The Hunger Games’ 10 Best Tributes, Ranked By Skill Level Ahead Of Sunrise On The Reaping

The Career tributes might enter The Hunger Games with years of combat training, but all that preparation means little if they can’t adapt once they’re inside the arena. Some of the competition’s most dangerous contestants have never trained for the Games at all. Instead, they rely on skills picked up in their districts, whether that’s hunting for food, staying out of sight, or knowing how to take advantage of another tribute’s mistakes. A tribute can be nearly unbeatable in a fight and still lose to someone who knows how to play the Games better.

The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping will revisit one of the deadliest competitions in Panem’s history. The upcoming Hunger Games prequel follows a young Haymitch Abernathy during the 50th Hunger Games, when the Capitol doubles the number of tributes from 24 to 48 for the Second Quarter Quell. With twice as many opponents in the arena, the tributes face even greater danger, regardless of how well-prepared they may think they are. Haymitch’s experience shows that surviving the Games isn’t always about being the strongest competitor.

Looking back at the five previous Hunger Games movies, some of the most impressive tributes are dangerous for completely different reasons. Cato is a nightmare to face in combat, but someone like Foxface can make it pretty far without fighting anyone just based on survival instincts. Others find ways to use the arena itself against their competition. Some can take down almost anyone in a fight, while others are much harder to catch in the first place.

10

Lucy Gray Baird — District 12

Lucy Gray doesn’t have the strength to face Coral’s group head-on in the story of The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, so she spends much of the 10th Hunger Games hiding in the bomb-damaged arena. When the others try to stab her through an air vent, she makes use of the poison Snow slipped her before the Games, later killing Treech by sending it through the ventilation system. It’s a brutal but pretty effective way to fight without getting close enough to be stabbed herself.

Coriolanus Snow also helps her by using drones to distract the other tributes and making sure Dr. Gaul’s snakes won’t attack her. Although Lucy Gray proves she can think on her feet, she might not have survived without his interference. That’s what keeps her at number 10, despite her impressive ability to outsmart stronger opponents.

9

Foxface — District 5

Foxface is one of the few tributes in the 74th Games who seems to understand that avoiding the Careers is smarter than challenging them. When Katniss watches her approach their guarded food supply, Foxface carefully hops her way through the minefield, grabs what she needs, and escapes without setting off a single mine. She’s clearly been paying attention to the Careers’ defenses and knows how to slip past them.

Unfortunately, that same strategy gets her killed when she steals the nightlock berries Peeta has gathered, seemingly unaware that they’re poisonous. Foxface makes it further than most tributes without ever needing to fight, but her lack of knowledge about the plants in the arena ultimately costs her the Games.

8

Peeta Mellark — District 12

Peeta Mellark doesn’t have the same combat training as the Careers, but he’s far from helpless in the arena. After suffering a serious leg injury during the first Games, he covers himself in mud and vegetation to blend into the riverbank. His camouflage is so convincing that Katniss nearly walks right past him, despite actively searching for him.

Years of lifting heavy flour sacks at his family’s bakery have also made Peeta surprisingly strong, although he’s better at winning people over than fighting them. His televised confession about loving Katniss earns them attention from the Capitol audience, which can make a difference when sponsors are involved. However, Peeta takes eighth place because he depends heavily on Katniss and other allies to make it through both Games.

7

Thresh — District 11

Thresh survives much of the 74th Hunger Games on his own, without joining the Career alliance. His strength is on full display during the feast at the Cornucopia, when he grabs Clove and pulls her away from Katniss after hearing her brag about Rue’s death. Despite Clove’s extensive combat training, Thresh easily overpowers her and kills her without using a weapon.

Thresh also spares Katniss after learning she tried to protect Rue, even though killing her would bring him closer to winning. However, he takes seventh place because the movie gives us little opportunity to see how skilled he is with weapons or how he manages to survive on his own.

