Stealth R Us (Redemption Island)

The Stealth R Us was the core alliance of Survivor: Redemption Island

Orchestrated by Veteran and four-time player Boston Rob Mariano and named by Phillip Sheppard, this strategy finally enabled him to win the competition after four seasons.

History
On the first day of the competition, Rob formed an immediate connection with Grant, Matt, Ashley, Andrea and, Natalie. This group of six seemed impenetrable which left outsiders Kristina, Phillip, and Francesca with very little breathing space.

Flushing The Idol
Rob caught Kristina looking for a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol. Rob then talked to Phillip about keeping an eye out for a woman's alliance on the tribe (although at this point, Rob had the numbers). After losing the first Immunity Challenge, Kristina told Francesca and Phillip about her finding the Idol, and she told Francesca of her plan to blindside Rob by getting the other three Ometepe women to vote for Kristina, while their three person alliance votes for Rob. Francesca was concerned that it was too early to vote out Rob, and that they didn't have the numbers to stay in the game.

Assuming the worst, Rob ordered his alliance to split the vote between Kristina and Francesca in an attempt to flush out the Idol on its first play. At Tribal Council, the Francesca/Kristina/Phillip alliance imploded when Francesca openly said that Rob would not be voted out. This enraged Phillip, who immediately responded and said that Francesca told him to vote for Rob, after an outburst from all three accused tribe members, Jeff asked Rob whose story he believed. Rob said that, while Phillip was adamant in defending his story, Francesca denied it with equal energy. However, Kristina did not defend herself. Rob asked Kristina to show him the Idol just to confirm that she had it. Upon seeing it, he asked her to give him the Idol, declaring that she would stay in the game if she handed it over and that doing so would show that Kristina was telling the truth, but Kristina said she couldn't give it up.

On Day 5, Kristina eventually played the Hidden Idol as she was left without any alliances but was left dumbfounded once Matt was voted out. During the events of Don't You Work for Me?, Rob distracted his tribe with a lazy day in order to search and successfully locate the Hidden Immunity Idol.

Matt Elrod's Elimination, Redemption and Blindsides
Matt was initially a founding member of the Ometepe Alliance, but Rob began to notice his closeness with Andrea and recognized that together, they could become a powerful force in the competition (mirroring his alliance with future wife Amber Mariano) and so began to put a plan in motion in the event that if he needed to be eliminated, he could. Fortunately for Rob, Matt began digging his own grave by shaking hands with members of the Zapatera tribe in an attempt to promote good sportsmanship after a challenge.

Thinking that he would be safe, Matt turned to Rob and asked who the alliance would target. This would later reveal itself to be a ruse as he was blindsided from his tribe and sent to Redemption Island. Rob continued to maintain his leadership over his alliance and secured several Tribal Immunities but began to realize that his first blindside in the game could return to haunt him as Matt won Duel after Duel. During one such encounter, Matt stated that he wished to be a part of his alliance still, and go to the Final Tribal Council with him and Grant.

Upon his return to the game after defeating Sarita White, Matt began to lay the foundations to eliminate Rob by attempting to bring Andrea into an alliance with the former Zapatera after he was promised Final Three by Mike Chiesl and the use of the Hidden Immunity Idol. He later regretted this decision and went to Rob about his plan with Zapatera and his deal with Andrea. Feeling betrayed, Rob rounded up the Ometepe alliance to vote out Matt straight away and all the while he once again duped Matt into a red herring vote. Once again he was sent to Redemption and remained there until his eventual elimination on Day 36.

The Buddy System
In order to prevent his alliance from creating new bonds with the Zapatera Tribe, Rob created "The Buddy System" where none of the alliance would talk to their rivals about the game at all. This was proven to work effectively.

Turning On Each Other
Due to Matt's continued dominance at Redemption Island, the Ometepe Alliance were comfortable with the remaining Zapatera to be eliminated thus the idea of turning on one another was never an issue until the Final Six.
 * Grant was deemed too much of a physical threat and the original intention was to send him to Redemption Island to defeat Matt.
 * Andrea was targeted by Rob; despite pleading her case, Natalie and Phillip sided with the veteran.
 * Upon her return, however, she failed to win Immunity, sending her back out of the competition.
 * Ashley fell to the same plot by Rob, stating that she had a better chance of winning over him.

Impact
Critical response to the Ometepe Alliance were mixed. Viewers of the show praised Rob's leadership of his tribe that echoed that of Sole Survivor Brian Heidik, while many panned the alliance as mere "Rob Zombies" who were unable to think for themselves and unable to make moves without consent from their leader.

Jeff Probst during the Reunion show stated that Rob's game was one of the near perfect strategies of Survivor.

A new Incarnation of this alliance was formed in the first episode of the 26th season entitled Survivor: Caramoan-Fans vs. Favorites 2 which was formed by former member Philip Sheppard and another former member, Andrea Boehlke, along with returning castaways Corrine Kaplan, Dawn Meehan, John Cochran, and Malcolm Freberg. This would become the majority alliance on the Bikal Tribe.