Post by benji on Oct 21, 2022 13:16:03 GMT -5
Hey everyone!
Sorry for the late update on these rounds. Life has been a bit chaotic, but I want to make sure we do diligence in setting up the plot of our game thus far...
In round 2, we lost Duke and Austin. While they were definitely high up on my list to succeed, Duke and Austin were plagued with indecision from their tribemates. Let's break down each vote.
Duke was in a solid alliance with Rocky and Leah... but so were pretty much everyone else (Spencer and Jermin). Much like the Morgan vote, it was Leah/Rocky who were the strong duo to decide which way they wanted to lean. That being said, Duke did not do enough to reinforce the fact that they could work with him down the road. Spencer and Jermin were putting in the right work with them to give the duo confidence. I truly think letting Morgan go the way he did was the downfall of Duke's game. Had he done enough to rally with Morgan and Spencer, I think they could have dominated their position in the tribe. Regardless, Duke was looped into what he thought was all the right conversations... it was just not going his way. Duke was voted out 5-1, with his one vote falling on Jermin. AJ was on the tribe at this point, too. Not sure why he wasn't targeted, but they were insistent on using him as a pawn for their late games. AJ was exiled BACK to Maskorra.
Austin was a different story. While he is known for his chaos, Austin was attempting to paint a picture of a new player. If anything, I think that he confused his tribe. Some of them knew Austin and how he has historically played. He did lean on Mike G. to help him develop his gameplay, but Mike wasn't interested in being someone's mentor. Plus, he didn't exactly trust Austin. Amber had positive conversations with him, but she didn't have the agency or social capital to save him. Kyle didn't seem much interested in working with him, although he wasn't against it. I really thought that Allie's inactivity was going to be her downfall that vote... but it came down to who the group thought they could work long term with. There were too many question marks with Austin. I still miss him, as he is the wild card that gives me LIFE. Austin was voted out 5-1.
All that being said, leading up to and after those votes, here is how I perceived the hierarchy of the tribes:
Oskola:
1. Leah - she is misting everyone and pretending like she isn't playing as hard as she is. She had spencer and rocky in her pocket.
2. Spencer - Spencer is such a dangerous player. He has the ability to convince anyone of anything. Not to mention, his reputation for getting shit done makes everyone want to work with him.
3. Rocky - Rocky is letting Leah have the reins a bit. I know that he isn't set on going far with her, but he might have to lean on her for a while. Plus, she's a good shield.
4. Jermin - Jermin's complacency with the vote not being him didn't help his case with Leah and Rocky. Plus, he was putting in too much time talking with AJ, which rubbed his tribe the wrong way.
Korala:
1. Kyle - Kyle is calm, cool and collected. Everything that players are typically not on survivor. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and he better learn to keep his stories straight.
2. Mike G - Mike G should be in a higher position here, but Kyle has too much agency with this group. I think this is a good spot for him, though. He doesn't like to have all eyes on him.
3. Taylor - Taylor is consistently rated a big threat by her tribemates. She needs to keep her head on a swivel and make sure to keep the target off her back.
4. Allie - Although Allie's name was floated, she has good relationships with those who are dictating the votes.
5. Amber - Amber is aloof in these early rounds. She has been putting in enough work to not be the target vote, but she also doesn't talk enough strategy at this point to garner a lot of support from her tribemates.
Maskorra: This whole tribe was fluid at this point, since they hadn't been to tribal. This list isn't arbitrary, but I don't think I could have anticipated how the vote would have gone if Nina weren't so inactive due to their win streak.
1. Ben
2. Carlos
3. Jenn
4. Lamont
5. AJ
6. Michael
7. Nina
ROUND 3
Following that round, we were submitted to another double tribal where Oskola continued their losing streak and by mere seconds, Maskorra would have their first tribal council.
Jermin was an obvious target for this group. Spencer/Leah/Rocky solidified their alliance and left Jermin to bop around, making fruitless plans. I wish we had more from Jermin, because I know how well he can create chaos in this game. Unfortunately, there was nowhere left to hide after losing three rounds in a row. RIP to a legend
.
