Mechanical Maelstrom Season 3.0

*Opening music plays to various pictures of robots being destroyed in previous seasons*

They came to fight... They came to destroy... They came to win...
The Box Is Locked, The Lights Are On - Let The Wars Begin!

Welcome back to the Annihilation Stadium! Only 4 robots remain as this exciting season of Mechanical Maelstrom nears its close. We started with 48 robots, but 44 of them have already bitten the bullet over the course of 3 gruelling full combat rounds. Out of the remaining machines only 2 can survive to the final battle, but who will it be?

Battleboard
Wedginator X vs. The Servant€™s Assistant
Delirium Tremors vs. Eye of Ran II

It€™s the semi-finals tonight - an exciting and crucial part of the competition. The number of robots will be halved once again here, and the surviving machines will battle it out in the final for the ultimate prize. There is a consoling battle for 3rd place however, so the teams needn€™t be too devastated to fall out of the competition here. Victory is on everyone€™s lips though, so let€™s get down to the Annihilation Stadium!

Semi-Final One

Wedginator X!
MMpts ~ 19

The Servant€™s Assistant!
MMpts ~ 15

Roboteers, standby!

Booth Red: Team Zlayerz
Booth Blue: Team Bloodmage

3...
2...
1...
ACTIVATE!

And we€™re off! Wedginator X is the immediate aggressor at the beginning of this fight, driving across the arena directly towards The Servant€™s Assistant, who doesn€™t really know how to respond! Lian drives tentatively out of the starting square and heads across the arena, but Kody gets the immediate advantage and pushes in underneath the front of TSA before driving Lian backwards across the arena into the corner and depositing his machine onto the co2 jet! An extreme stream of gas is fired against the polycarbonate base of The Servant€™s Assistant, coating the bottom panel and rushing in through the wheel ruts! Lian looks worried, but quickly drives away, seemingly unharmed. He turns to drive on the attack of Wedginator X again, but Kody is already launching another onslaught and saunters across the arena, again winning the who-is-lower battle and time firing the powerful flipper, throwing Lian against the spike strip and turning him over in the process!

TSA smartly self-rights and goes back on the attack, reversing against the side of Wedginator X and gunning the six wheel drive, pushing against the reptilian machine and ramming it across the arena at 40mph! However, Kody makes excellent use of his controlled 2WD and spins away, letting TSA go careering into the spike strip! The crowd roar with laughter as Lian meekly recovers from the self-inflicted embarrassment before turning back on the attack of Wedginator X, ramming in under the side of the Annihilation heat finalist this time and pushing across the arena, slower than before so as to retain control on its cargo. It fires the flipper, hoping to throw Team Zlayerz onto the camera tracks, but fortunately for Kody Wedginator lands on the right side of the fence and promptly rights itself before driving back on the attack, getting straight under the front of TSA even though the flipper had reset and pushing Lian back against the opposite wall now! Kody fires his own weapon in an attempt to toss TSA over the barrier, but the yellow and black machine is merely slammed against the barrier this time - an impressive and aesthetically pleasing attack all the same, but this is the weakness of front hinged flippers.

TSA lands in a horribly awkward position too - on its side, and unable to fall back down due to Wedginator manoeuvring into a position so that it rests on its side with the base armour against the arena spike. Kody fires his flipper to push TSA against the spikes, and there€™s a surprising amount of damage caused to the base - perhaps the polycarbonate was made brittle by the co2 jets earlier on? It would certainly seem the case, because there€™s now a sizeable crack in the base armour of TSA and that can€™t be good! However, now that it€™s been flipped TSA can self-right, and does so, before driving away across the arena and turning to face yet another assault from Wedginator. Yet again though Kody gains the advantage, pushing in underneath Team Bloodmage€™s machine and slamming it across the arena, this time firing the flipper and sending TSA in a gigantic somersault, and it turns over in the air before landing, inverted, on the rails! A momentous few seconds ensue, but a powerful flick of the pnuematic flipper launches TSA back into the arena, safe for a while longer. Lian feels he€™s running out of options now though, and quickly backs against the pit release button before driving back on the attack when his flipper has reset. Kody however is equally aggressive and drives forward to meet Lian, who uses his superior speed to dodge the front of Wedginator, knowing he won€™t get underneath from there. Unfortunately for Lian though the 6WD and high speed just isn€™t controllable or manoeuvrable and Wedginator easily wheels around and runs in underneath the 8mm ground clearance at the side of The Servant€™s Assistant, now ramming it sideways towards the pit and firing the flipper to send it tumbling in!

