Hi Jury,
It has been a tough endgame for me to get here, and I look forward to explaining my game to you. Take note that assertions in my speech are just from my point of view from various points in the game.
A bit of my thoughts on survivor (tl:dr kinda):
Survivor is not a race. It is a marathon. If you go too hard too early, you become a big threat in everyone's eyes. Traditionally, the leaders of the alliance are always targeted first. Otherwise, it is people who are challenge beasts. My game was to ensure that I appeared as neither. I wanted to keep some threats in as shields for me as well, so they will be targeted before me. The name of my name is 'wolf in
sheep'sgoat's clothing'. I know that from the beginning - I do not have to be the best player out of the whole player list. I don't have to be the biggest jury threat. I don’t have to yell out to the world whenever I make a move. Others can take the credit, and the target. I just have to make sure that I am the better player in the final 2, have the ability to explain my game and prove it. If I appeared like the ringleader, calling the shots, my game would end much sooner. My skill is in reading the game-state, very similar to reading the EIMM game state. In the last quarter, I ramped up my challenge abilities and won the last 2 immunities, saving myself and guaranteeing myself a spot at the FTC.
Pre merge stuff
I entered this game only knowing tbz and vooper really well, but my experiences with them have been them snaking me constantly in eimm games. So in my original tribe, I only knew TBZ.
I low efforted early but put in decent effort in the first scavenger challenge, which got me invited to an alliance. At that point, I didn't have much social capital since I haven't talked to half of the alliance, but I started talking to them and building it up. I didn't know anyone else before the game other than TBZ, but I had a feeling most of the playerlist has history, kinda like an all stars season, where I am a fan instead of a favourite. So I am trying to figure out who knows who. This was confirmed in the first vote when beanz got targeted for {something that happened in another game} out of the people that didn’t participate in the challenge. Over the next few votes, we repeatedly did easy votes, but I did my best to protect tbz from the vote.
During the pair's twist, I was trying to find a partner for Species, by asking Vooper and whatnot. Unfortunately, his tribe was all paired up. Inferno told me that Laurel was going to snake paperblade and pair with Species, and not to worry. I kept that info to not attract undue attention or cause the plan to fall apart. That sort of bonded me a bit with Species and Inferno.
I was a bit wary of Laurel because he flipped on the pairs vote, sending 2 of our alliance home. Since we relied on another pair not voting together (which they didn’t). After the swap, everything was uneventful until Laurel and I were discussing game strategy and how to make it far. Ironically, I told him that he needs to go to a point where he can win final immunity, in case his ‘sheep’ turns on him. During that convo, I told him that I have won Survivor before and done deep runs multiple times. The next vote, Laurel targeted me because of that, and also because I won some EIMM games, and also because he thought I was Aquilia. Luckily, a combination of him forgetting to vote and species and cel wanting to better their positions, led me to being saved. After this, Species and I got closer, because it didn’t really matter the circumstance - he saved me and I am grateful. I therefore also voted for Rad because Cel also saved me, even though I was voting for Cel in the original vote. I used the mention of rocks to secure a Rad vote, unsure if it was needed. After that, I made a group of Species and Cel, and intended to go far with them. I know species as a good survivor player, and I like playing with logical person, because I have more of an idea what they might do at a given time. Anyway, this made me further wary of Laurel, and I have classified him as the following player with the following gameplan.
Laurel wants to votes out all big threats
Laurel is now the biggest threat earlier than required
Laurel will be voted out when he loses immunity
Laurel does not really care about shield strategy
The ridiculous part of this is that prior to this, I’ve just been playing a sheep game, so there was really no good reason to vote me out so early just based on previous performances.
I am not the kind of player who gets threatened by someone playing well in the previous season, another org or what not. If anything, if someone is good, it makes a great shield for me. People would target them before me. If someone is logical, they are easier to work with.
Merge Vote
Fast forward to the merge, in the merge vote, because I told Species I was close with Inferno, he didn’t tell me about his side’s Inferno vote plan. Because Laurel stirred some stuff up with Joe, Texas and Inferno, they didn’t tell me about their …. Bluedoom plan. Because of that, ironically everyone except bluedoom left me out of their plans.
After the revote, I reconnected with both Species and Cel, as well as the Texas Joe group. After some token disappointment, I assured them I was alright.
F10 vote
The very next vote, the twist of 2 groups of 5 happened. I don’t fully know who started the chaos, but it was either Species or Laurel. I was allies with Species, Cel and Joe, plus I trusted Species the most so I figured Laurel was probably just causing chaos again. He had tried voting for me before, so he could do it again. To cut a long story short, Species and Cel went behind my back again to do a 2-2-1 vote on Joe. Species, I realise that is a game move, but I feel like you traded our long term equity for some short term big moves, so I was emotional there. Also, leaving me out of consecutive votes just made me feel like I had to do more moves later to prove myself.
F9 twist
This is about the time I finally found the idol. I decided since everyone I thought were allies had left me out at one point or another, I needed to rely on myself. I was going to tell nobody about this. I considered telling Joe though.
Regardless, in the next immunity giving twist, species passed me the immunity, and we sort of reconciled our differences from last time. I made a chat saying me->joe->texas->bluedoom, eliminating jalmont who had voted for me at the merge vote. This also paved the ground for an alliance between joe, texas, bluedoom and I. I figure Texas and Joe won’t see me as a threat or target me until it is too late.
