[ahaltom]

First, thanks for the shout out for qualification match 79 in Midland. As I am the drive team coach it was awesome to experience this match on the field.

After competing in 2 events, it seems the ideal alliance would be:

1. Consistent high goal shooter capable of 4+ boulders per match.
2. A robot that can pump many boulders in the low or high goal to guarantee a capture.
3. DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE.

The winning alliance at Midland is a prime example of the combination.

1. 3538 - RoboJackets. Consistent high goal shooter.
2. 2619 - The Charge. Put many boulders into the low goal consistently.
3. 5222 - Jackbotics. Completely shut us down when we faced this alliance and shut down any other robot that was a high goal threat. Our alliance had no defense threat, so 3538 and 2619 were able to score boulder after boulder.

A defense breaching specialist may be nice to have as well, but from the two events we have been to, it seems like the breach just occurs naturally if you have capable robots. Also, if you are capable of scaling you will be picked no matter what rank you are after qualification matches (Example: 5166 at Midland).

Thanks for writing this analysis. I hope to see one for the MSC event!