A sad end for TSA in Mechanical Maelstrom 3.0, but certainly a triumphant one, as this newbie fought past 3 deadly competitors to reach this stage after being consistently underestimated in almost every round, but he could still clinch 3rd place in the play-off!

CEASE!


The Servant€™s Assistant upside down and in the pit; Wedginator X advances to the grand final!

Semi-Final Two

Delirium Tremors!
MMpts ~ 15

Eye of Ran II!
MMpts ~ 15

Roboteers, standby!

Booth Red: Team Devil€™s Incarnate
Booth Blue: Team Picus

3...
2...
1...
ACTIVATE!

The second semi-final is just as quick to get underway as the first, as the arena is filled with a deadly whir as both machines get their spinning weapons up to full speed quickly. The audience are immediately intrigued by Eye of Ran II, which has started this bout upside down, as Joey wants to hit the drum directly should the two weapons collide. At the moment though he seems to be aiming for the wheel pods on Delirium Tremors, and with his 2WD vs. the 4WD (on the floor) plus his 5mph speed advantage Joey pulls it off! The blade of Eye of Ran II, now 23cm high in the air due to his inversion slams into the titanium armour of DT just above the wheel, leaving a huge gash in it immediately! Zarte looks worried, but gets on with it and takes advantage of Eye of Ran II being so close to DT by swinging around and bringing the drum into play onto the side of Eye of Ran, buffeting against it and tearing viciously into the polycarbonate, ripping huge chunks clear as it bounces EoR right over, and over again! The attack ends when DT€™s drum stops spinning after the first two big hits though, and this allows Joey to escape, with seemingly no internal damage.

He€™s quick to go back on the attack, spinning up the blade and hitting the same wheel pod he did earlier on, widening the gash he made earlier on and ripping something clean out of DT! The camera zooms in - it€™s one of the hammerdrill motors! This leaves Delirium Tremors without one wheel, and with decreased manoeuvrability and speed, as if it wasn€™t slow enough already! Eye of Ran uses the speed advantage to back off quickly and spin up his blade again before Joey drives back in, trying to get to the same wheel pod and take out the other wheel in order to immobilise half of the drive and end this match, but Zarte is having none of it and plays defensively, swinging his robot around and holding his ground, forcing Joey to back off or get hit by the dangerous drum again. This happens several times, and the audience tires of it after so much, and noting that neither robots are really gaining any points from it Joey decides to slam into the drum with his blade! This is the weapon-on-weapon collision we€™ve all been waiting for and it€™s a huge one, with sparks flying everywhere and EoR flipped high up into the air, but not over, by the powerful drum. DT is far from unaffected though, with a pretty sizeable gash in its 1cm aluminium drum, which continues to spin, but slightly unbalanced. EoR II€™s weaponry has fared better, but there are numerous battle scars on the front panel and the base plate is coming away from the rest of the robot ever so slightly on one side!

Joey isn€™t one to rest on his laurels though and reinstates his position as the aggressor, spinning up the blade and driving in on the attack again! Zarte tries to slam him with the drum again, but with DT as unbalanced as it is he can€™t manage it again and Joey is successful in colliding with the wheel pod this time! A shower of titanium sparks is created and DT spun away, but still has some movement on both sides and drives back on the attack, hitting the front of EoR bending the top plate up a little more, into EoR II€™s own blade, which while spinning up tears off tiny fragments of its own armour! Not much damage, but certainly DT has scored some points there should this match go to the judges! In a match with two such powerful spinners though a full 3 minutes is unlikely and Joey doesn€™t seem to want that to happen, slamming again into the spinning drum of DT with his blade! Both robots are sent reeling from this attack, and DT€™s gash in the drum is now severe, and huge. The drum doesn€™t seem to be spinning back up either, although DT itself is still moving, albeit slowly. EoR II also seems to be more sluggish than before, but its blade gets up to speed and Joey goes back in on the attack, finally hitting the crippled wheel pod where it hurts and successfully immobilising DT on one side, severing the connection from the drill motor and the battery! Zarte looks on frustratedly - his top wheel is completely unharmed, but it€™s not on the floor and so Delirium Tremors can only move in slow circles.
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

An unfortunate demise for Delirium Tremors, as he falls out here to Eye of Ran II after a fantastically destructive bout. He saw off the opposition so quickly and damagingly in the rounds that preceded this one and got a taste of his own medicine here despite puttting up an excellent fight. We€™ll see him against The Servant€™s Assistant in the play-off for third place.

CEASE!

Delirium Tremors finally bites the bullet; Eye of Ran II advances to the grand final!

