A.R.C. - Schedule & Results

[Badnik96]

The schedule and rankings are posted HERE:


Week 1
======Division A======

Super-Modified vs Xcessive pneumatiX
Fights with bots that decide to just give up ground game are so weird to me. Like pneumatix is just getting underneath every time look at him go. He gets in a free flip for like the 4th time but tri’s thwack thing also got in its free hit so we’re like, functionally back at square one again.

We get to see the thwack bot do some nifty maneuvering, doing a thwack but also j turning to try and avoid getting fully on the wedge of the flipper bot. We also see it land awkwardly on its hammer support a few times, which lets pneumatix get in a second flip a few times - usually not all that clean of one but it’s still something.

It’s a very entertaining match - super modified spends a lot of time airborn, and its hits on pneumatix are flashy. They dont cause a whole lot of functional damage, though. Pneumatix almost gets super-modified in to one of those little out of the arena corners at one point. Key word almost. Super modified’s slight speed advantage helps with picking better fights, so pneumatix is mostly just flipping it back into the center of the arena, but he does get one good flip in to the screws. Super modified escapes pretty much instantly though.

Aggression: 3-2 pneumatix
Damage: 3-2 super-modified
Control: 3-2 super-modified

Super-Modified wins 8-7

discord vs Dystopian Avenger
The box is locked, the lights are on, yada, yada yada--get to the robots fighting eachother already.

As Pat attempts to spin his robot up, Dystopian Avenger with it's downright absurd drivetrain manages to smother it before Discord can do any significant harm to it's opponent. While Discord tries to play keep-away against it's assailant, it's considerably poorer control scheme falters in the wake of Dystopian Avenger locking it in a cycle of tossing it up like a hotcake, which in on itself leads to an aggressive pin-and-release cycle as Discord's coralled over to the screws while the FPS urgently tries to right itself.

In Pat's defense, at the very least, in the occasional moments where Discord has leeway in spinning up--it's able to do some potshots against Dystopian Avenger's front wedge, doing some decent-enough damage against in process. In spite of his confidence at winning the wedge war against Wolf, Dystopian Avenger still has a clear edge in on the match, as the Chicago-born robot just locks it's opponent into a vicious cycle of corralling-and-low power flipping, meaning that Pat's unable to fully enact his plan to use momentum in his favor.

Considering that Wolf chose not to bother with OOTAs this time around, and the fact that Pat didn't get enough freedom to completely spin up (apart from a few hits against DA's wedge, that is), the three-minute buzzer sounds--meaning that this one will go straight to the judges.

AGGRESSION: 4-1 | Dystopian Avenger
DAMAGE: 3-2 | Discord
CONTROL: 4-1 | Dystopian Avenger

Dystopian Avenger wins by a 10-5 judge's decision.

Aphelion vs Carnifex
A grand ol hum escapes the motors of the orange drum of Carnifex as it punches it's way towards Aphelion. Aphelion moves forward with a purpose, but doesn't seem to be going for a full on blitz. First contact and Aphelion sweeps up Carnifex. Carnifex tries to reverse, but it's unable to do so before getting popped up in the air. Carnifex begins gyro dancing and eventually flips itself. It's now on its back and doesn't seem happy about it.

Carnifex charges straight into Aphelion, who seems to say challenge accepted. Coming in at an angle that seems to hit the lower side piece of Aphelion, it appears to mostly emit sparks as Aphelion gets under and pushes it into the screws. Another upside down charge from Carnifex, but this time it leaves quite a few scrapes, aiming higher up on the armor of Aphelion, but not without getting flipped for its troubles. Carnifex keeps trying to tip toe and catch Aphelion lacking from too much aggression, but HFL is very focused on not giving much of a bite to the drum bot.

After a few more exchanges of mostly Carnifex getting flipped and occasionally making pretty grinding sparks against the flipper wedge, one funny angled hit pops Carnifex up on a corner, to which Aphelion is able to rush the bot to a corner of the arena and let it fly.

