As a point of clarification, if even one person played a card that had a combat value of 1 or greater that survived the round, then it’s NOT declared No Combat. You’re right that a lot of combats can end with only one side being played, but there’s still a fight because people are playing a higher value for the winning side to get the spoil, which is the Battle card.

Rarely, if ever, do we see a winning margin of 30 points; 30 points in a seven-player game is a good total score. The players need to negotiate to keep scores close. If the leading player picks the battle and plays the first card, the rest of the players need to work to make sure the leader doesn’t win the battle and get to assign the spoils.