Survivor: Winners at War

No. of episodes
 No. of days
 No. of survivors
 Tribes

## Casting

The cast was assembled to equally represent winners from the earlier seasons, the middle, and the more recent seasons. Production has picked 5 winners from seasons 1-10, 5 winners from seasons 11-20, 5 winners from 21-30 and 5 winners from seasons 31-39.
The past winners who did not make the cast were:

* **Raymond Harmon** *(The Australian Outback)* was not invited.

* **Ryann Fitzpatrick** *(Thailand)* was invited, but was cut from the final roster.

* **Joselyn Gibson** *(The Amazon)* was considered, but ultimately not contacted.

* **Reagan Jones** *(Vanuatu)* was not invited.

* **Angie Stephens** *(Palau)* was considered, but ultimately not contacted.

* **Giovante Wilson** *(Cook Islands)* was invited, but was cut from the final roster.

* **Gwyn Anderson** *(Fiji)* was invited, but was cut from the final roster.

* **Dale Brant** *(Tocantins)* was not invited.

* **Solenne Oswald** *(Samoa)* was considered, but ultimately not contacted.

* **Beau Berg** *(Heroes vs. Villains)* was invited and would have been given a spot, but stood by his statement to never play again.

* **Jacob Richards** *(Nicaragua)* was considered, but ultimately not contacted.

* **Adam Mothersky** *(One World)* was considered, but ultimately not contacted.

* **Sammey Cropper** *(Philippines)* was considered, but ultimately not contacted.

* **Steeve Wash** *(Caramoan)* was considered, but ultimately not contacted.

* **Bo Hanley** *(San Juan del Sur)* was invited but declined because of her pregnancy.

* **Ariella Purnam** *(Kaôh Rōng)* was not invited.

* **Julius Calderon** *(Game Changers)* was invited and would have been given a spot, but told production that he achieved his goal of winning the game so he won't play again.

* **Markus Borgia** *(David vs. Goliath)* was not invited.

* **Dante McCallum** *(Island of the Idols)* was not invited because he would not have known that he won at the time of filming, as Island of the Idols and Winners at War were filmed only one weeks apart and the former season had yet to air.

## Twists

* **Returning Winners:** Twenty former Survivor winners return for a chance to win a second Sole Survivor title.

* **Increased Prize Money:** For this season, the winner will receive $2,000,000, the biggest prize given in the series and reality television history.

* **Edge of Extinction:** The Edge of Extinction returns this season with the same exact rules and premise.

* **Hidden Immunity Idol:** A Hidden Immunity Idol is hidden at each camp. In addition, the both Edge of Extinction returnees were gifted a Hidden Immunity Idol upon their return. However, this idol has two halves, one of which must be given to another castaway before the next Tribal Council. If both castaways remain after Tribal Council, the two halves combine into an idol with full power.

* **Advantage Menu:** A clue hidden at the marooning would lead one person to find the Advantage Menu, giving them one of three advantages. The finder can either steal the reward from the winning tribe, use the parchment as an Extra Vote, or use it for individual immunity, which works similar to a Hidden Immunity Idol. The Advantage Menu expired after the third Tribal Council.

* **Edge of Extinction advantages:** The following game advantages were available thru the Edge of Extinction and sold by its finder to a castaway still in the game before sundown on the same day that it was found:
	+ **Extra Vote:** On Days 13 and 21, an Extra Vote was hidden on the Edge of Extinction. The person who found the Extra Vote would have the right to gift it to someone currently in the game. The Extra Vote hidden on Day 13 had the addition stipulation that it could only be gifted to someone attending the next Tribal Council.
	+ **Challenge Disadvantage:** The castaway who finds this on the Edge of Extinction may send this to an active castaway for a number of Fire Tokens of the finder's choosing. The active castaway would be able to anonymously disadvantage another person at the Day 34 Immunity Challenge.

* **Tribe Expansion:** With 15 active castaways left, a tribe expansion occurred, introducing the  Yara​ tribe.

* **Joint Tribal Council:** The two tribes who lost the sixth Immunity Challenge on Day 16 were both sent to Tribal Council as one group, but unlike a standard Double Tribal Council, they would vote as a group and only one person was voted out.

* **Early Merge:** This season merged with twelve castaways in the game; eleven in the main game and one from the Edge of Extinction.

* **Simplified Final Four Tribal Council:** Instead of a traditional vote, the person who wins the final four Immunity Challenge will get to choose one person to take with them to the Final Three. The remaining two castaways would compete in a fire-making challenge to determine who would be eliminated.

* **Final Three and Expanded Jury:** Three finalists faced a TBA-person jury.

* **Reformatted Final Tribal Council:** Instead of having each jury member speak one by one, an open forum was held to ensure a more insightful rapport between the jury and finalists.