Taipan: 7/5/3/5/10 (+2 plow)
The drivetrain edge is mine. I'm both faster and better controlled. He has nil ability to smother, control me, or OOTA. I can launch him out from six feet away. His torque advantage isn't a huge practical concern either. If I'm ever pushing or getting pushed, I'm doing something very wrong. J-hook away immediately or fire my weapon to jar loose.
Even with corner damage, I only break even on his plow, so that's not the goal. His chassis armour of 8 means I can take out a wheel and do some breakthrough damage to his bottom plate. His reference pic boasts about his low profile, so warping along his bottom if I can chain him stands a good chance of hindering his mobility.
The central goal is to overwhelm him with things to worry about. Alex V likes to have all eventualities prepared for and covered and this'll drive him nuts. Going at him as a normal vert, I either win the wedge 50/50 and fling him or he gets under and I fire the flipping arm holding my weapon and catch his upper forks, still flipping him. Rush in as he self-rights and slam the arm back down onto him. Then, there's the threat of me reversing in with my underall wedgelets and doing an over-the-back with my spinner-on-an-arm. Mix that in a few times. He also has to worry about getting flipped OOTA, and there are two large, accessible zones with a narrowing area between them. He will not want his back to there, which further restricts his available maneuvers against a faster bot that can strafe. Threaten the OOTA whenever possible. Mix in straight approaches, angling in, and last-second strafes to either side or circle strafes when we meet, enough to start building up a pattern and then breaking it. Heck, if he's charging in, clean matador him once or twice and then chase him rear-side-first for an over-the-back. Basically, don't give him a single tactic he can put his thumb on but gradually hone in on what works best.
Defensively, the way my wedges are set up, there's little opportunity for him to angle in. Getting me to the hazards is his win condition, so always be cognizant of arena positioning, potential hazard baiting, and stay the hell away from them. If flipped, drive away if necessary first before self-righting. Use my judgement.
Even with corner damage, I only break even on his plow, so that's not the goal. His chassis armour of 8 means I can take out a wheel and do some breakthrough damage to his bottom plate. His reference pic boasts about his low profile, so warping along his bottom if I can chain him stands a good chance of hindering his mobility.
The central goal is to overwhelm him with things to worry about. Alex V likes to have all eventualities prepared for and covered and this'll drive him nuts. Going at him as a normal vert, I either win the wedge 50/50 and fling him or he gets under and I fire the flipping arm holding my weapon and catch his upper forks, still flipping him. Rush in as he self-rights and slam the arm back down onto him. Then, there's the threat of me reversing in with my underall wedgelets and doing an over-the-back with my spinner-on-an-arm. Mix that in a few times. He also has to worry about getting flipped OOTA, and there are two large, accessible zones with a narrowing area between them. He will not want his back to there, which further restricts his available maneuvers against a faster bot that can strafe. Threaten the OOTA whenever possible. Mix in straight approaches, angling in, and last-second strafes to either side or circle strafes when we meet, enough to start building up a pattern and then breaking it. Heck, if he's charging in, clean matador him once or twice and then chase him rear-side-first for an over-the-back. Basically, don't give him a single tactic he can put his thumb on but gradually hone in on what works best.
Defensively, the way my wedges are set up, there's little opportunity for him to angle in. Getting me to the hazards is his win condition, so always be cognizant of arena positioning, potential hazard baiting, and stay the hell away from them. If flipped, drive away if necessary first before self-righting. Use my judgement.
Good luck!