The Newcomers

Spoiler Alert! This page may contain plot details relating to Sunrise on the Reaping or unintentionally spoil elements of the book.

"We don’t have to buy into their mind game, that somehow they will always defeat us. Everyone acts like the odds aren’t in our favor, but I’m sure we can beat those odds!"

—Ampert

The Newcomers were an alliance of tributes formed by Ampert to build an alliance to rival the Career Pack during the 50th Hunger Games. Ampert hoped this would even out the odds and combat the hunting tactics used by Careers. A number of them were also rebels involved in a plot to disrupt the Hunger Games. The Newcomers proved themselves to be more intelligent and better organized than the Careers, which resulted in them weathering the arena's dangers better and ultimately winning the 50th Hunger Games. However, the Capitol later heavily edited the footage of the Games to make it seem like the Careers were the more organized and intelligent alliance.

History

Inception

Historically, the Career Tributes typically had the upper hand in the Hunger Games as they trained in specialized combat academies, formed an alliance, controlled the Cornucopia and hunted down the other tributes. Ampert, a male tribute from District 3, tried to change this during the 50th Hunger Games by proposing a similar alliance to the other non-career districts. He quickly secured Districts 7 and 8 and approached 11 who agreed to think about it.

Ampert then asked Haymitch Abernathy if District 12 was interested in joining. Haymitch was unsure but after thinking about it, decided to introduce his fellow District 12 tributes to Ampert and his alliance at the next training session. By then, Ampert had also persuaded District 10 to join them. Now with District 12 also on board, Ambert held a meeting with 3, 7, 8, 10 and 12, where he explained that while the Careers consisted of just three districts, the other tributes were three times their numbers so if they banded together as well, they could hunt the Careers instead and show they weren't falling for their mind games. Wyatt Callow pointed out they still didn't have all of the districts to sway the odds.

After watching a few Careers bully the District 6 tributes, Haymitch and Maysilee Donner showed them kindness and told them the offer of an alliance was still open. They immediately followed Haymitch to the rest of the alliance and officially joined. Needing an official name for the alliance, the group proposed several ideas before settling on the "Newcomers". They completed the rest of the training session together. By the next training session, Ampert had finally secured District 11's loyalty, and District 9 -- who was essential to Ampert's father Beetee's sabotage plan -- quietly joined by sitting with the Newcomers at lunch after Maysilee helped the tributes when they were bullied by Panache Barker for refusing to join the Careers. However, they failed to get District 5, who showed they had joined the Careers. It is likely that Careers asked 5 to join their pack because they had noticed the formation of the Newcomers.

Training scores

The Newcomers, now outnumbering the Careers by two to one, got training scores averaging four to seven. The District 11 tributes were the only Newcomers to get scores within the eight to eleven range like the Careers. Haymitch's score brought the Newcomers down after his antics towards the Gamemakers during his private session was rewarded with a score of one. After this, Haymitch felt like the Gamemakers might have it out for him, which along with his secret plan to help Beetee Latier destroy the arena, led to his decision to go it alone in the arena instead of putting the Newcomers at even greater risk.

Interviews

News of an alliance to rival the Careers was first revealed in public during tribute interviews with Caesar Flickerman. Dio and Ampert addressed the disproportionate number of Career wins and detailed their alliance with names and skills, impressing Caesar and the audience with their intelligence. The tributes from District 4, a Career district, were instantly asked if they had plans to counter the Newcomers and what they reckoned their chances were. As they fumbled to put together a response, District 5 tried to present their case against the Newcomers but despite their efforts to point out the weaknesses of their rivals, proved the Careers had not discussed a counterattack.

For the rest of the night, the Newcomers continued to prop up their alliance. They said they were going to share provisions, and while they did not have a leader, credited Ampert with bringing them together. This was shaken when Lou Lou took the stage and when asked what the Newcomers would do when the Careers are dead, she started calling the audience "murderers". Haymitch fixed this by promising the Newcomers were plenty smart. The interviews were considered a successful promotion of their adversary and boosted their chances of gaining sponsors.

The Games

Despite the alliance, sixteen of the dead on the first day were Newcomers compared to four Careers, so their numbers were now nearly even. They were all killed during the initial bloodbath, six by Panache Barker wielding a sword, during which the Careers took most of the food. Maysilee Donner was separated from the rest of the alliance, the Newcomers set up on the mountain, while Haymitch ran to the forest on his own and was soon followed by Lou Lou.

Several of the Newcomers were poisoned by the arena but Hull had a pack of syrup antidote and managed to save them. On the second day, both alliances lost one more tribute each. Ampert tracked down Haymitch, claiming the Newcomers needed him. They lose no-one on the third day. Despite achieving Beetee's goal to blow the water tank on the fourth day, Ampert was killed by a muttation and the arena was not destroyed.

This triggered a volcanic eruption on the mountain the Newcomers were hiding on. While waiting for news on the dead, Haymitch and Maysilee reunited and killed three Careers. When the dead were revealed that night, the Newcomers lost seven and the Careers lost nine. With only two Careers and eight Newcomers, the odds were in favour of a non-career victor. In the end, the two remaining tributes were Haymitch of the Newcomers and Silka Sharp of the Careers. In an act of defiance, Haymitch exposed the forcefield surrounding the arena by ducking when Silka threw her axe, which rebounded and lodged itself in her skull. As such, the Newcomers successfully stole victory from the Careers.

Aftermath

At the Victor's Ceremony, a heavily edited recap portrayed the Newcomers as less unified than they were and the Careers appeared smarter. Much of the Newcomers' activity was deliberately cut or glossed over. Unlike the Careers, the alliance did not continue to be formed every year in future Hunger Games, as there is no mention of one in The Hunger Games.

Known Newcomers

• District 3
  • Ampert Latier
  • Lect
  • Dio
  • Coil

• District 6
  • Miles
  • Atread
  • Wellie
  • Velo

• District 7
  • Bircher
  • Heartwood
  • Autumn
  • Ringina

• District 8
  • Wefton
  • Ripman
  • Notion
  • Alawna

• District 9
  • Ryan
  • Clayton
  • Kerna
  • Midge

• District 10
  • Buck
  • Stamp
  • Lannie
  • Peeler

• District 11
  • Hull
  • Tile
  • Chicory
  • Blossom

• District 12
  • Haymitch Abernathy (victor)
  • Wyatt Callow
  • Maysilee Donner
  • Lou Lou

Trivia

• At 32 tributes, this was the largest alliance in Hunger Games history.
• Alternative suggested names for the Newcomer alliance included Loose Cannons (from District 12), Dark Horses (from 10), and Invaders (from 7). They were eventually named the Newcomers, after the tradition of Neddie Newcomer in the District 12 mines.