Pre-Game/Cast Reveal

[samm]

Hope you guys are ready to gossip, the season is jam packed and is going to be way fucking rad tbh. A lot of work, 30 players, should be fun.

[Gabe Cohn]

lots of drama!

[Jared Merrell]

HLC will either be legendary this season or she'll be tough shape. Will see what happens. Good luck Miley! and congrats to Jacob for being brought back so soon, but he'll be a first boot.

[Gabe Cohn]

Heather will be out early. No one will have the patience

[adrian]

So, the first five are revealed...

I am so glad to see Alyx getting another shot. Although an All-Star season is not the season I would have brought her back for, it is understandable that Sandy wants her back for his last season at the helm purely because of how awesome she was in " 'Zuela".

Jacob is another returnee I am excited about. He played a great social game last season without being openly strategic or dominant. I feel that kind of gameplay can work in your favour in an All-Star season, while the bigger characers destroy each other.

Derrick and Chris were not my favourites the last time they played and I found them both to be underwhelming on the entertainment front up until the late stages of their games. Nothing against them as people, though and I guess they wil add a bit of balance to a season where there are going to be some huge personalities involved. Who knows? Maybe this time they will evolve into the big characters of the season.

HLC... I guess she is a tremendously iconic character in iS history. Half the time, noobs to the series recognise her first and seem to know her very well, so I guess including her makes sense - but I just don't think we are going to see anything different from her. The only shot she has at going far is if someone would be strategically suicidal enough to drag her far as a member in an alliance. I don't see her keeping her ego in check, not tollerating the freedom of speech of other players, nor being helpful in challenges, nor being a social butterfly, nor being able to lie or choose her words carefully in order to protect secret and important alliance information. The one thing I really respect is her love and enthusiasm for the series and Sandy, even if she doesn't really show up ever. I do hope though that this time her iS experience will end a little more positively than it did last time and that she will have more fun on her third and brief stint.

Anyway, my pre-game predictions were so far off last season, that I wouldn't be surprised if I got it all wrong again this time already ^_^

[Deleted]

Alyx

Venezuela - Instinct & Intuition

Alyx is a really interesting and vibrant personality, statistically she's very consistent and her win/loss ratio is balanced so coming into this game she's (more than likely) going to fall into a safe middle of the road up until the late pre-merge where hopefully she's going to emerge. She's a very good team player but unfortunately in the two instances where she could have proven herself to be a great individual gamer fell short and Redemption Island couldn't save her, so if she gets into a position where the game shifts to individual she'll have a harder time just solely on personal experience in iSurv1vor. I'd like to see her take on a more commanding role, but she doesn't have the front to lead an alliance at this moment. We'll see how the chips fall.


Chris

Japan - Fans vs. Favorites II

Chris was a very fascinating player in Japan, unfortunately, Sami (in my opinion) had the better arc and redemption story line which kept me more engaged with her which made for a satisfying win. That doesn't tarnish what Chris accomplished in his first go because it's hella impressive and I wish that I got to see him more-so than what I did (but this is due to my unwavering love for Nordstrom) what I like the most about Chris is where he lacks in challenge performance he makes up for in strategical ability for the most part. If he wants to win this season, Chris' focus will need to be how he can maintain loyalty towards the endgame.


Derek

Haiti - Tides of Misfortune

With a flair for getting into mischief and being a huge instigator for game-shifting events, Derek enters this game as somebody who has only played once but has had his torch snuffed twice. A life saving game-reset enabled him to force Tribal Council again and he risked the purple rock to stay alive - this immediately makes him a dangerous and volatile player as he'll leap without looking. Derek maintains an above average competitive streak and his voting record whilst not overly impressive has managed to take out some big players. Whilst not the most popular player in Haiti, Derek cemented his place and if he wants to secure a decent placement this season he'll have to remove the stigma that he's going to play fast and loose with peoples game.


Heather

Hawaii
Bali - Rookies vs. Veterans

If you were to look up persistence in the iSurv1vor dictionary, there would be a YouTube link to HLC. Her casting makes perfect sense for two reasons; she's a perfect goat and a danger to your game. With a Goat level of over 9000, Heather brings absolutely nothing to the table in terms of challenge performance, consistency or any substantial effort but she'll act as a cheerleader and attempt to rally the efforts without actually contributing. What's amazing for an ORGer like HLC is that she doesn't lie, this makes her dangerous in terms of alliance management as she'll be more than willing to jump ship to a more loyal group which doesn't try to utilize deception or duplicity in order to progress. This will be Heather's third attempt at the Sole iSurv1vor title, whilst many would write her off immediately, there has been an uprising in her popularity which can make her a valuable commodity for later down the line.


