This is whole different game than it was two rounds ago. I didn't play those two rounds very well, and I'm lucky that I'm still here. The only thing that kept me alive is that I had people in front of me that were either more disruptive (Pika) or made bigger mistakes (Scruff).
Let's have a look at the current game state for old Rust. Final nine.
Hercule - My work getting close to Hercule may be the thing that saved me from an untimely demise. Since the merge I've been working an angle with Hercule about the two of us needing each other down the road. After Pikachu went out I explained my tough position vis-a-vis my very public connection to him, and brought up the very similar connection between Hercule and Judy. We talked about how a pairing that public is a ticking time bomb until people decide it has to be split up, and I assured him I would be his ace in the hole to get ahead of that moment and survive it. Thus Hercule became the unexpected person in my corner while my name was on the block this round, and likely did quite a lot of work to make Scruff a viable alternative.
Grouch Cop - Keeping up good communication with Grouch throughout the round we were on opposite sides of the Cheddar vote is paying dividends. We continue to communicate well, and he's actually the most reliable person for me when it comes to responding actively and informing me of what he knows. He's not very well looped in to the core, but he's extremely valuable to me. Tonight after the Scruff elimination I proposed a F2 alliance to him. He's sleeping on it. I believe he's in a position of needing me to advance his game, and I hope he sees us as evenly matched finale opponents.
Lucifer - We don't talk all that much, but he may not talk much to anyone. We've been on the same page about things lately because we're both outside the power core. He would be an ideal third if Grouch accepts my F2 offer, and as part of that offer I did ask him his thoughts on doing F3 with Lu. High risk high reward, because if Grouch decides against it he has every reason to just air it out and throw me under the bus, but I think it's the right move for both of us and will be the right move for Lucifer as well.
Penelope - Quite important to me in the short term. We talk a lot, because no one else talks that much to us. Well, she could be more looped in than I know, but regardless I believe she feels she needs me around as a backstop against getting totally sidelined. She's also a big challenge threat which makes her a decent shield, because any round she isn't immune I can hope she would be the name on the block instead of me if people try to push the easy push against a member of the 12th.
Leon - So much more cutthroat than I gave him credit for. He's going to try to apologize and rebuild something, or he's at least going to pretend that until he can vote me out, but I won't be trusting him again.
Jake - Absolute madlad. Overplays like crazy. Reminds me of my own earlier games honestly. Unreliable as hell.
Lennie - Someone I haven't had a good connection with yet, but the most important person for me to build up a connection with quickly. I'm airing out a lot of Jake's old stuff from the last two rounds with him now as a way to make that happen quickly.
Judy - We've agreed that we're both too busy and so rarely online at the same time that we should completely drop the smalltalk and just talk strategy as necessary. Unfortunately, she still ignores me, so she must not find me strategically necessary.
In terms of a path to the end, it's still going to be a rough road. Grouch and Lucifer would be pretty ideal endgame partners but it's not entirely likely we can all make it there. I also need to pay attention to how perceptions of Grouch change because if he is seen to be playing well from here to the end he could build a resume that would beat me. I don't have a specific boot order. I want Jake and Leon to go away, I want Hercule to use me to stab Judy and then I want to let him be my shield in the 6/5/4 area until he gets got. I want Penelope to take a fall for me somewhere in here for her challenge threat status. I'm hoping I can leverage the position of being the last of the 12th to be a swing vote some time. I think Scruff and Pikachu will be jury votes for me if I get there, but I don't think there are too many other people left in this thing who will go to the jury with a particular inclination to vote for me so I really need strong threats out before they can make the finale. If I do make it I'm going to have an uphill battle and will need a really good FTC performance. I want to win for myself of course, but I also want to make some hay to give Scruff some satisfaction after he took such a hard fall this round in a way that saved my sorry ass. I hope people don't know that Scruff will be strongly in my corner as a juror, and they don't see me as having a strong case to win.
Topic: E8 - "A gene deep certainty that things will be different" (Read 813 times)