72: What a Machines

April 2, 2020

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Sam tries, in vain, to agree with Ryan.

~~Follow up~~ Front matter
- Sam has been streaming
  - Twitch
  - VODs - 1, 2
- Ryan has been guesting
  - ESC
  - The Big Bot Quiz
RTNCTI
- A reminder of the rules
- Ryan made a lot of notes, and is confident that none of said work will go to waste
- This episode's fixtures (no spoilers)
  - Witch Doctor vs Lucky vs Shockwave
  - Vanquish vs Black Ice vs Basilisk
  - Tombstone vs Crackers 'N' Smash vs Warhead
  - Creepy Crawlies vs Magnetar vs Double Dutch
- !!!!!!VERY MILD SPOILERS BELOW!!!!!!
  - Witch Doctor vs Lucky vs Shockwave
    - Witch Doctor
      - Pre-2019 Witch Doctor has a rocky record
      - Ryan's extremely thorough notes completely ignored the fact that Witch Doctor took part in the 2015 season
        
        If they had, the 2015/16 version would have had a record of 2-5 (or 2-3 if excluding exhibitions) for a total of 5-7 or 5-5 before 2019
    - Lucky
      - A disappointing record?
      - More configurations than we (or they) know what to do with
      - More suited to horizontals than verticals?
    - Shockwave
      - A very Robot Wars machine
      - More suited to horizontals than verticals?
    - Remembering the power of ganging up
  - Vanquish vs Black Ice vs Basilisk
    - Vanquish
      - Do we allow the lifter to work?
        
        Ryan has reviewed the fight footage and now lifter movement is visible
    - Black Ice
      - That win
      - Weird weapons, gaping ground clearance, not invertible
    - Basilisk
      - Not your typical flipper
      - Slowly removing their wins
      - Using cameras for an autonomous system
    - re: Vanquish vs Shrederator - its worth noting that the team were ill for a while between fights, limiting their repair time and contributing to their coming into that fight weapon-less
  - Tombstone vs Crackers 'N' Smash vs Warhead
    - Tombstone
      - Tombstone
    - Crackers 'N' Smash
      - Some have previously called them cowards. We do not condone this behaviour
      - Series 9 version with the front-hinge lifter
    - Warhead
      - Grabber or spinner?
      - Canonical setups and reasons for choosing either
    - Very few heavyweights with exposed wheels have actually won stuff...
  - Creepy Crawlies vs Magnetar vs Double Dutch
    - Creepy Crawlies
      - Sacrificed to the robot Gods
    - Magnetar
      - Pulsar, but it worked
        
        With the exception of self-righting, which we can forgive
        
        Could it have been invertible?
      - A E S T H E T I C
    - Double Dutch
      - Wonky wheeling
      - Decisions which make your robot work vs decisions which get you onto Battlebots
      - That advert
        
        The actual fight