Aphelion wins by OOTA in 2:15

Slipstream vs Annoying Vert Rush
Both robots come out like gangbusters, hitting each other head-on. AVR wins the initial exchange with its more substantial ground game and pops Slipstream into the air with its drum, flipping it over. Nick chases the inverted Slipstream down and hits it again, throwing some sparks. Slipstream rights itself but it's side-on to AVR, so the drum throws some more sparks as AVR bullies the flipper bot around the arena. Slipstream is eventually able to escape, but not without a whole lot of missing paint. TBR tries to go head-on again, this time hanging back and letting Nick come to him, but those forks just cannot find purchase against AVR's piano key setup. Slipstream spends most of the rest of the fight getting chewed up by AVR's grinding weapon, unable to find any openings for its flipper as the audience is treated to a veritable lightshow of sparks.

Aggression: 3-2 Annoying Vert Rush
Damage: 5-0 Annoying Vert Rush
Control: 5-0 Annoying Vert Rush

Annoying Vert Rush wins a 13-2 judge's decision.

======Division B======

Mortuary vs V-TEC
Mortuary gets up to speed, which is a nice start for it im sure. There’s a little bit of a chase but v-tec does not have the speed to threaten this surprisingly fast undercutter. The first hit is rough for v-tec: she fires the flipper late and the spinner puts a dent in the center of the plow. The next hit goes better, as mortuary get its back up against the wall drums. Tcr is able to move a little out of the way, but v-tec finally gets the flip it wants, in to the drums.

Mortuary spends a good 15 seconds skidding about after that, and then another little bit getting chased around before tcr accepts that theyre not gonna get a perfect situation, and at least the weapon is up to speed. Ys gets a nice clean ram in to mortuary, & both bots get spun away from the impact. This happens twice more before mortuary rides up the wedge of v-tec, grinding at it all the while, and ys finally gets to give another flip.

Mortuary does the funny thing spinners do in the air where it does a lil dance, then it hits the ground hard on its disc and slams itself in to a wall. V-tec’s flipper has still not retracted?? Oh wait there we go. It retracted only half way for some reason, and ys had to fire it again to get it to retract properly. Weird.

Both bots reset, and v-tec takes another round of punishing blows from that spinner before it's able to get in position for another flip, but this time the flipper seems stuck for good. Weathering countless near-full power blows from Mortuary's disc has warped it to the point where it won't retract entirely into the robot. Tcr sees this new opportunity and guns for it, slotting the blade under the gap provided by v-tec's damaged flipper and sending the tracked machine flying. Parts scatter across the arena, and when the dust settles it's clear that Ys' robot can no longer move.

Mortuary wins by knockout in 2:25.

Premeditated Accident vs Listen Here, Grandad, this is America. Everyone Here Eats Ass
This is an interesting one, two omni-directional bots with control weapons designed for minimal spectacle. LHG starts off on a bad foot (wheel? omni-wheel?) by trying to angle in and oversteering, giving PA a good shot and landing a direct hit with its drum. Jack uses his robot's perfect control to follow this up with another one, though this hit doesn't throw LHG very far, with PA slipping underneath and grinding against its baseplate, filling the arena with a horrendous noise as sparks fly. Siobhan fires the puncher and tries to escape, but with only one wheel on the floor this is hard to do, and her robot gets pushed across the floor and into the arena screws. Once the screws finally let LHG go, the robot zips away sideways like a bat out of hell, escaping the situation before PA can keep up the pressure. Both robots circle each other for a bit, playing an unorthdox game of footsies (wheelsies?) as they each search for another opening. Sio finds one first, and this time she keeps control, sliding LHG underneath PA and keeping it there while she returns the favor and delivers the spinner to the screws for a dose of his own medicine. Unfortunately for Jack, his robot's lower speed makes it harder to escape, and he's scooped up a second time. This time LHG's puncher throws PA onto the screws in an attempt to flip PA over, but there just isn't enough force involved to get it done. PA chooses a different angle to escape this time and is able to reset, with LHG slipping up just enough to give PA an opportunity to corner her. This lets the thwack come into play, knocking PA away with a heavy crash, but Sio mistimes the escape and LHG clips the wall, knocking it off-course and giving PA one more opportunity to bring the drum into play, but it just isn't fast enough to do so. The buzzer sounds with neither robot looking particularly wounded, and everyone wondering how exactly the judges are going to score this one.