F8 vote
During the vote where a lot of people wanted tbz out, and it was apparently between whydon and tbz, I tried making a move but trying to turn the vote on whydon, because I felt like tbz might listen to me with whydon gone. Unfortunately, there were a few blockers…
1) tbz didn’t want to vote whydon
2) Joe and Species seemed down for the plan, if other people are, which I appreciate, even if its not true :P
3) Texas said he was down for the plan if ‘other people were’. Unfortunately, based on our conversations, I could tell that he didn’t really mean that, and was really heavily steering me to tbz. Ironically, if tbz survived here, bluedoom would have been fine next vote.
F8 vote (again)
During the vote where it was between Marth and Cel, Joe didn’t want to go to rocks for bluedoom. it was clear to me the other 4 were strong, and could see the next vote was 4-3, with one of Joe or Texas going, however convincing ppl to go to rocks is a big ask.
F7 vote
When Joe won immunity, I figured it was likely Texas was going home. I didn’t use my idol because I felt like I couldn’t play the game in Texas’s shadow, it would just look like I'm sheeping him more, and he even refused to believe me that Laurel was snaking him. I tried asking to swap the vote back to Laurel, so whydon doesn’t get upset when he (most definitely) was staying. I guess we rolled for the 10% chance of laurel playing the shield strategy game.
F6 vote
I expected Laurel to be the target here because he is a jury threat, despite Cel saying… that he can beat Laurel and that he thinks Laurel has no win equity? What kinda weed are you smoking Cel man…., but when people all didn’t talk for a while, I had an inkling Joe was the target. I decided enough was enough and I was going to make my stand here. Here are the reasons
- Joe would work with me in the future (proven correct at F5 vote)
- If I had let Joe get voted out, Laurel would be the favourite to win F5 immunity (didn’t know what F5 immunity was), and even if I saved my idol at F5, I would still be screwed at F4. Even if Laurel was voted out at F5, it looked like the crew of Whydon, Cel and Species would remain strong at F4 (at the time, that’s what it looked like)
- I just don’t trust Laurel. See 1)
- From my POV, if Laurel makes it to the end after voting out Joe, he would get my jury vote.
Anyway, I decided ‘fuck this safe play of being safe at F5’, instead I voted Laurel out.
F5 vote
So I was not immune and had no idol.
At this point, I rank the jury threats as follows
Joe>Species>Me/Whydon>Cel
However, I felt like I could trust Joe to make a move to save me here at the F5. I laid out a plan to Joe. I planned it, he executed it (to Cel). We pulled off the greatest move ever.
Originally, Joe wanted to target Cel because he thought Cel was the biggest jury threat. I convinced him that
- No - species is the mastermind in that duo
- Cel is easier to trick to vote Species than the other way around
Greatest Heist Plan
Director: alimdia
Leading actor and MVP: Joe
- Act like I am safe using BS idol story
- Joe tells Cel that Joe and I cannot agree on a vote, because we are both safe and not budging, therefore the vote will be 1:1 after I use idol, with me voting Cel and Joe voting species
- Joe convinces Cel that my idol is legit
- Cel thinks Whydon will keep him in a 1:1 revote between him and species
- I tell Joe to plant doubts in Cel’s mind using Species’s 2-2-1 vote from so long ago. Convince Cel that Species knows my idol is real, wants to burn Cel’s and Whydon’s vote so that he can throw his vote on Cel and make a 2-2-1. If I idol, Cel goes home. If I don’t have an idol, I go home. Win-Win for species.
- When Cel is convinced of this and votes Species in order to make a 2-2-1 vote the other way to save himself in the non existent ‘revote’, Joe and I actually are voting for Species and turn it into a 3-2
Plan worked without a hitch. Only thing is, I had to betray Species, but sorry brother, it was all strategy and gameplay.
F4 vote
I had a hunch that after the results of the last vote, Joe now sees me as a player and will want me out eventually, either here or F3.
I had 0 pokemon game knowledge, other than pikachu is a pokemon. After Hal explained the roles and how to play it on the website, I spent a solid 1-2 hours researching the weakness of every pokemon, and drew a chart.
Found some formulas and playtested it, to come up with optimal solutions to Orbeetle’s eject and Cubchow’s red card. I won the challenge because of hard work. There is some RNG with 20% stun chance and miltank having 90% accuracy, but luckily, those were not factored in to the end result.
I know from this format, the winner of the challenge actually chooses for the elimination candidate, because the person dragged in can only vote for the elimination candidate while the EC has no vote. Hence, the EC needs the support of the immunity winner and the other person.
I eliminated Joe because of the following reasons
- I think he is going to vote me out at F4 if I didn’t win, or at F3, so I have to win final immunity anyway. If I have to win final immunity anyway, I might as well vote Joe out now, to have a higher chance to win final immunity.
- Even if Joe would bring me to the F2, I would still lose to Joe in front of the jury. That is my perception. Sorry Joe.
- I realise that the jury prob won’t believe/give me credit that I came up with the F5 plan if Joe is sitting next to me in FTC.
F3 vote
Ngl I kinda got robbed that I didn’t get the sole vote to eliminate someone, but that’s stupid survivor and life.
I am confident in the game that I played. I may not be the best player in this season, but I think I am the better player in the final 2. I played an UTR game to start with meat shields, voted out players that wanted me out, and finally came out from the shadows starting from F6. You will find that I have a massive impact on every elimination F6 and following. I played a marathon game, not a race. I put my foot on the accelerator at F6 and pressed as hard as I can, and I had a brilliant last quarter to close out the endgame.