User blog:RA2/Robot Wars Rankdown: Extreme 1 & Series 5

Welcome to the Extreme 1 & Series 5 rankdown. Since there's so much overlap, we're doing the two serieses together. We're looking for a total of 9 people, that's myself and 8 others. For 12 hours (I used to give 24, but it didn't seem to matter) following the timestamp of this post, entry is restricted to people that did not take part in Series 4. After that, anyone can join. If you would like to play, indicate so in the comments, with a number if you have a preference- it's ok if you don't, I'll give you a random or whatever's left over. I'm taking Slot 1 for myself so that I can demonstrate for everyone.

Format
Previously we were using the “Follow the Leader” format, this time, we’ll be using the “Pick-n-Mix” format. In this game, rather than one player nominating a pool and the rest cutting from it, players will instead fill the pool one by one.

In round 1, you may cut any robot in the entire population. You will then nominate one other robot, whom you believe should get cut ASAP, to go into the pool. You can’t cut or nom a robot that’s already been cut or nommed. In round 2 and beyond, players will cut a robot in the pool, then add another. Here’s an example of the flow. The example has 5 players, our game will have more:

Round 1:
 * Player 1: Cuts any one robot and explains why, nominates one other robot for the pool (no explanation needed for the nomination).
 * Player 2: Same, with any robots not cut or nominated yet
 * Player 3: Same, with any robots not cut or nominated yet
 * Player 4: Same, with any robots not cut or nominated yet
 * Player 5: Same, with any robots not cut or nominated yet. Lists out all the nominated robots for the benefit of the next player (note: Player order does not rotate, if you're player 5, you will always be player 5.  All players have equal levels of involvement, so don't worry about that.)

Round 2 and beyond
 * Player 1: Cuts one of the 5 robots in the pool, and explains why. (Note: You may not cut your own nominees, unless your nominees comprise more than half the pool)  Nominates one other robot for the pool (no explanation needed).  Lists out all the nominated robots for the benefit of the next player.
 * Players 2-5: Same

This will continue for 13 rounds, unless 19 or more robots remain, in which case, a 14th round will commence. After that, players will rank the surviving robots, and the averages will determine final rankings.

I'll be pretty open about the criteria you use to make your cuts, just a few rule & guidelines:
 * Try to insulate it to the series in question - we're strictly ranking the Extreme 1 & Series 5 incarnations of robots
 * No discussing how it was received by the fandom - you can call a robot overrated or underrated, complain about fanboys, etc, as long as that is not your only reason for cutting
 * No troll-moves. Everyone's entitled to their opinions, but if I see a move that's clearly intended to get a rise out of people or an individual, you will be booted.  Slots are very limited, do not take one unless you plan on taking this seriously.
 * You can make backroom deals with other players, but keep in mind, there is no recourse if someone breaks the deal.
 * You must have watched & be familiar with all episodes of the series in question, even the obscure ones - it won't do to have a bad robot slip under the radar because people forget to nominate it. Since Extreme is part of this, you'll have to remember all the different appearances that each robot made.  The series is on YouTube if you need to refresh your memory, and I will post a spreadsheet in Google Docs, listing all robots in the game, and their status in the rankdown.
 * Please be punctual and check in often. The game only works if each person takes their turn in good order.
 * This will now be enforced, in order to keep the game moving. If a player does not take their turn within 36 hours of the last player, the player will receive a strike, and the turn may be taken by anyone not participating in the rankdown.  If a player gets 3 strikes, a replacement will be sought.  I'm sorry to have to do this, but it is not fair to the other players to keep them waiting an indeterminate amount of time.  If you don't have time to write out a summary, I'll accept just the robots names, and you can post the writeups later.  If comments are not working for whatever reason, you may use my Talk page.
 * Most importantly, have fun, and don't take it personally if a robot you like gets cut sooner than you want it to.

The Doom Dial
To make things more interesting, I’m introducing the Doom Dial, your choice of a special power. Each player may press the Doom Dial once to access one of the following effects:


 * Pit: Negate the most recent cut and remove the robot in question from the pool. The robot gets immunity for one full cycle (ie cannot be nominated until after the player you interrupted finishes his/her next turn).  It’s on you to play this in time to catch the robot you want, if it’s not the most recent, it can’t be Pitted.


 * Rogue House Robot: on your turn, you may cut a robot that’s not in the pool. You will not nominate on the round you use this. You may not cut any robot that has immunity.  This cut cannot be negated by the Pit.


 * Fog Of War: On your turn, instead of cutting/nominating, replace the entire pool with a new set. You may not pick any robot that has immunity.  In subsequent rounds, you can cut robots that you brought in with Fog of War.

The Doom Dial will be available in all rounds except the first and last. You are not obligated to use the Doom Dial. To reiterate, you each get one button press, NOT one of each power.

Included

 * All Heavyweight robots, including international entries, that had a fight shown in Extreme 1 or Series 5

Excluded

 * Any robot that was mentioned in the "Guide" but didn't actually show (eg Mortis).
 * Non-Heavyweights
 * TX-108 for not having a televised appearance

Spreadsheet
Here is the spreadsheet listing the 135 robots that took part in Extreme or Series 5: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rdc5AUOOX2lhLjT9Agf1Kftei5qSQS-iyCysfkJJKi4/edit#gid=0

Also, here is a list that CrashBash made, showing how many wins & losses each robot attained in Extreme - very handy! http://robotwars.wikia.com/wiki/User_blog:CrashBash/Extreme_1_Robot_Rankings

Signups
1) RA2

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