NINA! I don't even feel good posting about this. Ugh. I was so ready to watch Nina take this game DOWN. She didn't go without a fight. After Ben finally told her that she was a target (BEN HELP YOUR ALLY), Nina tried to stir the pot by making up some convenient lies to put a target on Michael's back. I honestly think this could have had some traction IF this tribe wasn't so well connected. This was the only tribe that didn't have a solid core alliance or group, so that meant everyone was sharing information fairly consistently. It was some bad news for Nina. I don't want to put blame on Ben, because he didn't do anything to hurt her chances at staying. I'm more curious why he didn't do more to keep her. People kept asking him for a name, and he was too afraid to say anyone, as to be the head of the snake. Unfortunately, that left other people to pick who they wanted out, and it was his number one. This really pulled Ben's status down after the vote.
ROUND 4
WE HAD A SWAP! The tribes formed:
NuKorala:
Amber
Ben
Carlos
Jenn
Kyle
Lamont
Spencer
NuMaskorra:
AJ
Allie
Leah
Mike G
Michael
Rocky
Taylor
NuMaskorra lost the challenge and was sent to tribal council. After the dust settled, the plan was pretty clear: Vote out Michael. Leah/Rocky/AJ were a trio and Mike/Taylor/Allie were the other perceived trio. Michael put in a lot of work the night before and found the hidden immunity idol. Learning from mistakes past, he decides to not tell anyone and to keep the damn thing himself. This was exciting to watch unfold, as we figured since Michael is hyperactive in this game, he would eventually pick up people are not telling him the right name. That being said, Michael wanted Leah gone this round. That didn't work well for Mike G, who was looking to get rid of AJ. Mike G really wanted to make a move, but didn't know how to get the momentum moving. He talked with Taylor, who agreed that Michael was an asset for them, while AJ wasn't helping their cause. After Mike was roped into a group chat with Leah/Rocky/AJ, he felt the pressure of being the lowest member of that foursome. As any good plan is executed, he waited until 30 minutes before tribal to bombard Taylor and Allie (who was busy all day). Taylor was on a date with her partner and that left her little room to move. Either she flips her vote, or messes up Mike's plan. Allie was in a similar spot, but had less time to react. Allie was all but told to vote for AJ. That left it to a 3-3-?, with Michael's vote up in the air. Mike put in some work with Michael to try to get him to say AJ's name, but to no avail. Regardless, his message came across, because Michael landed on voting for AJ. This put the tribal votes down to a 4-3, with AJ going home with a last second move.
More importantly, what materialized after this blindside was Allie's ire for being swindled so late. I say swindled, because she felt like she was pressured by Mike at the last second to change her vote. As soon as the vote was over, Allie ran to Leah and Rocky (individually at first) telling them both how upset she was with how the round was handled. From that point on, the group was settled to get their revenge on Mike... however, the tune has changed since they bought themselves a round by winning the next immunity challenge. That being said, Allie/Leah/Rocky are the new trio to look out for. Mike and Taylor are still relatively close, but Mike chooses to be closer with Leah. Not sure the mentality, as I know they're IRL friends... but they haven't worked together on any vote. That might be a misplay by Mike here, although Leah is a big target for some of the players left in the game.
ROUND 5
NuKorala was sent packing for tribal and what an absolute shit show this vote was.
So, before I get into their chaos, let me open with Saturday after AJ was voted out, Carlos FINALLY stumbled upon the first clue for the immunity idol in his prod chat. He then spent the entire afternoon with Jenn getting to the idol. So, at this point, only Jenn knew about Carlos' idol. He did also have an extra vote that he was using for currency with some players. He told Spencer and that was enough for the whole tribe to find out about his extra vote.
The players this season have been incredibly lazy in their explanations to boot others. This time around, they were using the ever-so-convenient "who isn't around enough" as their deciding "factor" to vote. Carlos was the name everyone decided on, even though I felt Carlos was doing a very consistent job talking with others. What was most disappointing was that Ben wanted to keep Carlos... but did absolutely nothing to save him. He even said he was taking the same approach as the Nina vote... which was he might warn Carlos before he's gone. If Ben wants to win this season, he needs to dictate votes that aren't getting rid of his closest allies. I digress.
At this point, Spencer/Ben/Amber/Kyle were all generating action for this Carlos vote. Lamont and Jenn knew about the plan and were looped into conversations, but they were trying to keep it from being Carlos. Kyle had lost his vote, thanks to it being taken away by Austin when he left. Kyle decided to tell no one about this. Carlos and Jenn were already planning to use his idol and to get out a key player. Carlos initially wanted Kyle out, but Jenn had slowly convinced him that he could be a pawn for them. Regardless, they were pushing the idea that Kyle would be the target of Carlos' sole vote. Spencer was starting to grow paranoid, as any good player would when they feel a shift. Carlos was playing it very well, but I think he made a few people sus.
