Survivor 43: Top 10 Castaways, Ranked By Strategic Ability

Spoiler alert: This article spoils major details of Survivor 43, including the identity of the winner. Survivor 43 is in the books, and Mike Gabler is the latest winner in the series’ storied history. When he revealed his tactics during the final tribal council, the other players and fans looked at his game from a new perspective. His strategy earned him the respect of the jury and earned him the win.

To be successful at Survivor, one must have a strategy of some kind, and long gone are the days of castaways winging it or even, in the early seasons, outright refusing to form alliances and voting blocs. Performing well physically and socially is crucial too, but in Survivor 43, certain castaways focused mostly on strategy.

Ryan Medrano

Ryan came in ninth as he was the second victim of the double eviction. After Geo was voted out in the pre-merge, he lost any power he had in the game.

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Ryan’s central aspect of his game was his physical ability as he was competitive in challenges and out fishing every day. Although, he did show the ability to strategize with others. However, sometimes this strategy was not executed very well like when he pretended to be angry and tried to put on a ruse for the rest of the Coco tribe. The strategic glimpses he showed almost made him a very well-rounded Survivor player.

Eli Scott

Elie was voted out in the chaotic tribal council when half the cast of safe, which was right before the tribes merged. Even though her departure was early, she showed her strategic chops.

Elie’s biggest issue was not her strategizing, but it was how she was doing it. She was very messy and did not cover her tracks very well. This made it easy for Gabler to throw her under the bus and get the rest of the cast to follow suit. If she becomes more of a low-key strategist, then she will become a much stronger player. Despite the fact she did not make the tribe merger, Elie’s strategic ability makes her a possible candidate to return from this season.

Sami Layadi

Sami became the 5th member of the jury when he played his shot in the dark. He failed and was voted out to place seventh overall.

Sami was the enthusiastic player that fans love to see. He participated in a lot of each vote’s strategy and was not a passive player. He always found himself on the right side of the vote, until his last two tribal councils. Sami’s youth played against him a little as the 19-year-old’s immaturity was seen as he flip-flopped a lot, which was the main reason he was voted out. Overall, Sami held his own when it came to strategy, but it could be improved.

James Jones

James dictated a lot of early moves on the Coco tribe and in the early post-merge part of the game. However, he was voted out at the double eviction and came in 10th.

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Seen through moves like switching a vote to Lindsay, James definitely knew what he was doing throughout the season. Everyone in his tribe came to him for who to vote out. James was a dangerous player who had a bit of an ego, which helped him persuade people to do his bidding. With the knowledge is power advantage in his pocket, it would have been interesting to see how James would have fared in the endgame.

Cassidy Clark

Cassidy was the first runner-up of the season as she only received one vote from James at the finale. She had an impressive run to the finale, which included a lot of impressive challenge wins.

Cassidy was an overall good player. She held her own in each aspect of the game; physical, social, and strategic. Her game down the stretch consisted of really good strategic play, like getting everyone against Karla. The biggest blemish of her game was the lack of any moves in the pre-merge, as she was at the mercy of Karla and James. If she were to come back, she now knows to have more agency in the pre-merge.

Mike Gabler

Gabler did what some thought was impossible as he won Survivor 43. He made many moves along the way to earn the million-dollar prize.

Many fans did not know what Gabler’s strategy was until the finale. He explained his game of hiding in plain sight and being a silent assassin. His moves were perhaps, not as flashy as other players in the game, but his strategic ability was strong enough to outlast everyone else. Some fans are hating on the ‘Alligabler’ and his victory, but if they really look at the strength of his game, they will find a quality winner.

Noelle Lambert

Noelle and her story were one of the most memorable parts of Survivor 43. She came in eighth place after the other castaways realized her story would be tough to beat.

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Noelle showcased her strategic ability many times as her intelligence made her a big threat. For example, she played her stole a vote on Owen in order for James to not play his knowledge is power. Also, every single time one of her closest allies was voted off, she would get a new one. She mixed her strategic and social game beautifully and is a prime candidate to return in a later season.

Karla Cruz Godroy

Karla was voted out in fifth when Jesse revealed he had Jeanine’s idol. Karla’s game was overall strong, but she started to tread water towards the end.

Karla was strong strategically for most of the game. She made major moves like steam-lining the vote-offs of Sami and Noelle. She could be argued as the most strategic player of the season. However, she had one big fo pau, which was when she implemented the strategy of threatening jury votes in order to stay. Fans and players alike hate this, so her stock plummeted in the final few episodes, but she was still a strong player.

Cody Assenmacher

Cody was one of the most entertaining players Survivor has had in a long time. He came in sixth when Jesse blindsided him.

Cody gave off the impression that he was just playing for the experience. But fans later realized Cody was a real strategic threat. He revealed when he was negotiating with the Coco tribe that there was a method behind his madness of acting like the ‘chill’ guy. Also, his plan to tell Karla to not use their idols and then to vote her off would have been one of the best moves ever. Unfortunately for Cody, Jesse one-upped him.

Jesse Lopez

Jesse was the favorite to win entering the finale. He would have won no matter who he was sitting next to, but he lost the fire-making challenge to Gabler.

Jesse was the best strategic player, not just this season, but in the last few. He, along with Cody, drove almost every vote and no one saw him as a threat until the finale. When he took out Cody with his own idol and got Karla to waste hers is one of the best moves in Survivor history. Also, the reveal that he had Jeanine’s idol that everyone thought went home with Dwight was another memorable moment. Fans also just took alike to him as he was raw and emotional talking about how winning would have changed his family’s life.

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