Battleboard
Wedginator X vs. The Servant€™s Assistant
Delirium Tremors vs. Eye of Ran II

And next up, it€™s the GRAND FINAL!

Battleboard
The Servant€™s Assistant vs. Delirium Tremors [Play-Off]
Wedginator X vs. Eye of Ran II

Tactics and predictions ASAP please!

And for the hazards, we have something a little special in store for the final... The Venus Fly Traps! Very much like the weapon seen on the competitor of the same name, these spiked floor panels snap together to trap the robot on top! Powered courtesy of high pressure hydraulics and sporting tungsten tipped blades, steer clear!

w00t! :proud:

Play-offs
The Servant's Assistant vs. Delirium Tremors

Zarte should have this...there's very little Lian can do here with the steepness of that flipper of his. DT might get popped back a bit but that hardly works much.

FINAL
WEDGINATOR X vs. EYE OF RAN II

Could I not have asked for a worthier opponent? :) Sweet.

First off, that blade is dangerous, but I'm still slightly dubious of its damage capability against MF's Ti/V wedge (tearing it off in ONE hit?), and especially against my 6mm G9 Ti armour (follow the link). While not as tough as Ti/V, it's definitely tougher than Grade 5 Ti, yet has more elasticity than it and Ti/V, so should be able to take hits very well. However, that's water under the bridge at the moment, I'm fairly certain Eye of Ran is going to start with the blade under the robot. That's a position I'd rather not have my opponent in as he can hit the wheels that way.

If he starts out with the skirt pointing, great! That's exactly how I want him to start out, I'm quite sure I can get under that skirt, and the end. If I do, I'll knock his blade into the floor and stop it. From there, I want to get under and flip him over and make the undercutter an overcutter so it can't hit the wheels, and then refuse to flip him back over but go for a pitting. Furthermore, after that the blade will have to reach a very long way to hit the flipper, as his height's 23cm and mine is 36cm at the very top of the wedge, so he might not be able to hit me at all if I keep the wedge pointed at him. And that's very doable since we both have 2WD and 12mph as our top speeds. I'm a bit front-heavy, so turning MIGHT be an issue, but then Joey has a huge blade's gyroscopics to contend with as well. :P

If he starts out with the blade pointing at me, ram him, the front plate can take it I believe.

If it seems I can't flip him at first, use those new hazards, lol. Get him over to them, and if they don't stall the blade indefinitely, they'll provide me with a chance to flip him over when they let go.

I want him flipped over and then down that pit. Keep very aggressive through the match no matter what, ram him into things if I can't pit him yet.

And...err...soz for long tactics, but I want to win. :P Good luck Jo-E, and again fan-tabulous stuff Lewis. :)

Ah well, one result the right way round :proud: My predictions are now (re-corrected):

1. Wedginator X
2. Eye Of Ran II
3. Delirium Tremors
4. The Servant's Assistant

I'm REALLY looking forward to this final; the two best machines through the competition, and literally could go either way :proud: Good luck to the others, and thanks for an awesome tourney Lewis.

I'll wait a little longer for tactics seen as it's the final.....

Joey's off to university and will be sorting things out for a bit, so he might not be able to give tactics for a few more days. Just thought I'd say something about that. :)

Well done Joey :)

Let's go for the bronze, I think it'd equal my best ever finish in a tournament :)

Don't think it's rocket science to work out my tactics though. Avoid weaponry, hit everything else, try and use the drum as a flipper and see if we can stack him, if not just batter him til it's a KO or an easy win on a JD

Bump :lame:

Tactics:

...erm...Wedginator's based on Envy, which had very far back wheels, and because of that is likely to get less traction because most of the weight is in front of the wheels. (I have this issue with Jigsaw and in fact the precise reason this Envy was retired was due to lack of traction messing up the control)

Basically start up, run away using superior control and traction until the bar gets up to speed, keep the bar facing unless it's spinning (which should be its state 90% of the time, it's got a fast spinup on it iirc), avoid doing anything stupid with the hazards and more or less kill it. Avoid the front, if that comes up, and see if I can rip into the wheels.

Good luck Kody and everyone else :)

*Opening music plays to various pictures of robots being destroyed in previous seasons*

They came to fight... They came to destroy... They came to win...
The Box Is Locked, The Lights Are On - Let The Wars Begin!

Welcome back to the Annihilation Stadium! It€™s been a while robot fans, but only 2 robots still stand a chance of finally getting their hands on the championship title, and it€™s about time we found out who€™ll get it!

