User blog comment:RA2/Robot Wars Rankdown: Series 4/@comment-27162079-20180601014221

18. Crusader 2 - It's come a long way, and is a very good machine, but Crusader 2 won't push any further in my list. The paper armour hinders it big time. If it won in Round 2, I could see logic behind a higher placing - heck, it probably would've been a Semi-Finalist - but Mortis is the exact machine it's set up to beat, yet it still didn't beat it, so I can't give it any extra credit.

17. S.M.I.D.S.Y. - Much improved from Series 3, S.M.I.D.S.Y. started its run of consistency in Series 4. A decent effort against Panic Attack in the Heat Final gives it some credibility, as does the melee, but more than 'credibility' is needed at this stage.

16. Killerhurtz - The Annihilator display was a good one. It proved Killerhurtz could genuinely be a durable machine, and the fact it was ganged up on showed how much the other machines respected it in that tournament. Still, the way it was dominated by Splinter is too big of a blotch when we get to the elite part of this Rankdown.

15. Spikasaurus - A Round 1 loss in the main competition shouldn't do too much to hurt Spikasaurus. Not only was it unfortunate to go out in a fight with a Grand Finalist and Heat Finalist, but it also then went on to win the Annihilator. Was it fortunate in the final? Absolutely. But up until that moment of luck it was aggressive, and got stuck in on many high quality robots.

14. Thermidor 2 - Hmm, I think this is harsh, but I also don't think I can put it any higher. Thermidor 2 evolved massively for its second series, but aside from the dominant spell against Pussycat, it honestly fell quite flat. It was largely dominated by Kronic the Wedgehog twice, and then it flipped a machine that immediately lost drive in Dreadnaut. The Pussycat spell gives Thermidor 2 points, but ultimately the following machines have also proven themselves against top machines - and beaten some.

13. X-Terminator 2 - X-Terminator 2 is a very good machine. It has the aggression and pace of the Series 3 machine, but also improves in the weapon department for Series 4, because it has interchangeable weaponry. A win against Behemoth, a strong early burst against Wild Thing, and a back-and-forth tussle with Bigger Brother are all good points for X-Terminator 2. Why doesn't it push higher? Well, it kinda needed to beat Wild Thing to make that extra statement. The other two fights against top-tier machines were also very even, rather than X-Terminator 2 completely dominating.

12. Bigger Brother - It's easy to just think about the Bulldog Breed 2 fight with Bigger Brother in Series 4, because it felt like it barely had a fight. In reality, it dominated Firestorm 2, and also had a great tussle with X-Terminator. The leak against Bulldog Breed 2 is easily redeemed, and Bigger Brother is still a good machine in Series 4.

11. Mortis - Hmm, I was actually close to cutting Mortis as my final disposing of a machine, but I've ended up with it here. Mortis had a collection of good wins in Series 4, and it ultimately won a trophy. I think I have to give it the benefit and credit.

10. Tornado - This was Tornado's debut series, and boy was it impressive. This was a more raw Tornado, but one with explosive bursts, too. Andrew Marchant proved himself as an elite driver immediately with his Gemini and Wheely Big Cheese victories, and he seemed to give Chaos 2 plenty of problems as well, considering that fight was played out three times. I'd love to give Tornado even more credit, but ultimately its motors were very faulty: it had to borrow some in the end, and I just can't push a machine higher within the top 10 when there's issues with the fundamentals. Still, for a machine to burst on the scene like this was quite amazing.

9. Firestorm 2 - People are harsh on Firestorm 2, but there's only so high this machine can be in the Rankdown. It's more the loss to Bigger Brother and the mystifying breakdown in the Tag Team fights that hinder it, although yes: the dodgy moments in its Heat do need to be taken into account, too. Nevertheless, Firestorm 2 still beat Dominator 2 - which is a very, very good machine, and a big plus point for Firestorm 2 as a result.

