User blog:Combatwombat555/Series 10 Predictions

Who needs an original blog idea when you can jump on a bandwagon? I'm very tired and this'll probably be quite incoherent, but oh well, let's do this.

Heat 1
Unfortunate, because I like that the ol' Splinter tactics have made a comeback. On paper, it's solid tactics; I remember one of the first designs on Arenas of Destruction that we tried was very similar, with a grabber and overhead weapon, but even on a game where robot armour seemed to be made from crisps it just wasn't very effective. Unless the overhead axe has some decent force behind it, and I mean Thor levels of power, it'll struggle to get knockouts. So Apocalypse has to resort to the grabbers, parading around the arena to pits and CPZs, but it's got a dreadful set of opponents to do that to. Only Donald Thump seems remotely susceptible, and I can see Donald getting side on and dealing damage more often than Apocalypse can grab.
 * 6 - Apocalypse Apocalypse.png

Again, absolutely love this design. The four part clusterbot is something I've never seen before- well, apart from the five-part that came before this, but that wasn't exactly effective against Son of Whyachi- and the ability to mob opponents is very appealing. However, I just don't see it coping well against the more explosive weapons of the heat. Apocalypse can't finish opponents off quickly, so The Swarm should, if it came up against it, have a field day, but the bigger spinners and flippers of the heat should polish off individual clusterbots with relative ease.
 * 5 - The Swarm The-swarm.png

Whaaaaaat, Sabretooth next?! Yep. Honestly, if it was the last series model it'd be 6th- despite an impressive scalp in Terrorhurtz last season, that was largely iffy driving than any great ability on Sabretooth's part. The industrial design was great, but whilst this version does have a more simplistic design it looks chunkier and more difficult to deal with. It's the purchase of the drum that I worry about- it ground away at TMHWK well enough, but against better armoured or awkwardly shaped machines, it could struggle. It's a tier up from The Swarm and Apocalypse in my mind, but it can't really compete with Apollo and Behemoth unless there are more driving errors. It's a toss-up between it and Donald for me...
 * 4 - Sabretooth Sabretooth.png

...And Donald just takes it for me between the pair. I love that a robot that's a pure mickey-take has got on the show, especially one that actually looks competent. That bar could land hefty blows; CrashBash labelled it 'BattleBots-esque', and honestly I agree. In fact, it's a BattleBots fight that's put Donald above Sabretooth: no one really expected Bombshell to beat Minotaur, but blows from a large vertical blade won it, and I think Donald could do the same. Any greater scalps in the heat would be a YUGE upset, but given the achievements of a certain other Donald would you bet against it?
 * 3 - Donald Thump Donald_Thump_official.png

The rest of the list is rather more straightforward. Behemoth is a cut above most machines in this heat, and should- repeat, SHOULD- make the heat final. I don't trust Apocalypse's self-righting, The Swarm should be tossed around, and Sabretooth and Donald Thump can be dealt with providing Behemoth keeps the bucket facing them. Given past reliability issues or errors of judgement, it's not a foregone conclusion, but I'll give the benefit of the doubt. Apollo is a different challenge. Behemoth just doesn't have the explosive power of its rival.
 * 2 - Behemoth Behemoth_official.png

Apollo this year looks like it'll be tough to beat, certainly in this heat. It looks meaner, and the rebuild should hopefully mean any reliability gremlins or massive spinner issues are a thing of the past. Last series, it really suffered from having to face Carbide, and, let's be honest, anyone would struggle after that. With no major spinners to worry about here, we should see fireworks. I'm hoping one of The Swarm goes right over the plexiglass barrier...
 * 3 - Apollo Apollo_S10.png