Last year and the year before we went with WS2811 strips driven by a Teensy 3. I worked with the kids and came up with a custom PCB to drive 8 independent strips, you can find that here:
http://www.hackcasual.io/blingboard/
If you go with WS2811 strips, please don't forget to add the filter caps to the power inputs. It will save you much heartache.
This year we've ditched the WS2811 strips for something a bit more... more. I'm just happy to have a reason to put one of our Beaglebones on the robot. We'll be open sourcing the PCB, designs, and software for this years bling after our first competition, PNW Wilsonville DE6.