Board Thread:Virtual Tribal Council/@comment-26497595-20160216160834



Welcome back to another season of the power rankings! I had a great time doing them last season and I can't wait to see if it goes as well with an all newbies season. Let's start by analyzing what could possibly kaoh rong with this year's brains tribe.











 Chan Loh:




 * 1) Peter Baggenstos - Easily the alpha male of this group, though Neal and Joseph are no slouches themselves. Peter is in the prime Survivor age, he's charming and he's fit. Clearly he will be an enormous threat later on in the game, but who would be crazy enough to cut Barack Clooney this early? The brains tribe last season was an absolute trainwreck, but this group seems more Masaya than Luzon. If my assumptions are correct, Peter has nothing to fear for several weeks.


 * 1) Elisabeth “Liz” Markham – Possibly the closest estimate to Parvati we've seen in a long time, besides Queen Wentworth (miss you). Liz is a beautiful, brilliant young woman. In a tribe with any Drew-like characters, Liz might have some things to be concerned about. However, surrounded by so many folks with brains just as stuffed as hers is, the street-smart Liz has a fantastic chance to at least make the merge. I see her not only being safe in the short term, but in the long run as well.


 * 1) Neal Gottlieb –  Though he's a much more sketchy-looking character than the other brains, Neal is a malleable person. Unless he's more Dawson-y than I can tell from this point, he's very socially aware. It seems from his online interactions (of which there are countless) that he's got a reputable friendship with Peter and Liz. I have those two at 1 and 2, so logically I kinda have to put Neal at 3. My worries for him may be higher than they are for someone like Joseph, but by placing him here I'm banking on this power trio being implemented early on.


 * 1) Joseph del Campo –  Potentially one of my favourites this season, just based on character. Sure he's old and probably a lot more fragile than the other contestants, but I have no doubts in his capablities to keep up, both physically and mentally. He has spent DECADES reading people and making calculated decisions as a career, and he's still the most ripped guy on the season at 72. I don't see anybody WANTING to deceive someone like Joe. He won't play deceptively and as a result nobody will want to play deceptively with him. Joe is only below the top 3 because of the possibility for a medevac.

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 * 1) <p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Debbie Wanner –  Maybe I'm not putting enough stock in Debbie, but I really struggle to see anything promising about her. She could either be Carolyn or the female Coach, as she professes to be. Frankly I'm assuming the latter, if only based on her swimsuit. I can't see her expressly getting along with her tribemates better than any of them get along with each other, but she has enough fight in her that I can see her escaping being the first boot of this group.

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 * 1) <p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Aubry Bracco –  Speaking of first boots! It's written all over Aubry. I could be, and honestly hope I am very wrong. She simply has nothing in common with any of her tribemates. She's going to come across as schemey a-la Shirin or Fishbach, and her social graces will likely be very similar to those two as well. It takes more than just “loving people” to actually be GOOD with people. Some of the best manipulators are genuine sociopaths, which Aubry surely is not. She's just a little weird.

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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-weight:normal;">Let's move on to perhaps the most eclectic group of the season.

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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm"> To Tang:

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 * 1) <p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Scot Pollard –  It's pretty clear who's going to come out as the leader of this tribe early on. The other players in his group are smart enough to know they don't want to be in charge; so like it or not, Scot is going to end up being a figurehead at least. For that reason I can't see a situation where he's possibly the first boot of his tribe. He'll have Kyle as a close number 2, and I think he'll be able to get along really well with Darnell and Jennifer. I'm excited to see if Scot is the one professional athlete who can finally make a real run in this game. I think he might be.

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 * 1) <p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Jennifer Lanzetti –  I get a fantastic vibe from Jennifer; she may very well be my winner pick at this point. I get the sense that she's the Denise of her tribe, or even the Queen Spradlin. I'm not quite prepared to say she's invincible, though. Jennifer appears to be very high energy. With a lot of energy comes the very real possibility that she could come out of the gate very quickly. I see a reality in which Jennifer and Darnell pair up and form a power group with Scot and Kyle. If that's the case, Jennifer has a lot of wiggle room and will have three huge targets to keep the heat off of her for a long time.

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 * 1) <p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Darnell Hamilton –  KING DARNELL. I adore this man. He has such a charisma about him that's just impossible to ignore. Darnell has the street smarts that will make him a natural at the game of Survivor. I have no doubt he'll be willing and able to lie and manipulate, and with the other people on his tribe really liking him as I think they will, Darnell will be set up great to make some waves. The more astute players will pick up on this eventually, though. Until then, I'm going to be digging some Darnell.