Leading up to the vote, Jenn and Carlos were ready for their moment, but Lamont decided to make some of his own moves. In an attempt to throw some votes off of Carlos, Lamont decides to tell Spencer that Carlos has an idol. Which he definitely did, but Lamont was not told about that information. So Lamont puts out the *Actual* plan when he didn't realize he did. This gave spencer less than 5 minutes to run to as many people as he could to make a new plan. Ben was at a concert, so he doesn't see the message. Jenn is playing dumb with him. Kyle is already holding on to a secret, so he plays along but has no chips to play this round. We get to tribal and Carlos fesses up that he's the target and that he has an advantage. The votes fall 4 on Carlos (Jenn, Lamont, Amber and Ben) 2 on Spencer (Carlos and Carlos' extra vote) and Spencer throws his vote on Lamont. Now, Spencer did have an extra vote (and I know I've heard his excuses and his plan... Spencer I absolutely love you... but you've been playing these games a long time. All votes have to be cast before idols are revealed. It would be majorly unfair if players could play after a vote) but he never plays it. I'm not sure why he didn't. If he were so worried, he absolutely should have played it. And re-reading the prod chat, we told the exact same thing to Carlos, who played his vote correctly. Carlos has his moment and plays his idol. Spencer tries to play his extra vote. He is denied. The votes are read and heading out with 2 votes is Spencer.
Spencer was probably the most connected and well positioned player in the game. Everyone on NuMaskorra was upset he was gone. Everyone but Carlos was working with Spencer on NuKorala. What a damn shame that his exit had to happen this way, because I believe he would have really blown up a lot of peoples' games for the benefit of his own down the line. That being said, I don't think he would have gone on to win. He was so well connected that he would have been bound to piss someone off along the way and got his ass voted out. Then again, he's a great player who knows how to respond to difficult situations, so who am I to say. Either way, he was removed from this game in glorious fashion, but way way too early for my taste.
And that catches us up! From here on out, I will attempt to be far more diligent about keeping up with player rankings and my thoughts <3
Sorry for the late update on these rounds. Life has been a bit chaotic, but I want to make sure we do diligence in setting up the plot of our game thus far...
In round 2, we lost Duke and Austin. While they were definitely high up on my list to succeed, Duke and Austin were plagued with indecision from their tribemates. Let's break down each vote.
Duke was in a solid alliance with Rocky and Leah... but so were pretty much everyone else (Spencer and Jermin). Much like the Morgan vote, it was Leah/Rocky who were the strong duo to decide which way they wanted to lean. That being said, Duke did not do enough to reinforce the fact that they could work with him down the road. Spencer and Jermin were putting in the right work with them to give the duo confidence. I truly think letting Morgan go the way he did was the downfall of Duke's game. Had he done enough to rally with Morgan and Spencer, I think they could have dominated their position in the tribe. Regardless, Duke was looped into what he thought was all the right conversations... it was just not going his way. Duke was voted out 5-1, with his one vote falling on Jermin. AJ was on the tribe at this point, too. Not sure why he wasn't targeted, but they were insistent on using him as a pawn for their late games. AJ was exiled BACK to Maskorra.
Austin was a different story. While he is known for his chaos, Austin was attempting to paint a picture of a new player. If anything, I think that he confused his tribe. Some of them knew Austin and how he has historically played. He did lean on Mike G. to help him develop his gameplay, but Mike wasn't interested in being someone's mentor. Plus, he didn't exactly trust Austin. Amber had positive conversations with him, but she didn't have the agency or social capital to save him. Kyle didn't seem much interested in working with him, although he wasn't against it. I really thought that Allie's inactivity was going to be her downfall that vote... but it came down to who the group thought they could work long term with. There were too many question marks with Austin. I still miss him, as he is the wild card that gives me LIFE. Austin was voted out 5-1.
All that being said, leading up to and after those votes, here is how I perceived the hierarchy of the tribes:
Oskola:
1. Leah - she is misting everyone and pretending like she isn't playing as hard as she is. She had spencer and rocky in her pocket.
2. Spencer - Spencer is such a dangerous player. He has the ability to convince anyone of anything. Not to mention, his reputation for getting shit done makes everyone want to work with him.