Jacob

Haiti - Tides of Misfortune

I think it's incredibly unfair for Jared to immediately believe that Jacob is going to be a target and more than likely first boot. What Jacob brings to the table is priceless in terms of his knowledge, skill-set and his winners title. Let it be known that Jacob, in the history of iSurv1vor, is the first Sole iSurv1vor to win and then compete in back-to-back seasons. In terms of his last game, this guy aced the Finals and has had a short amount of time to recover and let his win settle. Fortunately, Jacob's win has been somewhat eclipsed by this upcoming season which works to his advantage as more people will be focused on their own strategy rather than judging others by their history. Jacob is statistically one of the greatest players in the series which doesn't hurt him but his actions this time around will ultimately determine whether his win was justified or not. He has a lot riding on him and the pressure is on him more than most.

[kirin]

HLC: An intriguing person, but I don't see anything going well for her whatsoever. I think she's going to be the same confused person she was during Bali. She's not good at challenges, in fact she hardly understands what to do in them, she's just always confused about what's going on and I imagine she'd be difficult to work with. That being said, I've heard that in games she's a very loyal ally, so if someone can scoop her up, that might be good for them. But I think it's very possible that iSurv1vor could be seeing the first Francesca with her.

Jacob: Yay! One of the best strategists from Haiti. I'm excited to see him play again and see what he'll bring to the table this time. I love him so much! I think he'll start of playing a quiet game and wait a bit before playing as hard as he did in Haiti. The last time I talked to him about his strategy here, he told me he wants to "Joe Purcell it," meaning play similarly to how Joe Purcell did in India- quiet dominance.

Chris: LOVE HIM. I think he played amazing in Japan, he was friends with everyone and super super likable, but he couldn't overcome Sami's dominance. He had an incredible story in Japan from being the quieter "Chikara boy," losing all his allies and having to start fresh. I am so excited to see him play again with a new group of people. Chris is so amazing, I literally could go on all day with positive things about him, and I can't wait for other people to meet him too.

Alyx: Hm, wouldn't have been one of my top picks to see play again, but then I didn't watch Venezuela closely so maybe that's out of bias. From what I know about Alyx, she's a very likeable person, I've never met anyone who dislikes her. She's a lot of fun and has a lot of personality. I'm excited to see her thrive in this cut-throat setting!

Derek: One of my absolute favorites from Haiti, I had a huge crush on him the whole time, I loved talking to him and watching him play. But even though he's smart he was definitely not the best strategic player and so I'm interested to see if he learned anything. He also has said that these past 3 weeks, he hasn't had any free time to chat online because of his work schedule, so I'm curious to see how he'll manage this game with his heavy work schedule he claims to have.

[hodges]

HLC- I don't know much about Heather besides the fact that she has been first boot twice. If she does make it past first boot this time.. I feel like she won't last too much longer. I think she will have too much "passion" as she calls it and unfortunately annoy her tribe because of it. I am interested to see what happens with Heather and see how long people will put up with her.

Jacob- I had a feeling my good buddy Jacob would play again. I am not surprised. He was amazing to work so closely with in Haiti and is one of my new closest friends. I hope he can lay low because he is so fresh on everyones minds right now. I think if he plays under the radar at the beginning of the game he may have a good chance of making it pretty far. I am most interested to see if Jacob is as good of a player as everyone (myself included) gives him the deserved credit for. I think Jacob will let all the CRAZIES and ego maniacs rip each other apart and hopefully scoot further each round! I hope he does well and I will be rooting him on! #TEAMBABYSTEPS

Chris- He seems likable from his day in the life video... I was a tad bored though. I know its not easy to make these videos so I can't be too critical.. but I hope his videos are a bit more interesting to watch throughout the season. I think he could play a good social and strategic game. I assume he knows a lot of the past survivors which may come in handy.

Alyx - I was surprised to see that Alyx was cast. Not because she isn't amazing or worthy but because she didn't make the jury in her season.That being said I hope she does this time around because I love her! I LOVE HER. If she uses her personality and charm she will definitely win favor with people. I think she will definitely need to be more assertive and cautious in this game full of cut throat people. I hope she goes far!!

Derek-  I was a bit underwhelmed by his video. I had high hopes I guess. I know how funny he can be and was it was just boring. I think Derek is a great strategist! I do think his ego may get in the way at times.. but I think his ego is small compared to some who may be playing. He thrives on drama and talking strategy. I really hope he can lay low for awhile.. but I don't think he will, that isn't in his nature. I will be interested to see how my season's  glory spot holder will do this time around. 

