Value & Credibility of 4th robots on an Alliance

[Ernst]

Originally Posted by Siri

General question: Regardless of how you view the contributions of Champs 4th robots when they lose matches or don't play, do you value Regional/District 4th robot contributions (who lose matches) more, less, or similarly?

Originally Posted by EricH

What about the 4th robot that comes in to replace a broken robot, and possibly helps get the alliance to Champs in the first place?

No pick has any inherent value. A 1st seed can be overranked from an easy schedule. Their 1st pick can be from bad strategy and not add value to their alliance.

I think that trying to put all 4th bots under any umbrella is a bad idea, whether it's the original post's stance that they aren't as good as their alliance partners, or the view that they are all super valuable, key contributors that deserve just as much recognition.

#NotAll4thBots deserved to be picked that late. Some give an alliance much more potential.
#NotAll4thBots add unique value to an alliance.
#NotAll4thBots do something that half of the unpicked teams couldn't do.
#NotAll4thBots just stand on the sidelines.
#NotAll4thBots are just backups.

Einstein had 8 different 4th bots. 4 didn't play in any matches. 2 played once and lost. 2 of them were super active and played in 5 matches. They all did something to get picked and then had extremely varied contributions to their alliances.

It's possible to have a nuanced view that isn't at an extreme.