[mathking]

The "best" strategy is one that takes into account your alliance's abilities and those of your opponents. If the other alliance has a really good stacking robot, the only way to win may be to keep them from stacking too much. And you have to be aware of what your robot can and can't do. If you are prone to tipping you have to play less aggressively.

In Pittsburgh, MOE (365) had a great stacking bot. Their drive train and driver were too good for them to get pushed around much, but it was possible with a good defensive robot to keep between them and the goals and keep them from scoring too much. The flip side here is that it took one robot doing nothing but defense to keep them from scoring too much. (They would still stack 3-4 tetras even in a bad match.)

There is a big risk of penalties, and it was not always obvious what would get a penalty and what wouldn't. But if the other team has better stackers than you do, defense may be necessary. More often than not, we saw at the regionals a 2 on offense - 1 on defense split. But sometimes that defense was protecting an alliance partner. If you have a fantastic stacker, it might pay off for two robots to concentrate on keeping that one robot safe. On the other hand if the other team isn't playing defense, there is no point in protecting an ally.

I guess the conclusion we came to is that there is no perfect strategy. You have to scout well before the match, plan with your partners ahead of time and coordinate during the match. More than most years, I think the role of the coach is key this year. You need to pay attention to who controls which goals and who has rows. It also helps to have a plan that keeps you from interfering with your teammates.