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Best-ball leagues continue to expand and grow in popularity. Numerous sites offer variations of the same formula but where else can you find the Terminator league?
This format takes all the best ball scoring rules along with the draft-only/no waivers philosophy but adds a small element of weekly management. Intrigued yet? By the time you finish reading, you might be encouraged to try it out.
Let's dive into the details of this unique league type along with some strategies to help you tackle your first attempt at a Terminator league draft. After you're done here, you can test the waters in a $35 Terminator best-ball league or compete in the Terminator Tourney!
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Rules and Scoring
- You must terminate one player each week or else your team is disqualified for the season. Don't worry, you'll get weekly email reminders!
- League scoring runs through Week 17. The team with the most total points wins.
- Kicker and Defense are required.
- FFPC uses TE-Premium scoring.
Balance is Key
Is this the year you plan to corner the market on running backs? Want to try a Zero RB or Hero RB draft strategy? Are you the type that refuses to draft a quarterback until after round 10? That's not the best way to approach a Terminator league.
If there's one key phrase to remember during a Terminator League draft, it's "Begin with the end in mind." By the time most head-to-head leagues are in the fantasy playoffs, a team in a Terminator League will have half of its original players left on the roster with no possible means of adding more. By the end of the NFL season, there will be a total of 10 players left standing, which is just enough to field a starter at each position. The two flex spots give some wiggle room as far as positions go, but it would do no good to have five great receivers or two stud QBs around while having a deficit at RB or TE. Ideally, your roster has a solid starter at each position with a couple of studs leading the way.
In best-ball leagues, fantasy managers often shoot for the high-ceiling player that could turn into a league-winner or at least provide some scoring spikes on certain weeks throughout the season. Those players are always helpful when they go boom, but if there aren't enough high-floor players remaining by the time the season is winding down, any lead in the standings will surely slip away. Drafting conservatively to some extent in the first few rounds is recommended, especially since trading and waiver wire adds are not allowed.
Play It Safe Early
The late-round QB strategy is popular in redraft leagues. You don't need to pull the trigger early on the position, but waiting too long here could spell trouble. Keep in mind that you will only have one QB by year's end and that second QB probably won't hang around past midseason because those flex spots are more volatile and more valuable to keep backups around. Which passer you hang your hat on is ultimately a personal choice, but bear in mind that even though this is best ball, you can't fall back on the two-QB system all year.
It's been said there are no safe running backs, even in the first round, and it's hard to disagree. That said, we know who is guaranteed a relatively large share of touches in their team's offense barring injury, so the Zero RB strategy would be hard to pull off. If you choose to make someone like Javonte Williams as your RB1, then drafting from an early spot could net you a starting lineup of Travis Kelce/Justin Jefferson/Terry McLaurin/Julio Jones/Kyler Murray. Those who pick in the latter part of the draft could conceivably start with Tyreek Hill/Stefon Diggs/T.J. Hockenson/Josh Allen/Tyler Lockett before addressing RB and then shoot for upside later with rookies.
The point remains that whichever position you address in the early rounds, it should consist of a player you feel good about sticking around all year. Then take your shots late.
Take Chances Late... Lots of Chances
Once you pass Round 10, it's time to seek out the elusive breakout player. It doesn't mean throw caution to the wind and solely draft rookies or fliers. It means that playing it safe is no longer necessary because your starting spots have been addressed and most of the players selected from this point on will be terminated at some point during the season anyway.
That means players who might not be worth considering in redraft leagues can occupy the end of your bench for a few weeks in the hopes that they can pay off on occasion. In fact, the termination process begins before Week 1 so there is guaranteed to be a player on your roster that never even has a chance to contribute. You are almost obligated to take an RB lotto ticket in the later rounds, which you can find by clicking here.
As far as WR/TE fliers, my recommended options include: Bryan Edwards, Dyami Brown, Marquez Callaway, K.J. Hamler, Donovan Peoples-Jones, Dan Arnold, C.J. Uzomah, Tyler Kroft, Brevin Jordan, and Jacob Harris.
