Survivor Winners at War: Early trip to Edge of Extinction is now an advantage

While no one wants to be voted out of Survivor, getting sent to the Edge of Extinction early on could actually be a big advantage for the former champions.

While the initial run of the Edge of Extinction twist (and the entire season, really) left a lot to be desired, it was understandable why production brought it back for Survivor: Winners at War. Fans have been waiting a long time to see an all-winners season, and it’d be unfortunate only to get to see our favorites for a few episodes if they end up getting the heave-ho early on.

In the initial run, getting sent to the Edge of Extinction was mostly a bad thing, but a strong case could be made for Survivor: Winners at War that if you are going to be voted out at least once, getting sent there – especially early on – could be a huge advantage in the game.

We don’t know everything there is to know about this twist’s format after just one episode, but judging from the note Natalie read after she was the first person voted off, the castoffs are going to have huge impacts on the game. Even more, the fire tokens implementation is going to be pivotal as Nick noted whoever learns to utilize the fire tokens properly has a solid chance to win the show’s biggest season.

So, what are fire tokens exactly?

Well, in the first episode, Jeff Probst explained that each contestant would be gifted one fire token. When that player’s torch was snuffed, they’d have to “bequeath” (their choice of words – not mine) their fire token to someone remaining in the game, and it could be to someone on either tribe.

Natalie found out the hard way that losing her fire token was unfortunate because, on the Edge of Extinction, one fire token could have gotten her a pizza, a bottle of wine, and other goodies. For three fire tokens, she could have an immunity idol if she gets back into the game.

The biggest reason why her getting sent there first was big is because she had a chance to search for the advantages all on her own with no one else around — finding the clue resulted in her potentially earning a fire token and getting to mess with the losing tribe in the process.

Fire tokens also come into play for active players, as we saw with Sandra, who had the option to buy a Hidden Immunity Idol from Natalie. Sandra had to pay her one token in order to receive the idol, and now she’s without any. Who knows what that could end up costing her later on?

With Natalie and Amber alone on the Edge of Extinction, they’ll both have more opportunities to earn fire tokens, and if either one of them finds their way back into the game, that could be dangerous. It makes getting voted out earlier than others an advantage, as they can potentially earn more powers and bonuses than anyone else after them.