Battleboard
Delirium Tremors vs. The Servant€™s Assistant
Wedginator X vs. Eye of Ran II

Tonight€™s show will kick off with the play-off for third place between Delirium Tremors and The Servant€™s Assistant, and following that we€™ll be having the GRAND FINAL, Wedginator X versus Eye of Ran II. All the bots are raring to go, so let€™s get down to the Annihilation Stadium!

Play-Off

Delirium Tremors!
MMpts ~ 15

The Servant€™s Assistant!
MMpts ~ 15

Roboteers, standby!

Booth Red: Team Devil€™s Incarnate
Booth Blue: Team Bloodmage

3...
2...
1...
ACTIVATE!

They€™rrre off! Delirium Tremors immediately starts doing what it does best, spinning up the maniacal sounding drum and heading across the stadium in search of TSA, but Lian is taking a more defensive stance here and backs away from DT, using its far superior speed to avoid the spinning machine. Zarte looks frustrated as he simply fails to catch Lian time after time, but TSA isn€™t scoring any points with the judges here.

Eventually DT manages to clip Lian with the drum, and the power of such a weapon is clearly evident as TSA is thrown up onto its side in a smattering of titanium sparks, but the robot isn€™t thrown over. However, DT has opened its opportunity to attack and drives in again, slicing into the plastic base armour of TSA and throwing it over now before buffeting across the arena and into the arena wall! Lian looks worried but self-rights, and it appears that his robot is okay. He lunges towards DT in a desperate attack, causing Zarte to drive backwards from danger, but DT drives one wheel pod over the flytrap which quickly activates and ensnares DT!

... Or does it? Zarte€™s spinning drum just completely KO€™ed the arena hazard it would seem! The operator of the weapon looks dismayed, but both Zarte and Lian are delighted as DT drives away, seemingly fine... But no, it has taken some damage from the flytrap, a puncture from one of the tungsten teeth it would seem? It€™s still driveable though and Zarte is quickly back on the attack with the drum spinning again, attempting to hit TSA with the deadly teeth. Lian€™s machine is horrendously quick though and continuously dodges Zarte€™s bot, occasionally getting under one wheel and flicking it up into the air with the flipper but only getting it over after a few attempts, and this actually helps DT because it€™s no longer driving on the punctured wheel!

This restoration of manouevrability allows Zarte to drive into the side of TSA again as it drives past and this time DT really rips into the titanium machine and the sparks really shower across the arena like fireworks while The Servant is rolled sideways into the spike strip and huge chunks of polycarbonate are torn away! Lian panics and fires the flipper, pushing DT away, but now TSA is hung up on the spike strip and can€™t escape. DT takes a moment to spin back up before heading in for the OOTA hit, but when he does so he slams TSA up against the barrier and buckles the side panel, but doesn€™t manage to get it out.

Lian€™s machine is in bad shape now though and as it tumbles down from the wall we can see that the titanium armour is scratched, torn and buckled all over. TSA attempts to quickly escape from the side wall where it has been pinned in, but the chassis is dragging and it no longer has that great speed that helped it this far in the tournament. DT looks on, spinning up the drum for the KO, ramming in now... And Lian turns! DT drives up the wedge of The Servant€™s Assistant and Lian fires the pneumatic flipper, launching DT sideways onto the barrier with one wheel pod hooked over the side!!! And the other wheel pod is hung up on the spike strip, this does NOT look good.

This truly is a disastrous turn of events for Team Devil€™s Incarnate, because DT can€™t move from there and TSA could be triumphant now!! But then again Lian€™s machine is barely moving... It is just about moving, but so slowly, there€™s no chance of TSA positioning itself correctly for the OOTA flip, and now time is ticking down... Is there time for DT to be counted out?

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!

CEASE!

The count JUST finishes before cease is called! Delirium Tremors has to settle for 4th place; the bronze medal belongs to The Servant€™s Assistant!

And now, the moment you€™ve all been waiting (so long) for...

The Grand Final

Wedginator X!
MMpts ~ 24
MM3.0 Hitlist ~ Typhoon 2, BIACS-By Popular Demand, Gehenna 2 [#11], Back to Rock III [#10], Traffic Warden [#4], The Servant€™s Assistant

Eye of Ran II!
MMpts ~ 20
MM3.0 Hitlist ~ I.A.N, Heliosphere [#6], Lime-y, Traffic Warden [#4], Mobile Failure 2.5, Delirium Tremors

Roboteers, standby!

Booth Red: Team Zlayerz
Booth Blue: Team Picus

3...
2...
1...
ACTIVATE!

