[Kims Robot]

1511 has been an alliance captain every year since its inception at at least one event. We have never really pre-discussed alliances with other potential partners, though that is often because we were seeded 5th or lower, and many of our top choices were likely to be gone before we selected.

Our selection process takes hours on Friday night, and then we watch every single match Sat morning adjusting the rankings, and sometimes even the last few matches change our list, so we don't discuss things ahead of time. We have occasionally sent "scouts" to the pits to ask questions if we saw an anomaly (ie robot was dead in their last match), but never actually mention our alliance selection order. We have also blacklisted teams for various reasons, often because they were difficult or impossible to work with during matches. Even if it is the best robot out there, if our teams won't gel, we aren't the optimal alliance. It has been getting easier as 1511 gets "older" but there is often a lot to be said for the chemistry of the alliance.

We have been picked and declined, and we have also been picked by teams who were on our no or low lists and had to accept, but we always try and make the best of the alliance we end up with. Yes it can be a bit disheartening to not be in your "dream" alliance if you know you were on the list of some good teams in the high seeds, but its a game, and I really believe that any alliance is beatable with 3 working robots and exactly the right strategy.

Ultimately I think the best alliance selection strategy is to put the work into it up front. Do your scouting, know your teams, have your driveteam record which partners it likes and doesnt like, and translate that into a good pick list.