firmly on his side, even though they have to play it cool politics wise.  Where has Captain Luccio been/gone?  She didn't just disappear.  The new generation of wardens already had a schism with the old ways of doing things simply because they were the new generation, so why are they so easy to write of Harry? Finally, tally up all the times Harry has assisted/saved the WC over the years.  Are wizards just stupid and forgetful?  If they aren't, then they are damned cowards to throw him away simply because of the White Knight status...

5. The Grey council.  I refuse to believe they haven't been gathering information and moving forward since Changes.  So where are they?  A lot happened on the surface in BG, as two of the Grey council were actively fighting, but what was happening in the background?   What kept everyone so busy that ALL of the White Council couldn't be bothered to protect humanity from the most blatant attack from the other side in centuries.  Seriously, they sent 4 of the senior council yes, but only 7 or so wardens?

I'll have more thoughts later, but this is plenty to start with.
Cheers.

I concur with most of this.  We will definitely not be completely correct, Jim loves to see us squirm, but we are headed in the right direction.   Harry has been forced to deal with increasingly dark stuff, and for the entire series it has been about him knowing where the line is.  So yeah, Mab testing Harry tracks, also conflict with the WC makes a good deal of sense, as we have seen how screwed up it is with every interaction we get.

I agree that Mab is not Evil, imo just a really weary/tired battle hardened General who has been fighting for mortal kind for millennia, and won't take crap from some know nothing uppity mortal much less a herd of cowardly wizards.  She has referred to herself and Harry as wolves more than once, so she completely sees how the WC has degenerated and despises them for it.

Edit:

That being said, I can't see Harry being the defacto Merlin of the WC 2.0.  He would be mostly symbolic figure head than anything else.

 Also, I have serious concerns on whether or not he will actually survive.  Being a fulcrum for existence doesn't tend to work out for the fulcrum.  We know that these stories are his journals which does seem to indicate he will live, but there are so many ways that could actually come about.  I.e. he dies in the trilogy but due to his foray in GS he becomes something similar to Bob, etc...

Mister, Kincaid, or Fix...   

If Harry doesn't go solo, which I think would be viable, as he really needs to spend time beefing up his magical arsenal, going solo would guarantee he makes a whole bunch of foci/trinkets, then whomever he pairs up with has to be competent.  The pool of people to stand next to him, reliably, is now practically zero...   So imo, he's either gonna go solo and arm himself to the teeth, or he will have to find some sort of frenemy to pair with.

As for Lara, I don't see a love happening there.  Lara will probably be called in to help from time to time, but it will still be limited to situations where her responsibilities make it necessary.  She is a vampire after all, and loyal to herself...

Good Grief!  Some of it sounds like crap!  As in throw in everything but the kitchen sink crap.  I hope it doesn't read that way.  Will try and reserve judgement, but still...

It read well enough.  The plot device used was believable, Imho, it is just that Battle Ground is just that.  The entire book is Chitchen Itza, which we are not used to so it takes a bit of adjustment.  If you aren't fresh off of Peace Talks it may not read as well, and I wouldn't recommend ever reading Battle Ground alone/without Peace Talks.

This book was another Changes, it cleared the field of a bunch of issues, to set up the next goal post.  I can tell that however many books are left, Jim has started to summon Godzilla, and the waters are starting to churn. 

What interests me mostly is how he left things between Harry and the White Council.  It suggests that in the next book or book after the White Council will be hit imo, as the events here have thoroughly fermented the situation for dissolution, abandonement, and open internal strife.

Edit:
I will also be interested to see what happens with the Grey Council now...especially since Harry is even more isolated than before.