8. Wild Thing - Thing 2 is good, but I think people underestimate how much better Wild Thing is than the Series 3 machine. Gone is that weird, rear spike, gone is the constant wheelying, and in comes a precise machine with a viable lifting arm. Forcing Hypno-Disc all the way is great, and I would've loved Wild Thing to have appeared in an end-of-series Annihilator, too.

7. Panic Attack - Panic Attack was great in Series 4, and it was when the machine finally hit its peak philosophical approach. Some stylish pittings and arena-wall stacking helps Panic Attack out big time, but ultimately, the best machine it beat was still only Spawn of Scutter. Even though I believe it probably should've beat both Stinger and Mortis, it didn't, and that halts Panic Attack's advances.

6. Stinger - I feel bad for placing Stinger here quite honestly. It had an iconic run through the tournament, and honestly should've beat Chaos 2. If that was where Stinger left its Series 4 involvement, I would have no problems with placing it higher. But, eh - that Annihilator. It hinders it so much. It literally did nothing in Round 1, and then lost drive to a decent drive. It doesn't ruin Stinger's Series 4 campaign, of course not - but it's still too much of a worry.

5. Razer - I'd honestly say any of the remaining machines could be number 1. Razer starts off these five. Like in Series 3, it fell in the Heats, but won a competition within the same series. Here, it won the Annihilator and was pressured big time in the early Rounds. Still, a lost to Pussycat and an ultimately weaker Annihilator in general means that Razer can't repeat its number 1 showing from Series 3 in my Final Rankdown.

4. Chaos 2 - This feels wrong, and maybe just deliberately contrarian, but I think I'm happy to stick by it. Chaos 2 won the title again in Series 4. George Francis proved his machine was truly at the top tier, but boy, did he need to work for it. Chaos 2 found itself in trouble against Steg 2, Tornado, Pussycat, and notably against Stinger. These are hard enough blows to take, but Chaos 2 also lost in Round 1 of the Annihilator - and for a large portion of the fight wasn't even ganged up against. One more points of consideration is that Dominator 2 easily beat Chaos 2 in a live-event fight with both machines in their Series 4 incarnations. Sorry, George, but it's fourth place, my man.

3. Dominator 2 - Dominator 2 is another great machine to burst onto the scene in Series 4. There's mostly only plus points for it: a dominant Heat victory, a great Annihilator run, and beating Firestorm 2 included. I do think it wrongly got the victory against Firestorm 2 based on the edit, but Dominator 2 still beat Chaos 2 on the live scene. It's a very strong machine.

2. Pussycat - It beat Razer, it beat Hypno-Disc, and it gave Chaos 2 a lick here and there. I think Pussycat should probably be my number 1, and I understand if lots of other people do exactly that. However, I'll say the machine it beat in the Grand Final eliminator is better than it.

1. Hypno-Disc - yeah, this was Hypno-Disc's year. It stepped up its destructive level significantly, added a srimech, and improved its fundamentals from Series 3 by a massive amount. It wrecked Predator, V-Max, Raizer Blade twice, and damaged Wild Thing significantly, too. I'd even say it wrecked Splinter, but that was beyond a wreckage.

Still, how does it outrank Pussycat? It lost to it.

Yeah, it did, but that was a very unique moment. Not to take anything away from David Gribble - in fact it's probably a compliment to say he carried out a unique moment - but a moment like that did feel like the only way to stop Hypno-Disc in Series 4. Also, there's also one further point to throw in: I think Hypno-Disc would've easily, easily beat Chaos 2.

Pussycat beat Hypno-Disc to get to Chaos 2, but it was still largely on the run against George Francis and that does hinder Pussycat. Hypno-Disc, however, I think would've immobilised Chaos 2, and wouldn't take awfully long to do exactly that either. I know it's only in theory, and I understand if people don't agree to the extent of also putting Hypno-Disc number 1, but I believe strongly enough that Hypno-Disc would do exactly that to Chaos 2, so I'll put Hypno-Disc at the very top as a result.