Survivor Winners at War: Castaways discuss how they’ll change strategies

Though Sandra Diaz-Twine proved you can win the same way twice, the Survivor: Winners at War players open up about how they’ll change things up.

Most of the former winners who are set to compete in Survivor: Winners at War have never played more than their winning season. They don’t know what it’s like to be an early boot, miss the jury, miss out on a chance to place your stamp on the season’s story or even know what it’s like to suffer from a major blindside on the way out of the game.

A close minority of the winners have experienced those lows either en route to or after basking in the glory of, their eventual win. Some like Sandra Diaz-Twine or Boston Rob Mariano have been out on the islands enough to make Survivor their careers. Others haven’t sniffed the game since the addition of the Hidden Immunity Idol, let alone all these new twists, advantages, and season themes.

How will those players fare, and what will they do heading into Winners at War? One of the latest videos from the show’s social media pages (Twitter is the best way to go if you want a video that lasts longer than one second) shows exactly what the players have in mind.

For example, “not having a strategy” seems to be a commonality among some of the more entertaining or dominant winners, as Kim Spradlin and Tony Vlachos (both on the opposite sides of the same coin of “game control”) will employ that strategy. The two mentors from Island of the Idols have differences of opinion, as Boston Rob wants to stay five steps ahead while Sandra wants to take out the women.

Many of these winners weren’t parents their first time around, and players like Parvati are going to play up their emotions to let others get their guards down. On the other hand, a handful of winners like Yul, Wendell, and even Ethan are going to employ a more aggressively cunning side, with Ethan alluding to a darker side of him.

With so many players knowing one another due to their relationships outside of the game (Tyson even mentioned knowing others’ kids’ names and visiting their houses), I feel like if the gloves come off in Survivor: Winners at War, we might be ready to see some real fireworks. It could be just enough to overcome the fact that this season will see the return of Edge of Extinction.