[woods]

and we have 5 castaways...

Jacob - I liked Jacob in Haiti from what I saw of him. I only followed in the beginning because well life happened... and since he won, he must be good... so I am interested in seeing him play this time, when i will be paying attention.

Derek - Another player that I did like from Haiti. I didn't watch long enough to see him turn into this crazy monster person that some of you people are saying he was... so thats a good thing... a clean slate for him. I am not exactly rooting for him... but I am not rooting against him either!

Chris - love this kid! the effort he put into my iAmaz1ng Race Game was phenomenal... matching his effort from Japan. I think he'll make jury but people will see his personality as his biggest threat and get him out as soon as possible.

HLC - let me stir the pot a bit here.. but part of me wonders if she made the cast just so the board would have someone to make fun of. I am rooting for her... I don't think I will be rooting for her long because I think her tribe will not be fond of her when she begins to micromanage the things they say and inform them of the things they shouldn't say. For HLC, even though she isn't walking away with an iSurv1vor victory, I hope she walks away with a different mind set on people and that to each their own and allow others to be themselves without judging them...

#Alyxxx <3 - when I saw her video pop up, I was very happy!. Since Venezuela, Alyx and I have bonded over our love for a fellow iSurv1vor player who will remain nameless. I talk with Alyx more than I talk with most people from iSurv1vor. She was a kickass chick in venezuela that was fun to watch and I hope she brings that same element to AS3. She is just a genuinely cool chick who wants to have a good time and that is fun to watch!

Ready for the next 5!!!

[Brandon]

HLC
I am shocked to see her in the cast but then again, I'm not.  She is a vital character in the iSurv1vor series and I'm sure she will continue that role throughout this season and into the future.  Nobody going into the game is going to take her seriously.  She is going to be overlooked and I am sure someone (like Audrey) could scoop her up and use her as a vote.  If HLC can survive the first couple rounds and solidify an alliance, I can actually see her sliding her way through the game.  Or she could always just be first boot.  That would be fun too (;

Chris
Talk about someone who is going to come into All-Stars with guns blazing.  Having hosted him in another series, I know he has SO much fight in him.  He never gives up even when things are looking down.  Along with that, he is one kick ass player.  He is very likable which cause people to fall under his spell.  The downside to this is that a lot of people know this.  If he doesn't find a good alliance quickly, I can see him going early on.

Derek
I did not watch Haiti, but I love Derek!  He is like the equivalent of your gay best friend…or your little brother.  I heard he was quite controversial last season and he quickly lost a lot of his friends / allies.  I also heard he will throw anyone under the bus to stay in the game.  That may have worked the first time around but I do not see him lasting very long this time.  These are the big leagues and I can not see him as a powerful enough player to outplay any of these monsters.  I could be wrong since I don't know his game but I can see him being an early boot.

Jacob
I can only talk about Jacob based on what other people have told me.  I did not watch Haiti whatsoever.  Because he was the winner,  I am sure he has the ability to take the quick target off of his back this season and last long yet again.  Can't wait to actually watch him play.

Alyx
She is the person I am most excited to see come back.  She had such a powerful influence on the pre merge portion of Venezuela.  She did make a lot of mistakes but she was a force to be reckoned with.  Now she is back and can prove that she is a great player.  She is one of the nicest people I have talked to and that will definitely work to her advantage this season.  Coming into all-stars with a 12th place finish will also be an advantage.  She will not be high on anyone's target list.  Her one flaw might be her ability to cause drama and not let things go.  That being said, I think we are all going to see Alyx thrive this season.

[woods]

Round 2... I'll start.

Ricky - his video basically screams, "I have a problem" ... but that is something we already knew as he was drunk 87.24% of the time in India! Honestly though, I am looking forward to watching him play as opposed to playing WITH him. I was huge of nicole fan when she was in Japan, without Ricky... so let's see if the same can be said about Ricky post this season even though I am sure Nicole will be here with him... maybe on opposite tribes!

britti - I like britti but I have nothing good to say about britti either... not a bad things... just don't know her well enough. She was awesome enough to play iAmaz1ng Race so that is enough for me!

Joe Purcell - who didn't see this coming? Let's be serious. As a winner and a runner up, I am going to predict an early boot. First 4... crucify me now, go ahead... just don't think winners and runner ups will last long unless they end up on a tribe together and gain the majority.

