Survivor Edge of Extinction: What should Ron order on the Advantage Menu?

During the premiere of Survivor: Edge of Extinction, Ron Clark discovered the first ever Advantage Menu. Which option would help Ron the most?

It didn’t take long for production to introduce another new twist in addition to Extinction Island. Although Debbie in Game Changers received a similar advantage to Ron, it required her to pick one of the options ahead of time. Edge of Extinction turned it up a notch in the very first episode by allowing Ron to select one of the three options from his Survivor menu whenever he wants.

Just to clarify, the Advantage Menu offers three choices: to steal a reward, get an extra vote, or play an Individual Immunity necklace prior to voting. Ron has until the third Tribal Council to use ONE of them. Let’s breakdown each option.

Reward Steal

Out of the three choices, this has to be the most useless one. The first three rewards usually aren’t anything game-changing. Yes, it could be a tarp or fishing gear which is definitely helpful, but in this era of Survivor, there’s a good chance that it could do more harm than good.

Maybe this would’ve earned someone extra points with tribe members in the early seasons of Survivor, but nowadays everyone is going to think there’s an ulterior motive to playing this advantage. Right now, Ron doesn’t appear to be on the chopping block. However, if he uses the Reward Steal, that can change fast, especially with savvy returning players in the game.

I can’t think of any possible tribe reward good enough to use this advantage. But let’s keep in mind that Ron has only two more Tribal Councils left to order from his menu. So if he feels extra secure in his tribe, I would understand if he uses the Reward Steal to at least make use of what he found.

Extra Vote

This is the advantage that Debbie chose when she had three options to pick between. However, Ron’s menu will only last for the next two Tribal Councils. There’s a chance that his tribe won’t even go to Tribal before it expires. At this point, it’s hard to tell where Ron fits in with his tribe.

Other than finding this secret advantage, we know next to nothing about any alliances or relationships that Ron has built. As with the Reem vote off, a castaway who rubs some people the wrong way is a perfect first vote. If someone other than Ron falls into that category, a unanimous vote (or close enough), is likely to occur, making an Extra Vote advantage useless.

There is a possibility that two alliances form, or maybe a group of newbies try to band together to vote out a returnee. This could very well happen, as Eric and Gavin already discussed blindsiding Aubry. I’m not sure where Ron will lie in this situation, but an extra vote could sway the balance in either direction. It’s definitely situational, but the Extra Vote Advantage might be Ron’s most powerful tool.

Individual Immunity

The last entry on the menu isn’t your typical Hidden Immunity Idol. Instead, it acts as a secret Individual Immunity necklace that has to be played before anyone goes up to vote. It’s essentially going back to the beginning of all advantages, holding the exact same power as the first idol ever, back in Survivor: Guatemala. 

Since it has to be played prior to voting, it doesn’t make sense to use it for someone else, as it would leave Ron exposed. So the only sensible reason for him to use this Individual Immunity is if he feels vulnerable himself.

Is the Advantage Menu the most useful advantage ever? Far from it. That being said, if Ron faces trouble in the next two Tribal Councils, he has a potential Immunity necklace to play for himself. If the numbers are tight and he’s on the brink of pulling off a big move, the Extra Vote is the one to use. It will be interesting to watch if Ron will be able to use this secret advantage at all!