This article is about the alliance from Big Brother 12 (US). For the Big Brother Canada 5 alliance, see The Bragade.
| The Brigade | |
|---|---|
| |
| Alliance Profile | |
| Big Brother 12 (US) | |
| Members | Enzo Palumbo Hayden Moss Lane Elenburg Matt Hoffman Affiliates: Britney Haynes Kristen Bitting Ragan Fox |
| Defectors | Matt Hoffman |
| Votes Against | 8 |
| HoH Wins | 7 (Weeks 1, 3, 5, Day 56, Weeks 8, 9 & 10) |
| Times Nominated |
12 (Weeks 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10) |
| Veto Wins | 2 (Weeks 8 & 9) |
| Lowest Placing Member | Matt Hoffman (7/13) |
| Highest Placing Member | Hayden Moss (1/13) |
The Brigade is the dominant alliance on Big Brother 12 (US), that was created on the first week of the season. The alliance consisted of Enzo Palumbo, Hayden Moss, Lane Elenburg, and Matt Hoffman.
The Brigade, particularly Matt, pioneered the use of "parachute" alliances, where each member formed a duo alliance with a separate houseguest outside of their core group. This strategy allowed them to control every vote throughout the season, ensuring that none of them would be evicted if nominated. However, in Week 7, the Brigade turned against Matt, fearing he had built too many connections outside the alliance. The remaining three members continued to dominate the season in competitions, nominations, and eviction votes, ultimately making up the final three. Hayden defeated Lane in a 4-3 vote, securing his victory.
Members[]
Affiliates[]
History[]
Creation[]
The Brigade was formed on Day 2 when the four members gathered in Hayden's HOH room. During this meeting, Enzo assigned each member a nickname, solidifying their alliance.
Nicknames and Roles[]
Enzo took on the role of the ringleader, bringing the team together and dubbing himself "The Meow Meow." Hayden was given the nickname "The Animal," reflecting his competitive spirit. Lane, known for his strength, was called "The Beast," while Matt, recognized for his strategic thinking, was aptly named "The Brains."
Strategy[]
The Brigade played a low-profile game, avoiding the spotlight while gradually eliminating their threats and winning crucial competitions. They managed to remain undetected, with Hayden securing 4 Head of Household wins and 1 Power of Veto, Matt winning 2 HOHs, Lane winning 1 HOH, and Enzo winning 1 POV. Each member also formed a "parachute" alliance with another houseguest to ensure their safety if any of them were nominated. Hayden aligned with Kristen, Lane with Britney, Matt with Ragan, and Enzo would have chosen Monet, had she not been evicted in Week 2. These duo alliances helped deflect attention from the Brigade until Andrew exposed Hayden and Kristen's showmance, leading to both being nominated against each other. The Brigade successfully avoided having two members on the block against each other until Week 6, when Brendon chose Matt as Ragan's replacement nominee opposite Lane.
Fallout[]
Enzo informed Matt that he would vote against him when Brendon selected Matt as the replacement nominee to sit opposite Lane on the nomination block, unaware that Matt secretly held the Diamond Power of Veto. At this point, Matt realized he was the "low man on the totem pole" and not as secure in the alliance as he had believed. He used the DPOV to save himself and named Kathy as his replacement, leading to her eviction. However, sensing his position within The Brigade was deteriorating, Matt began to seek comfort in his growing friendship with Ragan.
Feeling threatened by Matt's shifting loyalties, The Brigade decided it was time to target one of their own. The following week, Britney won Head of Household, and both Enzo and Matt were put up for eviction. Given the recent tensions, Hayden and Lane chose to evict Matt. Later, during Lane's HOH reign, he nominated Ragan alongside Enzo as a pawn, stating that he was confident Ragan would be evicted and wanted to maintain a good relationship with Britney. When Enzo won the POV, he and Hayden attempted to convince Lane to backdoor Britney. However, Lane decided to nominate Hayden instead, explaining in his Diary Room sessions that he believed he had a better chance of winning the grand prize if Britney was sitting next to him in the final two, rather than Hayden.
Detection[]
When Hayden was nominated alongside Kristen in Week 4, he promised not to campaign against her and encouraged her to campaign against him instead. This raised Kristen's suspicions; she realized that if Hayden felt confident enough not to campaign, he might be part of a secret alliance. However, Kristen was evicted before she could confirm her suspicions. In Week 6, when Matt was on the block next to Lane, Hayden and Enzo claimed they would split the vote to create a tie, even though their true intention was to evict Matt. They told both nominees they would vote differently, leaving Kathy to break the tie. This situation resurfaced during a discussion by the pool in Week 7 when Ragan realized that the only reason for a split vote would be to avoid openly choosing between alliance members. That evening, Ragan confronted Matt, revealing he knew about the alliance between Lane, Hayden, Enzo, and Matt. Desperate to regain his footing within The Brigade, Matt reported Ragan's suspicions back to the group. After Matt's eviction, Hayden won Head of Household and targeted Ragan, who won the Power of Veto. Brendon was nominated as a pawn against Ragan, and the following week, Lane, as HOH, nominated Ragan again to prevent him from exposing their secret. Once Hayden won the penultimate HOH and POV, The Brigade revealed their secret alliance to Britney, the last non-Brigade member remaining, and informed her of her impending eviction, leaving her heartbroken.
Success[]
The Brigade successfully achieved its goal of reaching the end together. Hayden won the second-to-last HOH and the final POV, keeping his nominations of Lane and Britney unchanged. With Enzo holding the sole vote, he evicted Britney, securing a Brigade Final 3. After Britney's eviction, Hayden won the final HOH competition and chose to take Lane to the Final 2, ultimately defeating him in a close 4-3 vote. The Brigade is considered one of the greatest and most loyal alliances in Big Brother history.
Legacy[]
Variations of the Brigade's strategy were later used by successful alliances, such as The Pretty Boys in Big Brother Canada 7, who featured a similar approach of unwavering internal loyalty, strategic side relationships, and methodical eviction control to steamroll through their season. The Pretty Boys publicly cited the Brigade as their model.
Another attempt at the Brigade's strategy proved successful with alliances like The Cookout in Big Brother 23 (US). The Brigade's ability to stay undetected throughout the entire season while secretly controlling the game and advancing most of its members to the finale led future players to be wary of similar covert alliances. The Brigade is widely regarded as one of the most dominant and influential alliances in the history of Big Brother.
Another notable attempt to use this strategy happened the following season in Big Brother 24 (US) when on Week 3, the Po's Pack alliance chose the outsiders as their respective Festie Besties as the twist forced the houseguests to be tied to others during nominations. While this initially worked, an unprecedented power shift happened right after Matt Turner's nominations as Head of Household when the men of the alliance defected and formed a new dominant alliance called The Leftovers. This resulted in Po's Pack disbandment. This very strategy was used covertly by The Leftovers to take out their enemies and allowed the alliance to reach the jury, with its member Taylor Hale winning the season. Ironically, Taylor was the original backdoor target of this strategy, but ultimately resulted to her benefiting from it when it backfired on Po's Pack.
Trivia[]
| Big Brother 12 (US) Alliances |
|---|
| Brenchel • The Brigade |