[Tetraman]

Teams are going to have a hard time climbing the Pyramid in sequential order.

*buzzer* Wrong. Never underestimate the power of teams. Unlike some feats like 2010's suspending off of a hanging robot or 2005 stacking of vision tetras, the Point total of climbing a pyramid is well within the necessity of going for it. While I'm guessing most teams will stop once they get to the second level, that extra 10 points comes with a direct route to the Pyramid Goal and well worth spending a season for.

Shooters are going to be inaccurate at best.

*buzzer* Wrong! Due to the fact there are no air currents in most all venues, a shooter that works is going to work. Also, I highly doubt that when play-testing this game, the GDC would be alright in having sub-par shooting all game long. They must have found that shooting into a middle or high goal is possible, easy, and effective. A winning alliance MUST have at least one effective shooter.

Shooters are going to make bank.

*buzzer* Wrong! Unlike last year, robots HAVE to pick up discs from their feeder station, which is on the opposite side of the field. Last year the balls could bounce their way across, but these discs will just fall (and fall directly into your opponent's side). Therefore, your robot will have to make the trip back and fourth. Consider the number of tubes scored by one team in Logomotion was about 5-6, and most of those tubes ended up mid-field and only if they had a clean hang. Teams that needed to go long distance for their tube only made about 4 trips at best. Taking 4 trips to the feeder station is probably the maximum as well, since it will take time to load and shoot (and don't forget the defense played in this game). A good shooter will make about 12-14 discs in a middle or high goal each game, which is between 24 and 36 points. Still not enough to beat a 50 point climb.

Picking up from the floor will be a winning strategy.

*buzzer* Wrong! Let's go over a few things. Other than the 10 that start on the floor, every other disc that will end up on the floor will be a missed shot. Unless you miss all four of your shots, picking up from the floor one or two pieces is not worth the time it takes as just going over to the opposite side of the field and picking up four fresh discs. At best, you make every shot - therefore unless your team mates are bad shots you'll have plenty to pick from, but even still the tempo lost in shooting 2 you picked up from your side of the field is less than shooting 4 you got from the feeder station. Don't get me wrong though: while I don't think it is a winning strategy, teams that can be 'street sweepers' and make better use of the discs on the ground can be winners.

This game is like Aim High or Rebound Rumble.

*buzzer* Wrong! This game is 2004 (FIRST frenzy) and 2007 (Rack n' Roll). In FIRST frenzy, many of the teams that were able to hang on the high bar could win the match just because they simply could hang on the high bar and their opponents couldn't. 50 Point climbs are going to be the same way. This isn't like balancing the bridge with 3 robots - this can take place every match that robot is in - therefore your opponents are playing to at least have to score more than 50 points or they lost the match. In Rack n.' Roll, defense and disruption was by far the most important element to winning a match. It is quite clear that of all the games to play defense, this is the most critical. However, playing defense is riskier than Rebound Rumble, as hitting a robot that is touching their Pyramid is NOT the same as hitting a robot that is touching their Key.

This game is going to be fun to watch.

*buzzer* Wrong! This game is going to be fun for veterans of FIRST to watch. It has been since 2007 that a defensive game was designed. Yea, 2010 had defense, but it was never important for every single match. This year the offense needs to be pin-point (and I am quite sure it will be), because playing defense is at the top of everyone's list. It will be a struggle for the first 1:15 of play, then 45 seconds of end-game awesome we haven't seen since Double Trouble.

The same teams that win each year are going to win this year.

*ding* Correct! as well as *buzzer* WRONG! This year nothing is for certain until week 6 is in the books. I feel that while the best teams show off they are the best teams, their partners are going to be quite different than the usual suspects. 1st seeds will fall to 2nd seeds easily, but no one else will really defeat the alliances better than them. Scouting systems are going to be tested to the ultimate extreme, and understanding the flow of the game will be the key to positioning one's robot for victory.