Sassy - I love Sassy. We have played other games together and she was awesome to play with. I am looking forward to her playing as herself and being confident and a strong competitor that I know she can be. i dont know if she'll be my pick for the season but she is def. up there.

Fei- no comment...

[woods]

why is nicole's picture coming up like that? weird...

[Brandon]

Britti
I literally have no idea who this is.  Based on her placements from her past seasons, I am kind of surprised she is even being chosen for a fourth time.  (Someone probably isn't going to like me saying that).  Something that might help her is the fact that a lot of people in the cast will know her and not consider her a threat.  She might be used for a her vote but nothing more.

Fei
I hold a special place in my heart for pre-jurors so I am really hoping for some #FeiPower this season.  I have no idea who she is but she looks pretty bad ass and she kept me slightly entertained during her video.  All hail Princess Fei.

Joe Purcell
I unfortunately have to agree with Woods and say that I do not think JP will last very long.  His previous placements are going to come back to haunt him.  I don't see him joining the #LastPlaceClub but I do see him being out in one of the early rounds.

Ricky
There are a lot of people in this cast who know Ricky.  I think that will make him target #1.  I honestly can not see his pre game alliances holding out very long.  Lets be honest, The Axis of Evil is just too solid to let them advance in the game.  Ricky, being their leader, will probably fall first.

Sassy
Yes!!  Even though she has two seasons and two amazing placements under her belt, I see Sassy being a force her third time around.  I have played in mini's with her and she is bad ass.  She is very friendly which will help her create some solid alliances but she knows what to do and when to do it.  I really can not wait to watch her kick some major ASS this season!!! <3

[Deleted]

Britti

Peru
Montenegro - Fans vs. Favorites
Faroe Islands - Land of the Vikings

Britti is (so far) the first player to have come back to the game for a 4th time, so without question she holds the most experience in being held under the iron curtain of Sandy & Co. what makes her a very interesting addition to this cast is that nobody expected her to come forward. Whilst quasi-active in discussions, she maintains a distance (be it intentional or not) that can assist her further down the field. In her last season, Britti returned to up her strategical game but at the cost of her strongest asset, her social. It should also be noted that her best friend Lorii became the first female three-time contestant and ended up winning Fans vs. Favorites, so there's an element of pressure to perform coupled with the stigma of being a four-timer. My advice for Britti would be to maintain some kind of structure and show her castmates as to why she's been given this very rare opportunity.


Fei

India

With casting it is a double edged sword, you want great people who are fun to watch and with Fei in her original season she embodied what Production wanted. There is such a grey area to this girl when it comes to judging her because when she was around and competing she delivered, the only issue was that (to me) she threw her toys out the pram when her and Greg were blindsided nine days into the competition and subsequently quit - controversy regarding this whole thing aside, Fei is strong and had the potential to do incredibly well and could have even given the AoE a run for their money. If anybody does have any ill conceived notions about this girl, I'd advise to look at it as if she were playing for the first time (at least that's how I'm looking at it)


Joe P.

Bali - Rookies vs. Veterans
India

Across two seasons, Joe developed into a strong social gamer and challenge threat in Bali then when it came to India something happened... I'm not sure what but something happened that made him shift his attention and it showed in his statistics. Bali Joe encompassed a very strong record but in India his performance faltered even though it was 99% an individual affair which to be fair would drain even the strongest player. His strategical game was on point though, when somebody needed to go, they went. When it came to the whole notion of whether or not Joe would even put his name forward, he said "I got to make sure nobody else touches my record" which is admirable but incredibly risky. He's the only player to face the Final Tribal Council twice, a feat which is amazing in this series, but his performances when compared are almost polar opposites. Moving forward for Macedonia, Joe should try to remove himself from his fangirls and be ruthless in his execution.


Ricky

India

Of course Ricky was going to be cast, it's freaking Ricky. He helped shape the Venezuela and Haiti players and did a profound job as a member of the Production team. However, I don't think Ricky deserves this "greatest Villain" label, not when you look at what he actually accomplished and his ultimate demise from the game in India. His challenge performance whilst above average wasn't that great when you compare it against others whereas his Tribal Council record is pretty impressive (3 attended and he always voted for the person who left) but he always had votes against him. The AoE is a great alliance which is renowned in this series, but when you look at it from an outsiders perspective, Nic was booted at the first chance she wasn't immune and Ricky couldn't beat Nax at Redemption Island! He's average at best but his social game is what makes him dangerous. He would never have won India and AoE only thrived when outsiders were inducted temporarily. As much as I respect this kid, he's unknowingly created a dangerous game for himself so I wouldn't be surprised for him to be voted off very early.