The first cut you make should not be one of your defenses because that position has a reasonable chance to give you a weekly advantage up until the time you need to clear up space without sacrificing a high-scoring flex player.
Draft at least 3 Kickers and DST
Fantasy analysts will preach that you don't draft a team defense until the last two rounds and the unpredictability of the position doesn't warrant holding onto a backup. In best-ball formats, you obviously need to roster a second DST and kicker to account for bye weeks but three seems like a wasted roster spot.
In a league where you want to assemble an ideal roster that will stand the test of time, grabbing a third selection at each position can help more than an eighth RB or WR that will get cut within a couple of weeks anyway. With 26 total roster spots available, you certainly have room for an extra kicker and/or defense.
In a non-Superflex league where taking three QBs isn't essential, a third DST is far more likely to surpass the point total of your first DST selection than a third QB like Tyrod Taylor or Jared Goff is to outscore Pat Mahomes at any point. Many of the top winning roster constructions include a third defense and kicker. In fact, teams that draft a fourth or even fifth defense are more likely to win than those that stick with two.
Using RotoViz's FFPC Roster Construction Explorer, we can see that taking an extra DST was a formula for success in 2020:
What happens if you stick to two DST units? Your chances of winning go down dramatically.
It's harder for some to stomach drafting three kickers, but it is even more important than for defense. First, unlike with team defenses, injuries and cuts happen in the kicker world. Hedging your bet is a good idea since there is no way to pick up or stream a kicker during the season.
Once again, teams that owned a third kicker won at a higher rate than those with just two. In fact, a fourth kicker produced a higher overall win rate but fewer top-6% finishes so three seems to be the magic number.
Now, extend this philosophy to a Terminator league where an injured or terrible kicker can get the boot off your roster right away, saving you from having to cut an RB or WR that you want to give more time to evaluate. Trust me, the extra pick will make a positive difference and you should prioritize a third kicker and defense more so than a third QB.
Terminator Draft Results
I'll now share my draft results from a 2021 Terminator league conducted in August.
View the full board on FFPC here.
I picked from the eighth spot, which is not my favorite place to begin this year. The top few RBs are gone but it's hard to justify taking a specific WR at that spot. So what did I do? Take a tight end.
Remember, FFPC uses TE-premium scoring with 1.5 PPR so you will almost always see Travis Kelce gone within the first few picks and Darren Waller in the first round. I secured Waller and was thrilled I could wait until round two to take someone I consider a must-have player in Najee Harris.
Waiting for an RB2 is something I will do in nearly all drafts this season regardless of format. It's a tricky proposition though because the well dries up pretty fast. After nabbing reliable receivers in Mike Evans and Cooper Kupp, I selected Kareem Hunt as the RB24 off the board.
In a typical redraft league, I would then load up on receivers and take fliers on late-round running backs. There will be plenty of fliers taken but this league demands that you not take too many chances because most of the players you draft won't be around to score points by season's end. For that reason, I didn't wait as long as usual before taking a quarterback. Ryan Tannehill may come across as an overly safe choice but he was the QB9 last year and just added Julio Jones to his receiving corps. I got him as the QB10 in this league, waiting until round seven and then backed him up later with a high-upside pick in Trevor Lawrence.
The later picks follow the advice given above as far as loading up on DST earlier than you'd expect and taking RBs that you wouldn't normally consider in a redraft league. If Saquon Barkley misses Week 1 or 2, Devontae Booker is giving me points for a short time early in the season and can be a quick cut if all goes well with Barkley thereafter. Melvin Gordon may lose his job to Javonte Williams by midseason but he'll be the starter initially and I don't need to rely on him for any sort of playoff run. It's counterintuitive but selecting players who will be more valuable early than late is a smart idea for your backups.
Here's the layout of my roster after 20 rounds:
You may or may not agree with all my draft strategies, but if nothing else, this should provide insight as to how you can tackle roster construction for this unique format. If you're an experienced best-ball player, this might be the format for you.
You can still join a Terminator best-ball league for just $35 or jump into the Terminator Tourney for true high-stakes action. Leagues are open until September 2, so there's plenty of time left to get in the action!
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