Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-14138255-20140829002738/@comment-11188061-20140830153327

It's a list, so Cinder is targeting a specific group of people; most likely those who are confirmed to be strong fighters in RWBY. We may have to assume that Team RWBY is included in the list. Therefore, a psychological attack is highly unlikely - her time in Beacon is simply too little, and she cannot possibly have gathered enough information to incapitate all of the targeted people's hearts.

She says that it's not about overpowering the enemy but taking away their strength, so she's thinking of neutralizing these strong fighters, at the very least for when she executes her plan. But there are limited ways for her to do so.

The simplest answer will be poison. With Emerald around it will likely not be a problem, but there's still a risk of getting caught since all of her targets are highly competent Huntress. Even more important is to succeed without raising any kind of suspicion towards themselves. At the least, she'll have to catch them at a time when they're unarmed and unguarded.

The apparent timing is weekend, but it is unclear whether it is to the big plan for the list, or just a process of it. The notable event for that particular weekend is the ball, and it is a good timing to do whatever they're attempting to do.

We will see the protagonist lose - preferably punishing Blake's obsession along with Pyrrha's probable downfall to speed up the plot. There is only three Episodes after all before the next break.