Black Diamond | Tabor Mk. 3: Somehow There's A Third One |
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Speed: 8 | Speed: 6 |
Traction: 6 | Traction: 4 |
Torque: 2 | Torque: 3 |
Weapon: 5 | Weapon: 7 (5 turret / 5 lifter) |
Armour: 9 | Armour: 10 (+2 lifter) |
Config: Something involving either the presence or absence of teeth | Config: Type 1 Meme-Sized Plough |
Oh, what's that? It's facing a flipper?
Black Diamond has its strengths - it's quick, it's wedgy, the flipper works - but so does Tabor, and the bots are more evenly matched than it might look. BD's faster, but 10 vs. 8 isn't that much, and we've both got the same control differential of 2. Tabor's got a much torquier drive, with three whole torques compared to two, and since this is going to be a bit of a shoving match then that's an edge I've got to make the most of. Tabor accelerates faster, self-rights better, and can angle in without sacrificing drive power or momentum thanks to the turret. She's at her best when counter-punching and that's the game I want to play. Let's do this.
Upon kickoff, accelerate towards BD, staying in close proximity to the Danger Zones but not entering them. Bait BD into an attack, then curve away slightly (away from the DZs) whilst turning the turret and counter-charge, getting underneath and dumping him into the hazards, turning him over if possible. Those hazards do exactly dick-all damage, but it's not about that - it's about disrupting BD's driving and forcing errors. I want to keep him in the DZs as much as possible, as that partially nullifies his speed advantage and therefore means that I can stay on the offensive, pressuring and baiting and capitalizing on opportunities.
Regardless of how many pointy bits Alex has taped to the front, I'm not going to take a head-on collision, at all, ever - thanks, turret! - and getting at the sides of his flipper is just as good as getting to the chassis since the weapon has an attached ram. Not only does that turn things into a toothed-vs-flat wedge war, it also means my bot can work better at pressing under the weapon, as the swept-back sides of BD's plough spread the bot's weight around more evenly rather than focusing it all on the fork tips. If and when I get under him, I don't need to lift a huge amount to turn him over, so I won't - just lifting a little and pushing forward will do, especially since he'll almost certainly be trying to J-hook off at the same time (therefore further unbalancing his machine). Remember, J-hooking means he's lost his momentum, while I've kept all mine, and BD is slower to accelerate than Tabor. Things like that make all the difference in a game of inches like this one.
Should BD manage to get under Tabor's scoop, which might happen, my self-righting is tricksy and curious. BD's got the speed to chain-flip, but not if I'm tumbling around in unpredictable directions thanks to my turret/lifter combo. It's fast and highly controlled, and that means I can easily recover and reset to start shoving him around again. I'll do my damnedest to stay away from the arena edge, though. That's just an OOTA waiting to happen, especially after the walls drop. Incidentally, that's the other benefit of keeping BD in the DZs. =]
Tabor would not be here without Alex's help at all stages of her many, many designs and reworks, offering constructive criticism and only the occasional meme. It only seems right that she's fighting one of his excellent bots in her first ever playoff bout.
Good luck, Alex, and have fun. =]