User blog:NJGW/Series 10, Grand Final - Predictions

10th. Expulsion
A campaign to treasure for the school team, even if it wasn't exactly full of finesse, or damage... or anything in the arena, really. Nevertheless, Expulsion and the next robot on this list are by far the two weak links, and I'll back Expulsion to drop out first. Its shape is easy enough to topple with just a solid drive, as we know, and in a Rumble environment, it won't have enough space to do anything. It'll probably be bundled over in the opening seconds.

9th. Track-tion
Despite coming in at 9th, this may be the battle Track-tion lasts the longest in. I can't imagine either spinner will bother attacking it until deemed necessary, so it should be able to trundle around for a little while until a roaming Terrorhurtz or Thor slams it into submission.

8th. Iron-Awe 6
Whether the flipper works or not, Iron-Awe 6 is in trouble. It's a nice, chunky shape for a drum to smash over; it's a nice, chunky shape for a flipper to launch high; and its one of the more recklessly driven. I expect the remaining 8 machines to last a decent amount of time, but Iron-Awe 6 will be the first of them to fall.

7th. Thor
The two axe bots will fill up the next two slots in this thread, with the more leaky and reckless Thor my pick for 7th. Jason will start explosively, but even at its best, Thor finds itself in trouble with careless driving errors against better machines. The same will prove true here, and Thor will probably be left to dry after exerting itself in the opening period.

6th. Terrorhurtz
I struggle to see how Terrorhurtz will assert itself against this group of robots. The moment Terrorhurtz gets involved in a mini-cluster of robots, it'll probably find itself in trouble. Expect Terrorhurtz to play around with a weak-link like Track-tion early on, before getting itself in danger with one of the big hitters.

5th. Sabretooth
Sabretooth was mightily disappointing in its Heat, but with promise of the drum functioning now, I see a valiant effort in this Rumble from Gabriel Stroud's machine. A couple of big hits as it zips around the arena and causes problems, before being OotAd by Apollo or Eruption, I'd say.

4th. Concussion
Concussion has genuine power to it this series, and with little threat for the tyres, it should be able to put in a strong display. Nevertheless, unless it takes out one or two of the big favourites for this Rumble early on, it'll get picked off by them when the arena starts to clear.

3rd. Big Nipper
Proving why it just had to be in Series 9, Big Nipper's latest campaign has been massively impressive. Now, a Rumble display can prove just how high quality a machine it is. I actually think it could be one of the very first fallers, with its inability to affect wide areas of the area, and its nice, box shape. However, if it survives the opening period, it should be able to grind its way deep into the battle, before being dominated by one of the big flippers in the closing stages.

2nd. Apollo
Again, like Big Nipper, Apollo is a machine I can see falling early - because it's going to absolutely be ganged up on. If it avoids taking terminal damage to one of its wheels, hopefully it'll be okay, but there should be too much attention on Apollo for it to pace itself to win the whole Rumble, especially against the king of pacing himself...

1st. Eruption
...Michael Oates. Yep, this may be a chaotic battle, but I have been and still am confident about Eruption's capabilities to win this. Its slippery enough to avoid being ganged up on, Michael Oates will pace himself as he always does - probably avoiding the bigger hitters, especially early on, before finishing off the fight by either outlasting Apollo for gas, or flipping Big Nipper around again. If it does win this Rumble, I predict big, big things for Eruption in the Grand Final itself.

6th. Nuts 2
Nuts 2's aim is to be competitive in the final, and as long as it does that, it'll be a positive campaign topped off. Even if it does go out in the Redemption Round, I'm still sure it can play a massive, massive roll in the Grand Final based on the rumoured Group Battle lineups.



5th. Carbide
There's massive potential for Carbide to face the three machines it'll struggle with most in this Grand Final, and I'll stick my neck out and say it's going to happen, with our champion will dropping out in the Redemption Round.

Now watch as I'm completely wrong, like I was when I predicted Apollo as the 5th favourite for the Series 8 Grand Final.



4th. Behemoth
Enough variety to be effective in most fights, Behemoth should be able to edge out one more impressive result before finally having its Series 10 campaign ended at the Semi-Final stage of the Grand Final. Finally a campaign of potential filled for Anthony Pritchard and co.



3rd. Rapid
Rapid is a work of art, and this series, a precise-milled one, too. Expect some competent driving as it fights through the Redemption Round, before finding things just a step too far in the Semi-Finals.

2nd and 1st. Eruption and Magnetar
I'm thinking it's going to be one of these two that take the title for Series 10, but I'm not sure how this would go in a one vs. one affair. Does Michael Oates instantly slip undnerneath Magnetar and manage an explosive, championship winning OotA? Does Magnetar's sharpness in tight areas allow it to come in with quick barrages and finish off Eruption in ruthless fashion? I don't know, and I'll probably wait a few more days before deciding, but this Grand Final episode as a whole has the potential to be the best one ever. A variety of machines, and high quality ones at that. All of them are competitive, and depending on the draw, any one machine could finish in the Top Four. Just under a week to go now, boys and girls - it should be a cracker!