User blog:DasQBert/Top 10 Best New Robots For the 2017 Season

With the 2017 Season upon us soon, the lineup was revealed and I gotta say this looks like the strongest lineup yet! (Even if I'm salty that Gabriel, Big Nipper AND TR ARSING 2 aren't in it). With it comes new designs, ones that really caught my eye. Note this is solely off of aesthetic, nothing else. They may go all the way, suck, or be decent. All that matters is they LOOK good to me for this list, and keep in mind this list is totally subjective

Anyhow, on to the count!

Number 10
Jellyfish Coming in at #10 is perhaps the most talked about new robot on social media, the son of Nuts and Bot Ugly, Jellyfish! I'll be honest, Jellyfish is a goofy looking thing, certainly the goofiest on this list. But it has that Diotoir charm to it its father bot Nuts also has. Sure it's not the cleanest or most effective looking thing, but dammit if it isn't memorable and captivating to watch.

Number 9
Foxic Craig Danby returns with a much more... I'll say depth filled Foxic. The robot went full on with the fox look, showing some impressive metal craftsmanship while keeping the arm in tact. If Craig has the drive fixed, and shows some torque behind this thing I'll say this little tank will fare pretty well! Certainly the best thing to come from a Sonic ripoff (well... at least the least sad thing to come from a Sonic ripoff).

Number 8
Tauron You know what robot that should have been great that never was? The Alien. And here Tauron has taken that idea and given it a modern twist. Nevermind this thing is a beast size, and it's a gorgeous machine but also has a unique pivot system to make sure the axe is spinning at all times. Tauron is a machine you see once and you don't forget, especially if it's as deadly as it looks

Number 7
Hobgoblin A first for Robot Wars, the eggbeater drum! A staple of some smaller class robots on the live circuit, this weapon combines the spinning bar and drum into one. Now of course this design may not translate well to heavyweights, and yes the robot has no srimech but honestly, I still love the design. Just something about the colors and the overall shape looks fantastic to me. It's almost sort of Witch Doctor or Hypershock esque in design, which is a massive plus in my book.

Number 6
Aftershock I'll admit, I did a little "opening the presents" early on Aftershock. There was a Reddit thread showing competitors before announcement and I saw Aftershock. I was blown away, never have I seen such a drastic change from a former grand finalist between seasons... ever honestly. Shockwave was a solid machine, but Aftershock is basically 259 but bigger and better and I LOVE IT. Is Will taking a huge gamble? Probably. But dammit I want this to pay off and pay off well.

Number 5
Sabretooth

Gabe Stroud is a gorgeous man, he makes gorgeous bots. And this year is no exception. Gabe seemed to go "right, what would happen if we took 720, a Riobotz machine, and our flair and put it into one?" You get this! Sabretooth is probably the Beta of Robot Wars, always having  terrible luck despite massive improvements. Will this be their year? Hopefully! That drum looks potent, it's a nice compact little machine that if he can make it past the melee he's already won because that's at least three more fights guaranteed.

Number 4
Coyote This is the "Mad Max" of new machines, a rusty art piece that looks phenomenal. Taking elements of Dead Metal, Matilda, and Growler and putting an oxidized coat and you get Coyote! Will the chainsaw tail do much? Probably not. But it looks super cool. Shame this beautiful thing is in  with Apollo and Carbide, but hopefully it will take advantage of some of the more (probably) lackluster competition to get three extra fights in. Jamie McHarg shows how to make an animal themed robot and make it menacing

Number 3
Concussion The absence of Razer is one that is right, but nevertheless a sad one. However, that does not mean the spirit doesn't live on, and what a machine that carries the spirit! With assistance from Simon Scott and (if ITB is to be believed) Ian Lewis comes this machine! Sure the armor is somewhat weak and this team has no prior experience but the fact it looks so clean and.. actually potent is impressive! If it works even a fraction as good as it looks they will set the standard for future rookie teams.

Number 2
Apex Apex is ridiculous. Danby and Co said "how can we make machines like IceWave and Brutality look piddly?" How about 36 kilos spinning at 1750 RPM? (Yes I know that's not as much as Carbide, but I feel like Apex is less for cutting and more for smacking a robot against the wall and  liquidating the insides). This thing couldn't be tested in the test box, it had to be tested in the main arena. Everyone is expecting this machine to split an atom basically, and something about that makes it sound amazing! Also months of dominating robots in RA2 with Apex helped.

Number 1
Cobra There's something about Dutch machines that are super fantastic. Tough as Nails, Scraptosaur, Impact, Gravity and many others that stand out for being eye catching as well as powerful. Enter Cobra, the Dutch hopeful for the series which takes a popular machine, Brutus, and add a jaw. Now I'll admit, I don't think box robots are boring. I think slow box robots are boring. I think ramming a machine against the wall at high speed is super fun. Cobra takes this idea and amp it up, creating a fast machine with a big bite and a captivating look. Will it win? Probably not, but in a series absent of King B, Tornado, and Storm it's good to see a machine that relies on fast torque and lots of weight to smash opponents into submission