[pmangels17]

From watching the webcasts, I'd argue that the most important thing for a 3rd or 4th robot is having a competent, capable drive team, and performing reliably and consistently. Any robot/team that is picked in the later rounds will probably have to adapt their usual game plan to fit their alliance (as will every robot). A skilled drive team will be able to quickly learn the alliance's strategy, consistently execute that strategy, and change it on the fly, mid-match, when something inevitably doesn't go according to plan. The converse of this is also true. This is no different than any other year in this regard, and though having extraordinarily capable robots is a wonderful thing, the only way to get the most from your machine is to have skillful students at the helm that, along with a smart coach, can work with any alliance to achieve success on the field. The high seeding teams (almost always, and especially at championships), will already have this trait in their drive teams, but selecting teams that also have fantastic drivers is critical to any alliance's success.