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 * 1) <p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Cydney Gillon –  I cannot put my support behind somebody who invented a personality purely so she could act like a maniac without feeling guilty. I think Cydney is all too willing to bring Storm out. That being said, she is easily the strongest woman in the game physically and will be incredibly valuable to the guys on her tribe that are going to put a lot of faith in her abilities. If her muscles end up taking too much energy to the point where she's exhausted and moody, she'll no doubt play herself out of the game early on. Just not before at least one of the other folks on To Tang.

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 * 1) <p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Kyle Jason –  RHAPs nickname “Kylo Jason” could not be any more perfect in my eyes. Kyle is a staunch Hantz supporter, and as such places low on my initial list. Until he proves he can actually pull off the Hantz game, or if he can debunk his own myths that that is going to be his game plan, Kyle is going to place low. I have to worry that he's going to try to be too aggressively sneaky. I hope and pray I am wrong about Kyle. He seems like a fantastic guy with a lot of potential. Also that beard. #bless
 * 2) <p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Alecia Holden –  How did this girl EVER get on the Brawn tribe? Because her dad was an overhyped talent agent for ACTUAL brawny people? I don't care how much she likes skydiving, Alecia is completely out of place on To Tang. If they lose a challenge, it'll most likely be because Alecia simply couldn't keep up. Frankly she might be the weakest on ANY of these tribes. On top of that, she claims she's opinionated and a hothead. She's also never seen the show. She probably also hates rice. And water. And not sucking. I hope she has a nice vacation.

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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-weight:normal;">Now let's finish off everyone's favourite airheads on the beauty tribe.

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 * 1) <p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Caleb Reynolds –  Don't get me wrong, Caleb is going to be awful at Survivor. However, everybody knows what this guy is all about. He's a horndog that is dedicated to loyalty above anything else. Any one of these women that knows anything about him will be all over the guy. He's perhaps the easiest to manipulate out of any Survivor ever. I think there is a chance that the women get together, and if they do they'll have to target the Lord of Douches before getting rid of my boy Beast Mode Cowboy. I can't wait to watch his antics out there.

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 * 1) <p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Nick Maiorano –  Again, don't get me wrong. Nick is going to flame out hardcore, but it won't be this early. While he'll definitely be the target if the women get together with Tai, I just don't think it's going to happen. Somebody like Anna is not going to be eager to get rid of an arrogant guy that she can trick into thinking he's got her wrapped around his finger. Nick will be around long enough to make an absolute ass of himself, and I'm thrilled to see how he spirals out of control and goes out looking like an idiot.

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 * 1) <p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Anna Khait –  On Big Brother 17, I was fully on board Team Vanessa from the beginning. If Anna is able to pull off the same manipulative game that Vanessa did, but with a little more finesse, perhaps, Anna will be the number one frontrunner. These female poker players are proven to be dangerous, and with flirtation as yet another weapon at her disposal, Anna is a force to be reckoned with. That being said, I don't think she'll be the strongest challenge competitor ever. She has an equal chance of getting targeted for that than the other women, but has a lot more skills than Michele and Julia. Ergo, she reaches the top half of her tribe.

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 * 1) <p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Julia Sokolowski –  I really do believe Julia is a superfan. She seems very smart and fun and fit. However, being as young as she is, I don't know if Julia is weathered and wary enough to really be successful. I could be proven wrong, but Julia is going to at least have a tough time. I don't doubt her ability to work hard, but will she work smart? Who does she think she's going to flirt with? I see her and Tai getting along very well; maybe even her and Anna forming a bit of a sisterly thing. Alas, there just isn't a good resume for the really young folks we've seen on Survivor before. I hope she's the outlier.

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 * 1) <p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Tai Trang –  Put down your pitchforks. I know Tai is very low on the list. In a normal season I think Tai would do fantastic, but this is a season filled with enormous egos, especially on his starting tribe. Nick will think Tai is going to be more likeable than he is, therefore Tai becomes the Brice to Nick's LJ. Caleb will have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in common with Tai, therefore he won't want to work with him. Anna won't be able to flirt with Tai to manipulate him, therefore Tai will have to go. I see Tai being the unfortunate victim of Anna using the other men to gain an advantage on them with the women should they vote out a second person.

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 * 1) <p style="margin-bottom:0cm">Michele Fitzgerald –  I buy that Julia is a superfan. I don't buy that Michele is a superfan. I really get the sense that Michele just kinda wandered into a casting call and, when asked if she liked Survivor, she remembered watching Pearl Islands as a kid and giggling whenever Rupert roared. I don't see any motivation in this girl. I see a young woman who's going to be in way over her head, and isn't quite flirty or outgoing enough to get the men on her side. Michele does not have the drive to win, and I think it's going to cost her early on if the beauties lose.

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<p style="margin-bottom:0cm;font-weight:normal;">And thus, we start off another season of Power Rankings. I hope you all enjoy! <ac_metadata title="Kaoh Rong Power Rankings 1"> </ac_metadata>