Here we go. Both machines here are newcomers to the main competition, and they€™ve fought long and hard to get here. EoR is starting this battle defensively, reversing away from Wedginator€™s immediate box-rush as the match begins and spinning up the blade very quickly into a blur! Kody scowls, having wanted to get him before that happened, but keeps up the aggression nonetheless and turns before ramming straight into the blade of EoR II! Sparks fly and Wedginator is spun away, but seeingly undamaged.

Kody however is feeling very aggressive and turns, ramming underneath the side skirt if EoR this time before the blade can spin back up and wedging Joey against the spike strip, firing his flipper and nearly tossing the T-shaped machine out of the arena! Joey holds on though and EoR tumbles back into the arena, right way up and slams its blade into the side of Wedginator, again knocking Kody€™s machine away in a smattering of sparks! Kody€™s okay though and turns to face EoR with the wedge again, ramming in and stopping the blade, getting underneath now and using the flipper to throw Joey right over! The crowd roar and Kody looks pleased, as phase one of his plan is complete!

EoR is the lower of the two machines though and swings around, using his now overcutter weapon to smack the side of Wedginator X€™s rear end, creating a small gash there and spinning Wedginator around. This puts Kody in a good place to attack though and he rams in underneath Eye of Ran again, now driving Joey back across the arena and slamming him into the pit release button! Joey gasps and tries to drive off the wedge, but it€™s no good... Kody has to reverse though after pinning EoR for a while and has he reverses, freeing the blue machine Joey pursues, slamming into the front flipper of Wedginator with the blade this time and buckling it at the top end! Kody grimaces and drives back in underneath EoR, trying to turn and push them into the pit, but they€™re just at the wrong angle and there€™s no easy way for Kody to get a quick elimination here.

EoR€™s blade is spun up again too, so he€™s got a lot to worry about and after thirty tense seconds of carefully trying to manouevre Joey to the pit the judges order Wedginator to free EoR II, and Kody grudgingly does so before ramming in again, but Joey dodges and brings his blade back around, buffeting the flipper of Wedginator again and causing further damage to the thick titanium armour! Wedginator is looking the worse for wear now, but it€™s still holding up pretty well and Kody is not letting up with this relentless aggression, now pushing under the rear of EoR II to try and pit Joey... but one of EoR€™s wheels was still on the ground and with his superior traction Joey JUST managed to steer clear of the chasm... But they€™re both right on the edge now and anyone could go down! Wedginator still has both wheels on the arena floor now compared to EoR II, which seems to have one wheel hanging over the abyss and the other wheel on the floor! Kody€™s struggling to use this to his advantage, and fires his flipper to try and nudge Joey into the pit, but after all the damage the flipper just moves limply forward and does little else.

Now Kody has wriggled free though and reverses around the arena, lining up to push Eye of Ran II into the pit! The crowd are chanting as Joey struggles to escape - with one wheel over thin air he can€™t get the traction to swing his wide robot away! Kody breathes deeply and lines up the attack perfectly, then rams in and tips Eye of Ran II into the pit! The smoke goes off! Is he in the pit? The judges look on... Kody fires his weakened flipper again, but it€™s enough just to prop Eye of Ran II against the other side of the pit and END THE CHAMPIONSHIP!

CEASE!

In a nailbiter of a final Eye of Ran II caused heaps of damage it€™s opponent but was eventually pitted; Superior tactics and brilliant engineering prevail as the well built, powerful and fantasically strong WEDGINATOR X WINS MECHANICAL MAELSTROM 3.0!!!!!!

And so, the for the final time ladies and gentlemen, the battleboard!

Battleboard
The Servant€™s Assistant vs. Delirium Tremors
Wedginator X vs. Eye of Ran II

The Podium

3rd The Servant€™s Assistant
2nd Eye of Ran II
1st Wedginator X

And so, after a long wait for the final Season 3.0 eventually comes to an end! For the first time a non-spinner has won Mechanical Maelstrom; is it a sign?

As for the future... With a huge decline in the interest in FanFic and also in my own enthusiasm, the future looks uncertain for Mechanical Maelstrom. If I have a resurgence of motivation, or the community brightens, who knows? Watch this space. Thanks for competing/reading and I hope you enjoyed.

I won! :proud:

Awesome writing Lewis, and commiserations Joey. Wasn't too confident (as usual) about that at all. It's been a wicked tournament overall and winning it is just the cherry on the sundae, really. :)

Whatever tournaments you open in the future Lewis, you can count on at least one entrant. ;) It's been a while, but rest assured Wedginator will return in 4.0 (hopefully!) to defend his title!