Build for the top of the payout curve
In a massive tournament, min-cashing is not the same objective as maximizing long-run value. The largest portion of the prize pool is concentrated at the top, so the lineup needs a plausible path to an exceptional score — not simply a high probability of being respectable.
Four ways a tournament lineup earns differentiation
The goal is not maximum uniqueness. A unique lineup with terrible expected value is still terrible. Differentiation has to earn its cost.
Ceiling: enough upside to actually post a winning score.
Correlation: roster outcomes that can succeed together instead of requiring unrelated miracles.
Leverage: positions where your portfolio benefits if the field is wrong.
Duplication control: reduce the chance that a winning lineup must split the top prize many ways.
Do not fade good chalk just to be contrarian
Popular players often become popular because their salary, role, matchup, or projection is legitimately strong. You can roster chalk and differentiate elsewhere through stacks, secondary correlations, lower-owned pivots, salary construction, or portfolio exposure.
How JARVIS attacks large fields
The Milly lens asks for a first-place path
JARVIS increases the importance of ceiling, game or stack correlation, ownership efficiency, leverage, and duplication as contests become larger and more top-heavy. It should never force arbitrary uniqueness rules; it evaluates whether the expected strategic benefit justifies the projection or EV sacrificed.