Cornucopia bloodbath



A Cornucopia bloodbath almost always occurs at the very beginning of every Hunger Games, as most of the tributes compete for valuable weapons, food, and packs full of other supplies spread in and around the Cornucopia.

Tributes always die at the bloodbath, mostly eight to twelve each year. Some common weapons in the Cornucopia are knives and spears. In most of the Games, there were backpacks containing various items. Some examples may be weapons, medical supplies, or food or water. The ones closer to the Cornucopia hold more valuable items, while the ones farthest away hold less valuable items. The Gamemakers or the Capitol probably set it up this way for optimal entertainment value and quick deaths at the beginning of the game to keep audiences interested. In the end, the Cornucopia is often taken over by a group of tributes who fought in the bloodbath, usually the Career Tributes. It is usually located in the center of the arena.

Tactics
There are a variety of ways tributes approach the bloodbath, but these strategies depend on how the Cornucopia has been positioned. For example, in the 74th Hunger Games, the Cornucopia contained everything from weapons, food, and survival provisions. These were arranged from the Cornucopia in terms of usefulness. For example, backpacks containing basic survival provisions were spaced far away while valuable weapons such as bows and swords were placed in the heart. In contrast, during the 75th Hunger Games or Third Quarter Quell, The Cornucopia was piled high with weapons in an attempt to ensure a more brutal bloodbath between the tributes. In this instance, any victor tribute who did not want to gain weapons had no use in approaching the Cornucopia.



Some tributes forego the Cornucopia completely and try to put as much distance as they can between themselves and the armed tributes with weapons from the Cornucopia. This means they will get little to no supplies at all and will have to rely on the arena and their skills or perhaps a rich sponsor to give them some. Peeta Mellark fled at first under Haymitch Abernathy's orders, but later joined the Career alliance and had access to their supplies until he betrayed them. Other tributes, including Katniss Everdeen, grab what they can from the outskirts of the Cornucopia and flee before things get too dangerous. This means they still get supplies, but these may be meager or not the most wanted or valuable. Other tributes, mostly Careers, such as Marvel, Clove, and Cato, use the dash for supplies as an opportunity to kill as many opponents as possible while they are all together. This means they will get the most optimal supplies and perhaps extra, but also run the highest risk of getting killed or injured. In the 74th Hunger Games, the Careers, possibly after the bloodbath was over, made camp by the Cornucopia. This allowed them to take any leftover supplies. However, the high quantity of supplies taken by the careers allowed other tributes like Foxface to steal some supplies and escape undetected. Rue managed to get some water bottles and socks used to cover her hands at night.

50th Hunger Games
In the 50th Hunger Games, 18 people were killed in the opening bloodbath, most of them likely by the Careers. However, the arena was so beautiful, the tributes were awed at first sight. Haymitch Abernathy, the victor from District Twelve, managed to get supplies before the bloodbath began.

74th Hunger Games
In the 74th Hunger Games, 11 people were killed in the opening bloodbath, most of them likely by the Careers. In the book, Clove killed the boy from District 9, but the rest of the deaths are unknown.

In the film, Marvel injures the District 3 female first. Then Cato stabs the District 7 boy. Marvel then kills the District 6 girl. The District 4 girl is killed by Cato after she grabbed the blue bag. Glimmer stabs and pierces the District 10 girl to death. The District 5 is killed by Cato. The District 6 boy gets his legs cut by Cato. Right when the District 9 boy is fighting with Katniss over a bag of supplies, Clove throws a knife to his back, killing him. The District 8 boy slams the District 5 boy's head in the Cornucopia, killing him. Thresh runs out of the Cornucopia and is attacked by the District 8 boy. Thresh hits him with his sword, killing him. The District 3 boy and District 7 girl are then seen fighting eachother. The District 7 girl and District 9 girl died unknowningly.

75th Hunger Games
In the 75th Hunger Games, 8 people were killed in the opening bloodbath. Finnick Odair killed the male from District 5. Seeder, Cecelia, and Woof were also killed. Along with 4 other tributes.