Aggression: 3-2 Listen Here, Grandad
Damage: 3-2 Premeditated Accident
Control: 3-2 Listen Here, Grandad

Listen Here, Grandad, this is America. Everyone Here Eats Ass wins a nail-biting 8-7 split decision.


Imperator vs No Tomorrow
What's your favorite axis? Doesn't matter, we've got on going up and one going sideways. We see the blitz come in from Imperator and pop no tomorrow up a bit. No Tomorrow isn't quite able to get that blade spinning, but Mystic is doing a very good job keeping No Tomorrow out of harms way by moving side to side. Bob and weave that's what I say. Get it?...Bob? Nobody? Blah....

There's a few more light bits of contact where Imperator is able to keep No Tomorrow from spinning up while not really having full control of him. No Tomorrow is eventually able to get enough room and spin up while trying to clip the side of Imperator. Imperator aims to smother it once more, but instead of the usual pretty sparks and slight knock back, we see a pretty solid impact send No Tomorrow flying backwards and the front left corner of the Imperator wedge bent inwards.

Cue another minute of smothering while still getting the occasional hit and Imperator's wedge looks worse for wear. While mostly getting smothered all match, those hits to the wedge have started to take a toll on it. The wedge eventually breaks off the mountings and leaves the front of Imperator exposed.

Another minute passed buy and the drum flips No Tomorrow over. However, a half spun up hit manages to dig into the main chassis. One of the wheels might be down, but the bot is still moving. The buzzer sounds before more is able to be done

Aggression: 3-2 Imperator
Damage: 5-0 No Tomorrow
Control: 3-2 Imperator

No Tomorrow wins 9-6

Paper-Mache Artillery & Wheely Big Mistake vs Valravn MKII
Thanking V900 for providing images for both robots in the thread, so that I don't have to have the signup thread opened while I write this match. Much appreciated.

V900's clusterbots kick the match off with a bang, with the two rushing into the center of the arena while Shaba scouts--choosing to engage with PMA first as the smaller robot tries to look for an opening to high-center Valravn. A significant sum of the exchanges between the two robots and Valravn focus around V900 hatching his plan of PMA removing Valravn's wheels from the ground, as WBM acts as bait, occasionally getting a good flip in on Shaba's robot here and now.

However, Shaba's smart. She keeps Valravn away from the corners of the arena while she backs off, forcing a vicious cycle of re-engagement on PMA's end, as she goes for the considerably slower WBM in order to get her own piece of the exchange, and getting a good bit of lifts on WBM. It's a back-and-forth fight, with PMA excelling at what it's designed to do--be a distraction, and a nuisance. Considering that this is a fight between two control bots, there's not much else to write about here. Valravn throws WBM into the screws a couple of times as it has the edge over the slower of the two.

While Shaba can't get her coveted OOTA against WBM, as the three-minute mark sounds--this one will go straight to the judges.

AGRESSION: 3-2 | Paper-Mache Artillery & Wheely Big Mistake
DAMAGE: 3-2 | Valravn MK. III
CONTROL: 3-2 | Paper-Mache Artillery & Wheely Big Mistake

Paper-Mache Artillery & Wheely Big Mistake wins by a 8-7 judge's decision.

[Badnik96]

Week 2
======Division A======
Annoying Vert Rush vs Aphelion
The match opens with Aphelion immediately going on the attack, and *also* immediately cementing itself as the more aggressively-driven of the two. AVR moreso tries to slip and pull away from Aphelion on each interaction, attempting to "nuh uh uh" it's way into an advantageous position...

...I say "advantageous position" like it's some vague thing, but these are both wedgebots. They both want to get under each other. Aphelion does so the most- slipping its longer, higher-pressured forks underneath AVR's array. These moves are short, to-the-point, going up the wedge and off the flipper. He tries a few times for that big OOTA finisher move, but AVR keeps landing on its wheels and the match-ending flip never really materializes.

AVR is much the opposite- it doesn't get under very often, but really drags things out whenever it does happen. Aphelion gets flipped over exactly once in this match and it turns into a whole 45-second ordeal of "I'm self-righting!" → "no you aren't" → "I'm self-righting!" → "no you aren't" → and so on. It eventually succeeds though, and proceeds to beach AVR onto the screws for a good couple-dozen seconds in response.

