The Official Guillotine Leagues Draft Kit: Everything You Need To Survive The Chop in 2025
Playing in your first (or 50th) Guillotine League? Here's everything you need, from the founder of the game.
Welcome to the official Guillotine Leagues draft kit, where we'll help guide you through everything you need to Avoid the Chop, beginning with the draft – which has some quirks in strategy you should be aware of.
Guillotine is not your typical format, so this won't be your typical drft kit. If you want links, they're at the bottom. But for the full experiuence, let's start with…
What to Expect Week-To-Week from a Guillotine League
As I’m going about my daily routine, at the yacht club or at the laundromat, people will approach me, asking what they should expect from their first year in a Guillotine League.
In a Guillotine League, your season can end any week. You’re going to experience playoff-level anxiety every week.
Fortunately, the odds of survival are strongly in your favor.
| Week | Teams left | Your Survival Odds |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | 94.40% |
| 2 | 17 | 94.10% |
| 3 | 16 | 93.80% |
| 4 | 15 | 93.30% |
| 5 | 14 | 92.90% |
| 6 | 13 | 92.30% |
| 7 | 12 | 91.70% |
| 8 | 11 | 90.90% |
| 9 | 10 | 90.00% |
| 10 | 9 | 88.90% |
| 11 | 8 | 87.50% |
| 12 | 7 | 85.70% |
| 13 | 6 | 83.30% |
| 14 | 5 | 80.00% |
| 15 | 4 | 75.00% |
| 16 | 3 | 66.70% |
| 17 | 2 | 50.00% |
Until the championship week, you can roll into any week, secure in the knowledge that you’re probably not going to be the person who gets chopped.
But that won’t stop you from periodically having a Monday Night episode of existential dread, as you’re pleading with your tight end to keep you from the chopping block.
You’ll be upgrading your roster constantly. At GuillotineLeagues.com, we run waivers on Wednesday afternoon, and it'll reshape your weekly habits. There's massive anticipation around the unveiling of the weekly waiver wire results – Did you bid just enough to get that sneaky guy you wanted?
And, you'll love teasing the other owners when you see how they overpaid for their winning bids.
Speaking of the emotions of a Guillotine League, get ready for some serious anxiety attacks.
Mostly, I mean that in a good way, because you're going to fight to stay alive, and when you enter a Monday night game needing 12 fantasy points from your tight end, it's intense. Get 11.9 points and your season is over. Get 12.1 points and you're alive, no different from the team that finished with the weekly high score.
As the weeks go on, you’re going to realize that your draft was waaay less important than your traditional leagues. Because of the large number of teams, every roster will start the season with some gaping holes. But, you'll plug those holes with high-quality free agents—even some superstars.
If you're alive in December, you'll be benching superstars in tough matchups for different superstars in easier ones. Benching guys like Tee Higgins [gasp!] is surreal. But it can happen late in a Guillotine League season.
The Guide to Guillotine Leagues Fantasy Football
- An Introduction to Guillotine Leagues
- How to Win a Guillotine League: Tips From a First-Time Champion
- Lessons Learned From A First-Time Guillotine Leagues Player
- Unique Challenges of a Guillotine League Draft
- MORE COMING SOON! This will refresh constantly until the season begins