Looking Back at Columbus…
Looking at the gameplay, we saw that breaching reigned supreme, so much so that the captain of the winning alliance was only capable of breaching. Now, that isn’t to imply that breaching was hard; nearly every match had a breach. However, the teams that could breach consistently found success.
Looking at the event, we were disappointed to see the issues that plagued teams throughout the weekend. Whether it was the lack of a practice field, carpet being laid over turf, or the persistent communication drops, Columbus was a roller coaster for nearly everyone. Now, for those that may try to downplay these issues, consider that many qualifications matches had robots that were unable to move or robots that died. Add that to the fact that nearly every eliminations match featured a dead or debilitated machine, and you’re not just looking at minor issues, you’re looking at serious problems.
Looking Forward…
Looking past Columbus, Albany and Dalton present some interesting challenges and gameplay prospects.
The first note is that it’s only been a handful of days since Columbus. Teams that are competing for the first time will be getting up to speed while the teams that competed in Columbus will have very little time to make improvements. As such, we don’t imagine that the game play will take any huge steps forward.
With that being said, we are confident that this will be the weekend that the Peacthree District sees its first set of captures. This past weekend, high goal shooters quickly realized that the high goal wasn’t worth it, yet. As more and more shooters begin to focus their efforts on the low goals, we’re going to see more and more towers come down.
Dalton
2974 - Fresh off their finalist finish at Columbus, Walton is back at it in Dalton, and they’re going to hit the ground running. In week 2, Walton featured a robot that was stellar at breaching and could make the occasional high goal shot. In a shallow field full of untested robots, we predict that Walton will quickly rise to the #1 seed and walk away with, at least, another finalist finish.
1771 - A couple of years ago, we saw a regional powerhouse split in two. While 4509 and 1771 continued, neither one was fully able to capture the power that 1771 once brought to the field. However, this season, 1771 is whole again, and they’re featuring an arm design that only the 1771-of-old can pull off. Historically speaking, 1771 has a rough go of things at the beginning, but once they settle down, they’re borderline unstoppable. We predict that 1771 will have a rough start as they try and meld their strategy with one that’s effective. However, by the time eliminations rolls around, we expect 1771 to be one of the best robots at Dalton.
1311 - Back in the day, you could hardly turn your head without 1311 walking away with Chairmans or featuring an impressive, brute-ish machine. However, 1311 has been woefully missing from the GA competitive and awards scene, but all that is about to change. Featuring a “monstrous” drivetrain and a hanger, 1311 could redefine what it means to be a breacher in our district. As most teams do, we expect 1311 will struggle early in the event, but the key to their success, and a potentially strong alliance partner in eliminations, will be their ability to bolster their score with a fast, consistent hang.
5004 - 5004 really surprised us at Columbus with their rhino track drivetrain and consistent breaching; both of which played a critical role in their success as the 5th seed alliance captain. At Columbus, they were handed a quick quarterfinals exit by the district champions, but Dalton could be a different story. At an event that features very little depth and many new teams, we expect that 5004 will be sitting comfortably in the top 8 and may even find themselves as another alliance captain.
Albany
1002 - Last year, 1002 did really well at Perry, and that was primarily because of how effective they were at the core game mechanics. This year, 1002 has a nice looking shooter, but they don’t offer much in the way of intake or breaching abilities. With that being said, 1002 is a veteran team that’s picked up a few new resources and mentors, and their success is going to rely entirely on their ability to better align their robot and their strategy with the core game mechanics.
1261 - Following Columbus, the Robolions are taking another trip down south. In Week 2, 1261 proved to be a dominant breacher, to the point that we would say they were the 2nd best breaching robot at the event. However, breaching is only one dimension of the game, and 1261 seemed to struggle when it came to actually handling boulders. We expect that as a solid breacher, 1261 will be an extremely dominant force during the qualification rounds. However, their success in eliminations will depend on how much they improve handling boulders and partnering up with someone who can help them gain captures.
1648 - 1648 is coming off a particularly painful loss in Columbus. Despite the fact that they were heavily impacted by the turf and communication issues, 1648 was still the best low-goaler at the event. Ultimately, no matter how bad 1648 wants the win, their success this weekend is going to rely on consistency. If they can keep their robot functional and active, they’re going to make another serious run in Albany.
4188 - 4188 is coming hot off their victory in Columbus. As the only scoring robot on their alliance, they played a crucial part in helping lead the #4 seed to success. However in Albany, 4188’s breaching abilities are going to be put to the test. 4188 will need a strong partner to help them breach and capture towers in eliminations, and the only way to guarantee that, is to breach during qualifications and secure the #1 seed.