The last few shots see Aphelion manage to press AVR sideways against a wall for a few moments, before AVR manages to just barely slip away and give a couple retaliatory nips to Aphelion's underside.

AGG: 3-2, Annoying Vert Rush
DMG: 3-2, Aphelion
CTL: 3-2, Aphelion

Aphelion wins by a hairline 8-7 judge's decision.

discord vs Super-Modified
Discord (the robot not the app) spins up the shell and begins heading towards center arena. Super Modified makes a beeline for the flipper of Discord. Pat waits passively for the thwackbot to come around, and we have a big ol clash. Super Modified is able to get underneath and bring down the hammer on Discord, which only seems to leave a small scratch on the paint. Discord is pushed into the wall where it bounces away onto the other side of the arena. It's able to spin back up and drive away from the walls once more. But for this first minute of the fight it mostly seems to be SM dodging the shell and sliding underneath the side wedges of the flipper, only for Discord to be flown sideways.

Eventually Discord is able to get under SM and flip it over. SM is now upside down and its wedge is not able to do its job. Discord takes the advantage to swipe at SM. It doesn't do much in the way of damage but it does toss SM backwards as Trihunter quickly attempts to self right it. SM turns right side up and continues to get the occasional shots in as well as a few wall slams. While Discord is able to get a few quick shots on SM and even one on the wheels, it's not quite able to capitalize before the buzzer sounds.

Aggression: 4-1 Super-Modified
Damage: 3-2 Discord
Control: 4-1 Super-Modified

Super-Modified wins 10-5

Xcessive pneumatiX vs Dystopian Avenger
The two flippers collide in the center of the floor, with Dystopian Avenger winning the reach game and slipping underneath first to pop the flipper and get XP onto its back. XP rights itself and tries to back away but DA's incredible acceleration keeps the two close and so DA can get under a second time before Ethan can position his robot. XP gets bullied like this for a bit before finally finding an escape route and getting an opportunity to angle. Now it's XP's turn to bully as Drew's robot isn't as fast and has no invertibility. This lets XP get all the way under DA and maneuver over to the OOTA zone, where it's a simple matter of chucking the 8wd machine into the corner pocket.

Xcessive pneumatiX wins by KO (OOTA) in 1:27

Carnifex vs Slipstream
As soon as the match begins, Grimm goes in for a death-charge towards the front-hinge flipper while Carnifex spins up--this proves to be a detrimental move to Grimm as TBR proceeds to play it more smart here, opting to pull a toreador move instead, sliding out of the way of the comparatively bloodthirsty power drum in order to get under Carnifex. Due to it's superior speed and torque stat against it's opponent, Slipstream manages to get under Carnifex, and is able to flip it and send the drum into the air without skipping a beat.

Much to Grimm's bemusement, TBR focuses on refusing to give his opponent any leeway within the match as Slipstream dominates Carnifex via the fine art of chain-flipping. Grimm's plans of going on the offensive full-tilt isn't working out in his favor, albeit Carnifex is able to get a few hits in against Slipstream, although it lacks the weapon strength in order to do any serious damage against it's opponent--but noneoftheless, Carnifex is able to pop Slipstream up in the air a few times.

Ultimately, TBR is able to prevent his opponent from fully capitalizing opportunities that could be used against Slipstream, and Carnifex is unable to recover from the relentless onslaught of flips, pins, and times getting stuck flopped on it's head.

AGGRESSION: 4-1 | Slipstream
DAMAGE: 3-2 | Slipstream
CONTROL: 4-1 | Slipstream

Slipstream wins by a 11-4 judge's decision.

======Division B======
Valravn MkII vs Imperator
Imperator vs Valravn MKII

Both bots come out at each other, Imperator looking to go head-on while Valravn is hunting for an angle. Imperator turns to face Valravn and the gyroscopic forces kick up one side of Imperator just a tad, and this gives Danielle the opening she was looking for. Valravn makes a beeline for the corner pocket, but Winter is able to wrench her robot off of Valravn's forks just in time to escape. The two combatants charge each other again and this time it's Imperator that wins the exchange, popping Valravn into the air and starting a juggle towards the screws.

