User blog:CaliforniaKingsnake/CK'S Thoughts On The Series 9 Roster/Lineup

This is something I've been meaning to talk about for quite a while tbh, and now that all 5 heats are done and dusted I feel I can now fully talk about these lineups and how bad or good they are.

Episode 1

 * Impressive/Good-looking Robots: 3.5/8 (Sabretooth was mildly impressive, while Aftershock, Rapid and Terrorhurtz were the big hitters)
 * Jokebots: 4/8
 * "Rivalry" set up: Nuts & Jellyfish
 * Was Aftershock a deserved winner? Maybe

This roster was admittedly a mess. Crank-E, TMHWK, Jellyfish, Nuts 2, even Sabretooth to some extent were all in this one episode just to be destroyed by the 3 big hitters: Rapid, Terrorhurtz and Aftershock. As such, you don't get the feeling that the episode winner truly deserved to win because the opponents they had were mostly lacklustre. However the head-to-heads actually did show Aftershock deserved it. All 3 of its opponents were big hitters, and seeing Aftershock destroy them all did show off its strength. But if I'm honest, there did need to be less joke robots. Throw Push to Exit or even Behemoth so that there is indeed a rivalry (Behemoth's win over Terrohurtz last series which also prevented Terrorhurtz from going through.). Nuts and Jellyfish aren't as rivals as PP3D and Coyote or Foxic and Apex.

Episode 2

 * Impressive/Good-looking Robots: 5/8 (Cherub and Draven were both mildly good-looking and as such got a half point each, making it 5. The big 4 were Behemoth, Eruption, PP3D and Push to Exit)
 * Jokebots: 1.5/8 (Hobgoblin at least looked cool, Cobra was a bit of a joke tbh)
 * "Rivalry" set up: Eruption & PP3D
 * Was Eruption a deserved winner? Absolutely

This is a direct opposite of Episode 1 in that there were only 2 robots you knew were going out in Round 1 no doubt: Hobgoblin and Cobra. The other 2 were too difficult to work out. And if you had told me that Cherub, with exposed wheels and a weapon design to entertain not fight, would go through over Push to Exit, I wouldn't have believed it. Yet somehow throughout the episode Cherub surprised us all. This was a heat of death, and admittedly I wish Draven was in an episode where it could win at least one fight, but then again the roster was ruthless. PP3D was moved up into this episode, and in all honesty, that really worked wonders as the rivalry was done quite poetically. It was a great lineup and one I really loved.

Episode 3

 * Impressive/Good-looking Robots: 3.5/8 (Tauron, Concussion and Thor were impressive, Foxic looked like it would be too)
 * Jokebots: 0.5/8 (Expulsion gets the half-point as it was more gimmicky than cool)
 * "Rivalries" set up: Chimera2 & M.R. Speed Squared, Foxic & M.R. Speed Squared, Foxic & Thor, Thor & M.R. Speed Squared
 * Was Concussion a deserved winner? Absolutely

I have no clue as to why 4 robots were put in the same episode together but it really annoys me to no end. What annoys me even more is that the 3 big hitters were put in the one melee leaving us doomed to face 2 of the less-impressive robots again. As for Concussion's win? How can anyone NOT watch that and be behind Concussion all the way through? It was truly marvellous what they managed to do, especially through all those huge repairs. It was marvellous and lovely. Again the problem with the roster is the melee lineup, as Tauron looked very impressive and could have done really well. Perhaps Tauron Mk 2 will do better...

Episode 4

 * Impressive/Good-looking Robots: 5/8 (Big hitters: Pulsar, Ironside3, Supernova, Apex and kinda Crushtacean)
 * Jokebots: 3/8 (I don't even need to explain this should I?)
 * "Rivalry" set up: Pulsar and Ironside3
 * Was Ironside3 a deserved winner? Not really

I'm just gonna say it, this lineup was the worst one of the series. I get that Heats of death are cool and all, but Episode 2 was the perfect one. This one was Spin City and what makes it even worse is the lineup. Sure producers, put 3 of your big spinners and your awesome crab-bot in one melee and give Supernova a free pass and leave us doomed to see Wyrm, Frostbite or HIGH-5 again. Honestly, swap Crushtacean and Apex with Frostbite and Wyrm, and the melees are far better. It feels like all 4 robots truly deserve to be in the Head-to-Heads and we get more awesome destruction. Also, the Pulsar v Ironside rivalry is so f'ing annoying. I get it, Pulsar won through a technicality. But that really doesn't make this rivalry good. It just seems like petty whining and nastiness from the producers.

Episode 5

 * Impressive/Good-Looking Robots: 2.5/8 (Do I even need to explain this? Coyote is the half-point btw)
 * Jokebots: 4/8 (Crackers 'n' Smash is in neither category, while the others are cannon fodder)
 * "Rivalry" set up: Carbide & Apollo
 * Was Carbide a deserved winner? Yes

How fitting that Episode 5 does what Episode 1 did: put a load of jokebots to ensure only a certain set of robots would be the heat final. But even so, why the heck are the champion and runner-up in the same heat? Whichever one doesn't win is going to get the wildcard anyway so what's the point? Even so, this was a great heat as the lineup allowed the 4 most impressive robots to go through with no set-up melees. Carbide did truly deserve the win and with great style did they win. The only downside I have with the episode if I'm honest is how Coyote wasn't as much of a dark horse.

And there we go, my thoughts on the lineup/roster of each heat. Let me know your thoughts in the comments