CBC3 HW Quarter-Finals: Black Diamond (2) vs. Tabor Mk. 3: Somehow There's A Third One (7)

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Rocket
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CBC3 HW Quarter-Finals: Black Diamond (2) vs. Tabor Mk. 3: Somehow There's A Third One (7)

Post by Rocket » Sat May 25, 2019 5:45 pm

Black DiamondTabor Mk. 3: Somehow There's A Third One
Image
Speed: 8Speed: 6
Traction: 6Traction: 4
Torque: 2Torque: 3
Weapon: 5Weapon: 7 (5 turret / 5 lifter)
Armour: 9Armour: 10 (+2 lifter)
Config: Something involving either the presence or absence of teethConfig: Type 1 Meme-Sized Plough
Tabor's in the playoffs. TABOR. IS IN THE PLAYOFFS. THERE'LL BE DANCING IN THE STREETS AROUND TEAM WORST SWORDSMAN HQ TONIGHT, I TELLS YA-

Oh, what's that? It's facing a flipper?

Image

Black Diamond has its strengths - it's quick, it's wedgy, the flipper works - but so does Tabor, and the bots are more evenly matched than it might look. BD's faster, but 10 vs. 8 isn't that much, and we've both got the same control differential of 2. Tabor's got a much torquier drive, with three whole torques compared to two, and since this is going to be a bit of a shoving match then that's an edge I've got to make the most of. Tabor accelerates faster, self-rights better, and can angle in without sacrificing drive power or momentum thanks to the turret. She's at her best when counter-punching and that's the game I want to play. Let's do this.

Upon kickoff, accelerate towards BD, staying in close proximity to the Danger Zones but not entering them. Bait BD into an attack, then curve away slightly (away from the DZs) whilst turning the turret and counter-charge, getting underneath and dumping him into the hazards, turning him over if possible. Those hazards do exactly dick-all damage, but it's not about that - it's about disrupting BD's driving and forcing errors. I want to keep him in the DZs as much as possible, as that partially nullifies his speed advantage and therefore means that I can stay on the offensive, pressuring and baiting and capitalizing on opportunities.

Regardless of how many pointy bits Alex has taped to the front, I'm not going to take a head-on collision, at all, ever - thanks, turret! - and getting at the sides of his flipper is just as good as getting to the chassis since the weapon has an attached ram. Not only does that turn things into a toothed-vs-flat wedge war, it also means my bot can work better at pressing under the weapon, as the swept-back sides of BD's plough spread the bot's weight around more evenly rather than focusing it all on the fork tips. If and when I get under him, I don't need to lift a huge amount to turn him over, so I won't - just lifting a little and pushing forward will do, especially since he'll almost certainly be trying to J-hook off at the same time (therefore further unbalancing his machine). Remember, J-hooking means he's lost his momentum, while I've kept all mine, and BD is slower to accelerate than Tabor. Things like that make all the difference in a game of inches like this one.

Should BD manage to get under Tabor's scoop, which might happen, my self-righting is tricksy and curious. BD's got the speed to chain-flip, but not if I'm tumbling around in unpredictable directions thanks to my turret/lifter combo. It's fast and highly controlled, and that means I can easily recover and reset to start shoving him around again. I'll do my damnedest to stay away from the arena edge, though. That's just an OOTA waiting to happen, especially after the walls drop. Incidentally, that's the other benefit of keeping BD in the DZs. =]

Tabor would not be here without Alex's help at all stages of her many, many designs and reworks, offering constructive criticism and only the occasional meme. It only seems right that she's fighting one of his excellent bots in her first ever playoff bout.

Good luck, Alex, and have fun. =]
TEAM WORST SWORDSMAN
"The world's best swordsman doesn't fear the second-best; he fears the worst swordsman, because he can't predict what the idiot will do."

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Re: CBC3 HW Quarter-Finals: Black Diamond (2) vs. Tabor Mk. 3: Somehow There's A Third One (7)

Post by The Monsterworks » Sat May 25, 2019 11:59 pm

Okay, so while Tabor has that problematic plow on a turret that Cassie is definitely going to try to slip into my side/rear (!), and it's come a long way as a design, it still has a number of key weaknesses that I can exploit.

1) It has basically zippo ground clearance and no protruding wheels, making it easy to high center and resulting in it high-centering itself when it presses.

2) Its plow has very little depth, making it almost impossible to actually control or tip anything with. Meanwhile, I can easily back or hook off of it.

3) Its circular arc really doesn't look capable of clearing her chassis' corners, which means she'll have to raise it above that level breifly to sweep it around to her sides.

Cassie might play this out in the open or might turtle against the walls or the danger zones. Doesn't matter. If she does the latter, engage her from the opposite side if she does - the side that doesn't place my back to the threat.

Now, if she's looking to sweep that plow under my sides as I come in, I'll oblige by getting right within its range and hooking...into its side before she can sweep it into mine. I'm not interested in Tabor's chassis initially. She's high-centered herself if she presses. The sides of her plow are also not ground scraping. Get under it and flip.

Now, I may not have a turret, but I invested in 8 speed to the detriment of armour for a reason. Rush under and keep Tabor wedged. keep it wedged, push it, and wall slam it, giving it a tour of the micro IEDS. Try to Chain flips. Especially do so into the central IED and the arena's edge after the 2:00 mark. Tabor's probably goign to flop around to try to make that harder, though. That's hardly very fast, so adjust to its attempts to escape and keep going. If I can get it high-centered close to the 2:00 mark, then pin it against the wall between micro IEDs if possible and toss it out once the walls fall away.

Defensively, if wedged, back immediately away, reset, and come back in. If she's pressing, she can't drive and can't follow up without un-pressing, which gives me a 70-30 wedge advantage (toothed 2WD vs toothed hinged). If flipped, self right immediately but, if under pressure, drive away to prevent extended pressure and self right when I have a bit of a lead.

Overall, do the unexpected thing when it comes to her turret shenanigans. Exploit her weaknesses and employ my strengths. Bait and don't be baited. Press the advantage intelligently and use my better drivetrain to keep her between me and the hazards/OOTA so that I can use them against her.

GL, Cassie!
Mastodon... Extinction (HW)
Osiris... Armageddon! (MW)
Elrathia... ROBOTS (LW)
Magnolia Pico... Ruination 4 (MW)
RipTide... ROBOT2 (FW)
Black Diamond... Cherry Bomb Classic 3 (HW)
MADSCIENCE... ROBOTS 3 (LW)
Abyss... ROBOTS 3 (MW)


The Monsterworks: 214-57 (.790) ...Probably up to no good.
Cherry Bomb Classic IV: 25-4
Finishing Move: 6-2
Magnolia Pico: 6-1
Magnolia Grande: 6-1
Glacier III: 7-0
ROBOTS 3: 21-6
Sixpounder: 3-4
MADSCIENCE: 9-1 Champion!
Abyss: 9-1 Champion!

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