Valravn spends a small chunk of time on the arena hazard before it's able to escape, taking one more pop from Imperator's drum on the way out of the situation. Danielle chooses to pivot to plan B and backs into a corner, forcing Winter to come to her. This works pretty well, and Valravn scoops up Imperator with the lifter and charges across the box, slamming both of them into the wall at full force. The impact flips Imperator upside-down, putting it in a terrible position.

Winter tries to spin around and right her robot with the gyroscopic forces of the weapon, but this isn't an instantaneous process and Valravn is right back on the offensive, scooping up the inverted Imperator and plowing into the wall again, this time being a little less aggressive so she can pin her. Danielle gets the full time allotted out of the pin before being forced to back off, but this is no comfort to Winter as Imperator is still upside-down. She's able to get up on two wheels on her next self-righting attempt, and Valravn's next charge knocks Imperator the rest of the way over, but it's been wedged side-on, and that means another pin.

Finally back in a position to do something, Imperator goes on the offensive again, but there's almost no time left, and the buzzer sounds before either robot can land another attack.

Aggression: Valravn MKII 3-2
Damage: Imperator 3-2
Control: Valravn MKII 4-1

Valravn MKII wins a 9-6 judge's decision.

Mortuary vs Premeditated Accident
"(+2 plow)"
>looks at bot
>no plow


I'm just going to assume he means, like, "front" or something. "Enough parts so that you don't write my armor as immediately getting hole-punched" etc.

Anyway, match starts. Premeditated Accident clickety-clacks its way across the arena and manages to bang up against Mortuary* at 75%ish speed and flick it away into the back wall. There's a stint where Mortuary gets juggled around, but eventually manages to land a full-power hit on the drum and send a suspiciously-loud hole-punching sound ringing out. This is quickly confirmed with a sharp grind heard soon afterward, and the drum stalling up.

After some panicked backing-off, Premeditated Accident goes back in and opts to (read: kinda has to) shove Mortuary with it's far-sturdier plow. This works out well enough for PA to at least survive and offer up some decent pushes across the arena, with the big caveat of Mortuary continually shots on the disabled drum until it eventually looks like a torn-up soda can.

2 minutes in sees a hit right behind one of Premeditated Accident's front wheels that plays out in the same way as a MMA fighter getting their tibia shattered by a leg sweep. Nonetheless, it's able to still limp the last stretch of the fight. Mortuary goes in for one more hit, but gets deflected a short distance by PA's wedge.

*I have absolutely never heard anyone use this word instead of "morgue", btw. You're lucky this is a robot-fighting RPG competition and not a spelling bee. :V

AGG: 3-2, Mortuary
DMG: "Did you miss the 'shattered tibia' line"-0, Mortuary
CTL: 3-2, Premeditated Accident

Mortuary wins by a crunchy 10-5 judge's decision.

Listen Here, Grandad, this is America. Everyone Here Eats Ass vs V-TEC


LHG is quite a freak of nature to watch drive around in the arena as it basically plays ropeadope with VTEC. LHG glides across the floor with ease and tries pushing VTEC away with the puncher.

VTEC, despite its best efforts, just can't seem to get any easy shots on LHG, and even when there are some close calls, LHG is able to smack it away with the tail. That isn't to say that the driving is perfect on LHG's part, there's the occasional skid when trying to avoid the flipper, some of which cause it to bump into the wall trying to keep away. LHG continues to strafe sideways, boop VTEC on the nose and push it backwards, occasionally into the screws. You can tell that YSM is getting a bit antsy, but remains semi calm throughout this entire thing.

We see another missed flip by VTEC as LHG again skids a bit farther than it probably planned to, but the concerned face of Sokka is able to keep that nightmare flipper at bay. That is, until the last 30 seconds, where a thwack from LHG rides up the side wedge of VTEC and ruins Sio's whole rhythm. VTEC finally gets some coverage and sends LHG into the ceiling. Hey! Don't shatter our lights! Shit's expensive!

So how's LHG? Unfortunately two of the wheels are now cracked and there are rollers on the floor. It's still mobile, but can only really turn in a circle. The match ends with a judges decision and quite a bit of debris.