Sassy

Mexico - The Sonoran Desert
Japan - Fans vs. Favorites II

Sassy has quickly evolved into a very popular player for women in the series, both a good and bad thing. She's also had the most growth across her games originally starting out using a different picture and now using her own and meeting members of the Alumni and coming out of her shell. It's this that makes her very endearing to a viewer, but her game lacks strength, she has been known to be the middle of the road type player with others carrying the brunt of the weight in challenges and she herself WILLINGLY became a pawn for points to keep the TC Idol out of others hands in Mexico. Out of all the players revealed so far, Sassy is a magnet for votes for that reason - she's likable and vulnerable to attack. Her biggest weakness will be how the other castmates view her now she is out of her comfort zone. She does have the potential to go the distance but she needs to step up and start leading.

[adrian]

Wow... reading the statistic that Tucker has on everyone really makes me question how well I thought I actually did in Congo. if people like Ricky rank as average and Joe Purcells second showing in India being criticised from a statistical stand-point, especially when vote splits and challenge sandbagging are taken into account, it makes you really realize how scarily good some of the statistically more renowned players were during their first showings.

Onto the 2nd batch of players...

Sassy has become a very dear friend to me - and just about everyone in this community. That is amazing considering how she started out in Mexico. She has just grown so tremendously in such a short amount of time as both a player and a person, that one just has to stand back and take their hat off to her for being such an admirable human being. She absolutely deserves any and all respect and love she has in this community - but I am scared that it may tremendously hurt her chances in this game. I am pretty sure that very few players would want to do the dirty work of axing her from the game, but even fewer would actually be willing to let her get close to the end. She is going to have to play a more ruthless and cut-throat game than she ever has if she is going to win this and that may take a severe toll on her emotions.

Ricky was always going to be cast for this season and there is no mistaking why. Statistics aside, he was a huge force in India and exploded into the game from the very first day. The Axis of Evil may not have had the most graceful of falls from their collective perch, but let us never forget the absolute destruction they unleashed upon the cast of India. It was through Ricky, Nax and Nicole that many a promising torch was snuffed whether directly through their scheming or through the indirect dealings of their temporary chronies. I think the statistics don't tell the full story of how well he played in India and leave out a lot of the subtle manoeuvres made in that game. However, I don't know if Ricky is long for the game this time. He has become a huge figure in the series and when coupled with his extreme levels of paranoia when he plays (as evidenced by his hatred for the MVP system and by his extensive and exhaustive pre-gaming over the last month), he will no doubt be coming into this game in the absolute dead-center of many players' crosshairs. I do think he will at least provide a lot of entertainment while he lasts in the game, so he is no doubt an excellent casting choice.

Similarly to Ricky, I feel as though Joe Purcell was a little hard done by his statistics in India if one were to look at it as an individual performance. While there is no doubt that his statistics overall are among the best in the series history, his second showing saw him adapt in a way that he needed to in order to survive. There is no way the same Joe Purcell that dominated Bali would ever be allowed near the end, so he adapted and evolved accordingly. As Tucker mentioned, it takes a some big cojones to willingly come back to defend his record - but if there is any player who could pull it off, Joe Purcell is your man. Sadly, he has his work cut out for him, especially since he has fallen into the same paranoid pre-gaming traps that have befallen his fellow India castmate, Ricky.

Britti is awesome and fun-loving and such a good sport about pretty much anything. Her biggest hinderance may be the fact that she comes across as someone who is aloof and somewhat confused most of the time. I think a lot of that is intentional, but I think it may bite her in the ass during some of the more pivotal moves of the game as some players may choose to put their trust in seemingly "more reliable" alliance members when the time comes. Holding thumbs that our favourite Downey-Canadian will be able to align with the right people and go far into the game!

Elizabeth Fei... she is going to have to do a lot to redeem herself in my eyes. I had high hopes for her in India. She showed so much promise and potential, but I lost a lot of respect for her as an iSurv1vor castaway when she hopped aboard the waaambulance after her and Greg's IRL friendship came to light in India. After that, they both just seemed to phone it in and act like they were too good for the game. It also didn't help that she technically quit after there were some disgustingly racial comments being made by Brookie (who has to be one of the worst human beings to ever play this series). Had I been in her shoes, I would have done everything in my power to come back and destroy Brookie and the Axis of Evil within the game. I am going to take Tuckers sage advice and approach her second-time in this game as if it were her first and will keep an open mind with her, but I just feel as if there were other potential returnees who deserved to be in this cast more. Heres' to hoping that Fei will erase any question-marks she has next to her name from last time.