6

Clove — District 2

Clove is one of the most dangerous Career tributes in the 74th Hunger Games, particularly because of her skill with throwing knives. During the opening bloodbath, she nearly hits Katniss with a knife as Katniss runs toward the woods. Later, at the Cornucopia feast, Clove overpowers Katniss again, pinning her to the ground with a knife pressed against her face.

Rather than killing Katniss while she has the chance, Clove wastes time taunting her about Rue’s death. Thresh overhears her and steps in, killing Clove before she can finish Katniss off. Her knife skills earn her sixth place, but she might have survived longer if she hadn’t been so sure she had already won the fight.

5

Beetee Latier — District 3

Beetee might not stand a chance against the Careers in a physical fight, but his intelligence makes him one of the most dangerous tributes in Catching Fire. During the Quarter Quell, he plans to run a wire from the lightning tree to the beach, using the water to electrocute anyone caught in it when lightning strikes.

Rather than trying to defeat stronger opponents individually, Beetee finds a way to potentially eliminate several at once. His strategy also takes advantage of the arena’s predictable hazards, something most tributes are too busy surviving to exploit. However, his plan requires time to set up and other tributes to protect him, leaving Beetee vulnerable if an opponent manages to get close.

4

Cato — District 2

Cato is one of the strongest fighters in the 74th Hunger Games, with years of Career training and considerable skill with a sword. He also knows how to use his strength to his advantage. During the final confrontation at the Cornucopia, he grabs Peeta in a chokehold, knowing Katniss can’t shoot without risking Peeta’s life. However, Cato is less prepared when he can’t just overpower his opponents.

When Katniss blows up the Careers’ supplies, Cato loses the food and equipment his group has been relying on. He’s trained to fight and kill other tributes, but the movie gives us little reason to believe he’d be nearly as capable if he had to survive in the arena on his own.

3

Johanna Mason — District 7

Johanna Mason’s biggest advantage is knowing how to get other tributes to underestimate her. As Haymitch explains in Catching Fire, she pretended to be weak during her first Hunger Games, waiting until most of the competition had been eliminated before revealing how dangerous she actually was. She’s also a skilled axe fighter, which she proves when she kills Cashmere during the Quarter Quell.

Johanna isn’t afraid to speak her mind or stand up to people more powerful than her, including the Capitol. That same attitude carries into the arena, where she’s a skilled axe fighter who refuses to be intimidated by the other tributes.

2

Finnick Odair — District 4

Finnick Odair won his first Hunger Games at just 14, making him one of the youngest victors in Panem’s history. It’s easy to see why in Catching Fire. Within minutes of entering the Quarter Quell, he’s already armed with a trident and killing another tribute before they can attack Katniss. His reflexes are impressive, but so is his ability to stay focused when things go wrong. When Peeta hits the force field, Finnick immediately performs CPR and saves his life.

Finnick can hold his own against other victors while still looking out for his allies, which would make him difficult to beat. He’d likely have the advantage over Katniss in a direct fight, but she has more experience finding food, hunting, and surviving without anyone else’s help.

1

Katniss Everdeen — District 12

Katniss Everdeen’s years of hunting beyond District 12’s fence give her an advantage that Career training can’t replace. She knows how to find food, identify edible plants, and move through the woods without attracting attention.

Her archery skills are exceptional, but she’s also good at spotting weaknesses in her opponents’ plans. During the 74th Games, she shoots an apple out of a bag of supplies, setting off the mines surrounding the Careers’ camp and destroying their food. Similarly, in Catching Fire, she wraps Beetee’s wire around an arrow and fires it into the arena’s force field as lightning strikes.

Finnick might be the better fighter, but Katniss has proven she can survive on her own and outsmart stronger opponents, making her the most skilled tribute in The Hunger Games.

Cast

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz, Willow Shields, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Viola Davis, Peter Dinklage, Hunter Schafer, Jason Schwartzman

Created by

Suzanne Collins

Movie(s)

The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes