The Matthew Berry Guillotine Leagues™ Survival Manual - How To Play Guillotine Leagues In-Season

Hello friends!

So, your draft is over (or maybe it’s just starting—Thanks, drafts that can start any week of the NFL season!). Either way, you’re in a Guillotine League™, which means every single week, a digital sword dangles precariously over your fantasy neck. If you’re the lowest scorer? Chopped. Yes, your team is dead. Muerto. Eliminated. Cut. Use whatever phrase you want but the end result is the same. Your life in this league is over. And all of your glorious players that you spent so much time drafting and acquiring? They are now on the waiver wire, available for someone new — someone who won’t love them the way you did! — to acquire. It’s a tightrope, it’s the best sweat in fantasy football, it is, we like to say, fantasy for the fearless. Think “Squid Game” meets your wildest football spreadsheet. Hair-raising? Intense? That’s the point.

Drafts are fun, but in Guillotine, managing your team is where you WIN (or quite literally, lose your head). Let’s jump in:

Embrace the Chaos: Guillotine Leagues Team Management is Survival

In a Guillotine League, you’re not facing one opponent a week—you’re dodging elimination, fighting 17, 13, or however many are left. Your goal is simple-to-understand but harder than you think - don’t finish last in any given week.

As the old saying goes, you don’t have to outrun the lion, you just have to outrun your buddy.

Platform where you play doesn’t matter—GuillotineLeagues.com, Yahoo Fantasy, done by hand, whatever—the rules are the same: don’t finish last in any given week, or your season is over and all your hard earned players become available for eager survivors.

Pro tip: You can jump in and start a league even after the season begins. Any week you want as long as you have one more person in the league than weeks left in the season. With four weeks left in the season you can do a five person draft. There’s always time for a late-arriving hero (or a dramatic, swift exit).

Guillotine Leagues Waivers: The Real “Draft Day” Happens Every Week

Waiver wire = lifeline. Each week, a fallen manager’s team explodes onto the wire. Suddenly, that first-round running back or the tight end you couldn’t afford at the draft? Yours for the taking. It’s not about hoarding depth—it’s about making sure your starting lineup is bulletproof every. single. week.

Aggressive but smart. Early on, let others blow their FAAB on shiny objects. As teams get chopped, true stars show up—don’t be the person out of ammo by October. Remember, you don;t have to win a week - you’re just trying to not finish last. You want floor, not upside.
Waivers are blind bidding (FAAB) almost everywhere, but some platforms offer first-come, first-served after waivers clear (commissioner’s choice).
Track waiver deadlines—Yahoo, GuillotineLeagues.com, custom sites all have quirks. Set alerts if you must.
And while the waiver wire is your best friend, the waiver wire’s best friend is the Fantasy Life waiver wire tool, built using the only historical database of successful and unsuccessful waiver bids. It can be the difference between blowing $500 when the next-highest bid is $27 and beating someone by a measly buck.

Guillotine Leagues Bidding Strategy: The Art of Staying Alive

Budgeting is crucial. Go big only when it’s game-changing—this isn’t a normal league, but also, don’t sit on $900 when four teams are left. Remember your money can be used to not on;y acquire players for you to use but also for you to acquire them to block your opponents from using them. Sometimes the best offense is a good defense. The goal? Try to end with $0 and a trophy.
Remember where you are in the season. As the league gets smaller, most players make less of an impact. A superstar like Ja’Marr Chase makes a much bigger difference when there are 14 teams left than when there are five teams left and every team is loaded.
Vary your bids. If Saquon Barkley is on waivers Week 4, do you drop $400? $700? Depends on your team, the number of weeks left, and—admit it—how desperate you are.
Don’t be predictable. Bid $51 instead of $50, $206 instead of $200. The Vickrey/second-price format (if enabled in your league) can help you pay less, so read your league’s fine print.
Public bids? If your league uses live auction/free agent bids (visible to all), expect extra gamesmanship and bluffing. Keep your poker face. Don’t show your hand too early

Adaptability: Move Fast, Cut Deep in Guillotine Leagues

Anyone is expendable. Last week’s hero is this week’s zero. Loyalty is for dynasty leagues. If a “stud” is facing a blizzard or a shutdown defense, get bold.
Start NO player coming off injury and beware Thursday nighters. Risk—a 2-point game—is the enemy.
Plan for byes and chaos. If your flex is on a late bye, solve it BEFORE waivers. Fumble this, and you’re a goner.
Because there is so much turnover in the league, with new superstars being added to the free agent pool every single week, try to only think in three to four week increments. That hurt superstar that’s out two months? No need to draft him or even roster him. Pay attention to bye weeks and as it relates to roster management, only concern yourself with the next three to four weeks.

Unique Guillotine Leagues Features & Universal Platform Tips

Rolling drafts: Some platforms let you start mid-season. No excuses. Gather your friends, play with 12, 15, 18, or whatever.
Yes, 15. You don’t need an even number of players in your league. As I said above, as long as you have one more player than weeks left in the NFL season, you can start a draft any week you want with however many players you want.
Blind bid periods: Multiple waiver cycles per week are increasingly common (especially on custom platforms—Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday deadlines).
Tie-breakers: It’s usually lowest cumulative points, but check platform rules—sometimes oddities pop up.
Playoff structures: Some leagues go Last Man Standing; some have special finals formats. Know YOUR finish line.

Matthew Berry’s Golden Rules for Living… Er, Surviving In Guillotine Leagues

Never start a guy the week he’s back from injury—not even for the “revenge game.”
Avoid Thursday night starts unless you love risk and chaos—short weeks are often graveyards for fantasy hopes.
Weather matters (Buffalo blizzard, anyone?).
Byes are your chance to plan, not to panic.
Use your gut, but back it up with the matchups and data—ask yourself, “If this busts, do I go home?”
When drafting for flex spots, I generally prefer wide receivers over running backs as RBs tend to get hurt more often.
Having an elite tight end can really help. It’s a scarce position in terms of consistent high end fantasy production so having a weekly advantage at a position not everyone else has can be huge.
If you have to skimp on a position and when you get into a league that has 14 players or more, you’re likely going to have to wait on a position. Quarterback is by far the most easily replaceable position so while I love the Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson’s of the world (and they can obviously make your week) I generally wait on QB when playing Guillotine Leagues ™
Find a rankings source you trust, one that is designed specifically for a weekly elimination game like Guillotine. Personally, I’m a big fan of Fantasy LIfe's weekly rankings, which we are constantly updating.

Matthew Berry’s Closing Word

Guillotine Leagues are pure adrenaline—and pure anxiety. The draft is the appetizer. Waivers and weekly strategy? That’s the feast. Stay flexible, stay alert, and remember—if you’re not on the chopping block, someone else is. That’s what fantasy is all about. Keep your head, literally and figuratively. Try it once and you’ll quickly see why myself and everyone I’ve ever invited to play Guillotine Leagues ™ is obsessed with it.

Now get out there, make the right cuts, and may your favorite player always be the one you just stole on waivers.