3. Rocky - Rocky is letting Leah have the reins a bit. I know that he isn't set on going far with her, but he might have to lean on her for a while. Plus, she's a good shield.
4. Jermin - Jermin's complacency with the vote not being him didn't help his case with Leah and Rocky. Plus, he was putting in too much time talking with AJ, which rubbed his tribe the wrong way.
Korala:
1. Kyle - Kyle is calm, cool and collected. Everything that players are typically not on survivor. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and he better learn to keep his stories straight.
2. Mike G - Mike G should be in a higher position here, but Kyle has too much agency with this group. I think this is a good spot for him, though. He doesn't like to have all eyes on him.
3. Taylor - Taylor is consistently rated a big threat by her tribemates. She needs to keep her head on a swivel and make sure to keep the target off her back.
4. Allie - Although Allie's name was floated, she has good relationships with those who are dictating the votes.
5. Amber - Amber is aloof in these early rounds. She has been putting in enough work to not be the target vote, but she also doesn't talk enough strategy at this point to garner a lot of support from her tribemates.
Maskorra: This whole tribe was fluid at this point, since they hadn't been to tribal. This list isn't arbitrary, but I don't think I could have anticipated how the vote would have gone if Nina weren't so inactive due to their win streak.
1. Ben
2. Carlos
3. Jenn
4. Lamont
5. AJ
6. Michael
7. Nina
ROUND 3
Following that round, we were submitted to another double tribal where Oskola continued their losing streak and by mere seconds, Maskorra would have their first tribal council.
Jermin was an obvious target for this group. Spencer/Leah/Rocky solidified their alliance and left Jermin to bop around, making fruitless plans. I wish we had more from Jermin, because I know how well he can create chaos in this game. Unfortunately, there was nowhere left to hide after losing three rounds in a row. RIP to a legend
. NINA! I don't even feel good posting about this. Ugh. I was so ready to watch Nina take this game DOWN. She didn't go without a fight. After Ben finally told her that she was a target (BEN HELP YOUR ALLY), Nina tried to stir the pot by making up some convenient lies to put a target on Michael's back. I honestly think this could have had some traction IF this tribe wasn't so well connected. This was the only tribe that didn't have a solid core alliance or group, so that meant everyone was sharing information fairly consistently. It was some bad news for Nina. I don't want to put blame on Ben, because he didn't do anything to hurt her chances at staying. I'm more curious why he didn't do more to keep her. People kept asking him for a name, and he was too afraid to say anyone, as to be the head of the snake. Unfortunately, that left other people to pick who they wanted out, and it was his number one. This really pulled Ben's status down after the vote.
ROUND 4
WE HAD A SWAP! The tribes formed:
NuKorala:
Amber
Ben
Carlos
Jenn
Kyle
Lamont
Spencer
NuMaskorra:
AJ
Allie
Leah
Mike G
Michael
Rocky
Taylor
NuMaskorra lost the challenge and was sent to tribal council. After the dust settled, the plan was pretty clear: Vote out Michael. Leah/Rocky/AJ were a trio and Mike/Taylor/Allie were the other perceived trio. Michael put in a lot of work the night before and found the hidden immunity idol. Learning from mistakes past, he decides to not tell anyone and to keep the damn thing himself. This was exciting to watch unfold, as we figured since Michael is hyperactive in this game, he would eventually pick up people are not telling him the right name. That being said, Michael wanted Leah gone this round. That didn't work well for Mike G, who was looking to get rid of AJ. Mike G really wanted to make a move, but didn't know how to get the momentum moving. He talked with Taylor, who agreed that Michael was an asset for them, while AJ wasn't helping their cause. After Mike was roped into a group chat with Leah/Rocky/AJ, he felt the pressure of being the lowest member of that foursome. As any good plan is executed, he waited until 30 minutes before tribal to bombard Taylor and Allie (who was busy all day). Taylor was on a date with her partner and that left her little room to move. Either she flips her vote, or messes up Mike's plan. Allie was in a similar spot, but had less time to react. Allie was all but told to vote for AJ. That left it to a 3-3-?, with Michael's vote up in the air. Mike put in some work with Michael to try to get him to say AJ's name, but to no avail. Regardless, his message came across, because Michael landed on voting for AJ. This put the tribal votes down to a 4-3, with AJ going home with a last second move.