Aggression: 3-2 Listen Here Grandad, This is America. Everyone Here Eats Ass
Damage: 5-0 V-Tec
Control: 4-1 Listen Here Grandad, This Is America. Everyone Here Eats Ass

VTEC wins with an 8-7 decision

Paper-Mache Artillery & Wheely Big Mistake vs No Tomorrow
Mystic begins to spin the blade on his mecanum-clad deathspinner up as Wheely Big Mistake exits it's square while Paper-Mache Artillery parks itself into a corner of the arena. V900's betting on letting No Tomorrow repeatedly skid off of Wheely Big Mistake due to it's downright absurd armor stat rendering Mystic's big ol' blade close-to-negligible against Wheely Big Mistake.

There's exchanges between WBM and No Tomorrow, with the mecanum-drive deathspinner ricocheting off of the much smaller WBM--which in on itself has knockback from the impact. While WBM gets more and more dinged up with each hit it tanks to the face from No Tomorrow's blade, V900's able to negate Mystic's gameplan with his own game of "poke, bounce off, let him skid around.", and considering that Paper-Mache Artillery (or "aper-mache artillery" as it's misspelled here) has it's own comical speed, No Tomorrow isn't able to whack open the metaphorical piñata of PMA.

There's not much interesting to write home about from here on out, while WBM does get incrementally more and more scuffed up and dented with each hit it takes from No Tomorrow while Paper-Mache Artillery tactically parks itself away from No Tomorrow, it's not enough to do a considerable amount of damage to WBM's internals to help sway the match in Mystic's favor. This one will have to go to the judges, folks.

AGGRESSION: 3-2 | Paper-Mache Artillery & Wheely Big Mistake
DAMAGE: 3-2 | No Tomorrow
CONTROL: 4-1 | Paper-Mache Artillery & Wheely Big Mistake

Paper-Mache Artillery & Wheely Big Mistake wins by a 10-5 judge's decision.

[Badnik96]

WEEK 3
======Division A======
Dystopian Avenger vs Slipstream
This is the part where I was gonna say something to the tune of "erm dystopian avenger has more than two configs so it is disqualified... heh just kidding :^P <rest of the match goes here>", but then I actually read the post (shocking) and turns out they're just color-changing LED lights. I imagine the idea is something like a Mario boss where you jump on its head two times and then it gets angry for the last part of the fight, but these are both wedgebots. Nobody's seriously damaging (let alone scoring a KO within 180 seconds) today.

There's a little bit of contention at the start of the match, but it soon becomes apparent that this is at least 60-75% DA's game. It gets under and simply does not slow down at all. Investing so much into torque is insane and most would consider it a waste of resources- but when it works, it works! Even gets a few wall slams that hit hard enough to at least register as a "DMG: 3-2" in the eyes of the judges.

Slipstream, admittedly, kind of drops the ball here in terms of decision-making. Seems to keep anticipating Dystopian Avenger to make some sort of oopsie-daisy driving error that it can capitalize on, but it just isn't that type of opponent. It's speed/traction/torque is literally 6/6/6. This is an evil opponent. An agent of the demiurge. The holy forces known as "16 point deathspinners" will surely strike down this demon should it reach playoffs, . Slipstream, the mere earthdweller that it is, does get under a handful of times... because if this is 60-75% DA, 25-40% of it is Slipstream. This proves to be, unfortunately, another missed opportunity. Slipstream keeps getting too excited and immediately going for the flip, which proves easier for DA to wriggle out of than if it went for a long-haul push. The match ultimately ends with Slipstream upside down in center-ring

AGG: 3-2, Dystopian Avenger
DMG: 3-2, Dystopian Avenger
CTL: 3-2, Dystopian Avenger

Dystopian Avenger wins by a hellish 9-6 judge's decision.

discord vs Xcessive pneumatiX
I think this might the first ARC vaporbot thing I've seen to ever use *Instagram* as a means of image hosting. This website has built-in image uploads nowadays (thank you attackfrog ) and we're doing Instagram? Whatever man.

Granted, Pat's bot could be hosted on LinkedIn and that wouldn't change the fact that this ends up being a bog-standard spinner-smother squash match. Discord* really tries to get the flipper in, but only manages to pop off a couple of tippers at most. It was also at this moment that I remembered "OHH that's right Pat is a brony and means 'Discord (the MLP character)' not 'Discord (the chat program)'. Reading the previous results for this thing, it seems other writers came to the same realization. Low flip distance, middling speed, and (primarily) the fact this is an FBS means it doesn't really follow up on these few instances. The spinner itself obviously hits much more often, but not hard enough for the dents and bumps to cause any real issues.

