[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by Radical Pi

I'm surprised nobody has come up with a (kinda obvious) solution: push them

As far as I know, tower protection doesn't start until finale. A robot with a high-traction drive system (such as treads) and is short enough to fit under the tower could play in the far zone and try to just push 469 away from the tower. I don't know too much about their drive system, but if you can get enough force on them then they could be pushed out of the tower, forcing them to lower the return system (if they can). The inital release would probably be considered forced by another robot, but if they don't pull it back down there could be a G30 penalty on them. Also, the pure fact that their return is no longer working would mean balls would roll back into midfield, where another cleanup bot could kick them to the near zone, taking balls out of the 469 loop

Highly dependent on how firmly they are in the tower and if you can find a robot that fits under the tower and could push them (639 might have a chance, but we will never see them at competition)

It's been established that 469 dramatically increases their normal force by reacting against the top of the tunnel. Pushing them isn't very easy or possible.