More importantly, what materialized after this blindside was Allie's ire for being swindled so late. I say swindled, because she felt like she was pressured by Mike at the last second to change her vote. As soon as the vote was over, Allie ran to Leah and Rocky (individually at first) telling them both how upset she was with how the round was handled. From that point on, the group was settled to get their revenge on Mike... however, the tune has changed since they bought themselves a round by winning the next immunity challenge. That being said, Allie/Leah/Rocky are the new trio to look out for. Mike and Taylor are still relatively close, but Mike chooses to be closer with Leah. Not sure the mentality, as I know they're IRL friends... but they haven't worked together on any vote. That might be a misplay by Mike here, although Leah is a big target for some of the players left in the game.
ROUND 5
NuKorala was sent packing for tribal and what an absolute shit show this vote was.
So, before I get into their chaos, let me open with Saturday after AJ was voted out, Carlos FINALLY stumbled upon the first clue for the immunity idol in his prod chat. He then spent the entire afternoon with Jenn getting to the idol. So, at this point, only Jenn knew about Carlos' idol. He did also have an extra vote that he was using for currency with some players. He told Spencer and that was enough for the whole tribe to find out about his extra vote.
The players this season have been incredibly lazy in their explanations to boot others. This time around, they were using the ever-so-convenient "who isn't around enough" as their deciding "factor" to vote. Carlos was the name everyone decided on, even though I felt Carlos was doing a very consistent job talking with others. What was most disappointing was that Ben wanted to keep Carlos... but did absolutely nothing to save him. He even said he was taking the same approach as the Nina vote... which was he might warn Carlos before he's gone. If Ben wants to win this season, he needs to dictate votes that aren't getting rid of his closest allies. I digress.
At this point, Spencer/Ben/Amber/Kyle were all generating action for this Carlos vote. Lamont and Jenn knew about the plan and were looped into conversations, but they were trying to keep it from being Carlos. Kyle had lost his vote, thanks to it being taken away by Austin when he left. Kyle decided to tell no one about this. Carlos and Jenn were already planning to use his idol and to get out a key player. Carlos initially wanted Kyle out, but Jenn had slowly convinced him that he could be a pawn for them. Regardless, they were pushing the idea that Kyle would be the target of Carlos' sole vote. Spencer was starting to grow paranoid, as any good player would when they feel a shift. Carlos was playing it very well, but I think he made a few people sus.
Leading up to the vote, Jenn and Carlos were ready for their moment, but Lamont decided to make some of his own moves. In an attempt to throw some votes off of Carlos, Lamont decides to tell Spencer that Carlos has an idol. Which he definitely did, but Lamont was not told about that information. So Lamont puts out the *Actual* plan when he didn't realize he did. This gave spencer less than 5 minutes to run to as many people as he could to make a new plan. Ben was at a concert, so he doesn't see the message. Jenn is playing dumb with him. Kyle is already holding on to a secret, so he plays along but has no chips to play this round. We get to tribal and Carlos fesses up that he's the target and that he has an advantage. The votes fall 4 on Carlos (Jenn, Lamont, Amber and Ben) 2 on Spencer (Carlos and Carlos' extra vote) and Spencer throws his vote on Lamont. Now, Spencer did have an extra vote (and I know I've heard his excuses and his plan... Spencer I absolutely love you... but you've been playing these games a long time. All votes have to be cast before idols are revealed. It would be majorly unfair if players could play after a vote) but he never plays it. I'm not sure why he didn't. If he were so worried, he absolutely should have played it. And re-reading the prod chat, we told the exact same thing to Carlos, who played his vote correctly. Carlos has his moment and plays his idol. Spencer tries to play his extra vote. He is denied. The votes are read and heading out with 2 votes is Spencer.
Spencer was probably the most connected and well positioned player in the game. Everyone on NuMaskorra was upset he was gone. Everyone but Carlos was working with Spencer on NuKorala. What a damn shame that his exit had to happen this way, because I believe he would have really blown up a lot of peoples' games for the benefit of his own down the line. That being said, I don't think he would have gone on to win. He was so well connected that he would have been bound to piss someone off along the way and got his ass voted out. Then again, he's a great player who knows how to respond to difficult situations, so who am I to say. Either way, he was removed from this game in glorious fashion, but way way too early for my taste.
And that catches us up! From here on out, I will attempt to be far more diligent about keeping up with player rankings and my thoughts <3