Xcessive pneumatiX, on the other hand, manages to get under pretty readily and flip the opponent... three feet into the air. You give it a XCXZZIVE PXEXMATIXXX name and it's barely in contention for OOTAs? Again, whatever. At least this one's on the giving end of the squash, fitting in at least 10 pops per minute and putting Discord in some pretty precarious spats with the arena screws. Discord aims for XP's sides, and manages to get to them a few times! But these, too, are wedged and only result in Discord kicking itself upward. It also proves too round and bouncy for XP to get an arena-out in time. Don't laugh.

AGG: 4-1, Xcessive pneumatiX
DMG: 4-1, discord kitten ^_^ owo
CTL: 4-1, Xcessive pneumatiX

Xcessive pneumatiX wins by an Xtreme 9-6 judge's decision.

Annoying Vert Rush vs Carnifex
I'm gonna be real with y'all, I was actually kind of excited for this fight and was going to give Bees the benefit of the doubt here. But he really didn't give me much of anything as far as strategy.

While AVR is able to get a few wall slams here n there as it makes pretty sparks, it's not long before Carnifex is able to catch the oversteer of AVR and smack the drum bot backwards. It's not able to deal very much damage, but it's able to knock it back a few feet after each exchange and even flip it over at one point. Eventually the buzzer sounds as both bots seem to be relatively unscathed.

Aggression: 3-2 Carnifex
Damage: 3-2 Carnifex
Control: 3-2 AVR

Carnifex wins 8-7

Super-Modified vs Aphelion
Hello! V900 (or "Noah" if you so choose) here again on behalf of Badnik. I was told that this match was (quote) "looking at the designs and the strategies [...] really close", but I'm just not seeing it. The way each interaction plays out is basically as follows: they both run at each other, Super-Modified stays at a range and lands a few damageless hits (points for aggression at least?), then Aphelion eventually catches up and chucks Super-Modified around like a hackey sack for the next 30+ seconds because it has gigantic ground clearance all over its chassis. I will *also* give Super-Modified an additional aggression point for making some really cool-looking displays as it spits out sparks while spinning around in the air, looks vaguely like this.

Things get especially bad whenever S-M finds itself pinned against a wall, tacking another 10 seconds in Aphelion's favor while Super-Modified can't do much of anything. The silver lining is that he eventually has to let go at this point per-the-rules, but then the realization sets in that we're just starting from the top again. Bonk! Boink! Doink! then FLIPFLIPFLIPFLIP or whatever onomatopoeia fits best for "brief pressurized air release". "PSHH" maybe? I dunno. Not a big comics guy.

These bouts being over half-a-minute apiece means we don't get too many of them, but eventually it ends up with Super-Modified sitting on its side in the corner pocket and no way of getting out. Ten-count aaand we're done here.

Aphelion wins by TKO (OOTA) in 1:35.

======Division B======
No Tomorrow vs Mortuary
pretty quick fight here. The two power spinners get their weapons going and meet in the center of the arena. No Tomorrow's range advantage gives it the first hit, and parts from Mortuary are sprayed across the arena. Both robots go spiraling away, and it's clear Mortuary isn't moving too well anymore. Mystic comes in for the finishing blow and that's all she wrote.

No Tomorrow wins by KO in 0:45.

V-TEC vs Premeditated Accident
2 Men And A Truck?

Nah, 4 bars and a drum

Premeditated Accident spins up to a peppy hum and begins strafing on it's way to VTEC. VTEC starts to push ahead looking for that sweet spot in between those two forks. PA continues to strafe looking for the opposite of that: the perfect angle to slam the drum into. And it looks like the drum wins the first exchange, knocking VTEC backwards and pushing it a bit until it is able to drive off and get into a better position.

Another bump between bots causes a bit of grinding from the drum, but this time the drum skips a bit over and leaves VTEC in the prime position to send it flying. Wheeeee! Bonk...PA is flipped and tries to self right using the reversed drum to hit a wall. It does end up self righting, but mainly because it was bumped by VTEC, who tries each time to push PA into an OOTA zone, but it's just able to slip away from those steeper wedges. There's a bit more juggling coming from the drum as it almost knocks VTEC completely over, but the fired flipper keeps it upright.

We're close to the end and so far it's been just about dead even. A lot of PA flying through the air while VTEC is knocked backwards, sometimes into the hazards. There's a lot of moving back and forth in this fight for VTEC as PA continues to drive sideways to slam the door on VTEC getting under the drum. The match ends with both still mobile and the judges have their work cut out for them. In fact, they're heading into the arena to look for any knicks and scratches on either bot.

Aggression: 3-2 VTEC
Damage: 3-2 Premeditated Accident
Control: 3-2 VTEC

V-TEC takes it with a 8-7 decision

Imperator vs Paper-Mache Artillery & Wheely Big Mistake
So Noah wants to use Wheely Big Mistake as bait so Paper-Mache Artillery can come in from the side and bully around Imperator. Winter wants to attack Wheely Big Mistake as a bait so she can pivot around and attack Paper-Mache Artillery instead. So basically what this comes down to is, "does Imperator have the drive train and ground game to not only turn fast enough to hit PMA head-on, but also win that exchange?" Now the answer to that is a resounding no. Imperator does get to execute on the first half of its strategy, hitting WBM into the air, but then Winter tries to perform an incredibly complex maneuver in which she turns to face the rapidly-approaching PMA while also trying to back off, apparently attempting to matador an opponent with 2 more speed and perfect control. This doesn't succeed and so PMA begins bullying Imperator around the box. Noah uses up his pin timer and goes to hide PMA behind WBM, but notices that Winter seems intent on attacking the faster half, so he just shrugs and goes on the full offensive. So ensues a very long three minutes where PMA gets under Imperator's wedge consistently and gives it an all-expenses-paid tour of all four of the arena walls, then finishes the evening with an all-you-can-eat screw buffet.

Aggression: 3-2 PMA/WBM
Damage: 5-0 PMA/WBM (slams don't count for much but Imperator literally never touched either robot with its weapon)
Control: 5-0 PMA/WBM

Paper-Mache Artillery & Wheely Big Mistake win a 13-2 judge's decision.

Listen Here, Grandad, this is America. Everyone Here Eats Ass vs Valravn MKII
Grandad uses its speed at the start to get a solid string of punches and shoves in before Danielle really has a chance to respond. She finally finds an opening when Grandad's bad traction comes into play but Sio recovers before Valravn can get into position. Danielle tries going head-on, and Sio is happy to oblige since she's looking to experiment, extending the puncher to give herself a range advantage. Danielle isn't expecting this so it works perfectly, beaching Valravn on a that long central fork and giving Sio a fantastic opportunity to do whatever she wants. This results in another lenghthy period of control for the puncher bot where Valravn is essentially smothered by Grandad's better drive train. Danielle is finally able to wiggle free and stick one good charge late in the fight, with the match ending while Grandad is pinned up against the screws. Will that be enough to convince the judges?

Aggression: 3-2 Valravn MKII
Damage: 3-2 Listen Here Grandad
Control: 4-1 Listen Here Grandad

Listen Here, Grandad, this is America. Everyone Here Eats Ass wins a 9-6 judge's decision.

[Badnik96]

WEEK 4
======Division A======
Slipstream vs Super-Modified

Annoying Vert Rush vs discord

Dystopian Avenger vs Carnifex

Aphelion vs Xcessive pneumatiX

======Division B======
Premeditated Accident vs Paper-Mache Artillery & Wheely Big Mistake

Mortuary vs Valravn MKII

V-TEC vs No Tomorrow

Listen Here Grandad. This is America. Everyone Here Eats Ass vs Imperator

[Badnik96]

WEEK 5
======Division A======
Xcessive pneumatiX vs Slipstream

Aphelion vs discord

Super-Modified vs Carnifex

Annoying Vert Rush vs Dystopian Avenger

======Division B======
Imperator vs Mortuary

No Tomorrow vs Premeditated Accident

Paper-Mache Artillery & Wheely Big Mistake vs Listen Here Grandad. This is America. Everyone Here Eats Ass

V-TEC vs Valravn MKII