The Crash & Burn Tournament 4

[andrewj]

Are you okay, Kody?

Ground Zero vs. Minigig vs. Tiny Tengu vs. Minilith

Three full body spinners? Well, Minilith is designed to cope with spinners, so I will use that to my advantage. Just keep box rushing them and be annoying as possible. The armour should be able to deflect any attacks, so just keep ramming.

The Unnamed Feeling vs. Killoteeny vs. Hazard vs. T-Minus

Want to team up, Steve? I think I€™ll go for Hazard first. Keep the lifting arm low, get under it and lift it up. If I can flip it over, then do so. If I can€™t, just lifting it slightly might put if off balance and cause itself problems. I€™ll go for T-Minus next, if it€™s still active. Lift it up and push it around, hopefully into the pit.

UberForce 2.0 vs. The Red Knight vs. Omega-Rex vs. The Judge

I don€™t have any specific plan for this one. Just push the others around against the walls, into the hazards, into the CPZs, down the pit etc...

[kodster]

You know what, the interview intros with Melissa are getting ridiculous and totally unneeded, so I'm just going to cut those out. :P

Heat H
Fight 1
PsycloniZer (15) vs. Panicking Still?

From Shrewsbury in Shropshire, seeded number 15...PsycloniZer!
Hardox top and bottom, much thicker Hardox ring...it must be a ring spinner! And indeed it is, invertible, decent drive power and top speed, but the true specialty is indeed that spinning ring. It slams 3 huge hammers into the opponent at 2500RPMs, so watch out for the whirlwind this bout!

C&B1: Didn't compete.
C&B2: Didn't compete.
C&B3: Met a rather surprising end when, after being battered about the arena for more than 4 minutes, 6th seeds Killotine: EVO grappled them and dragged them down the pit in their Heat Final.

From Kelvedon...Panicking Still?!
Invertible compact box with skirts, tough armour and great drivetrain help it take on anybody! And with lifting forks that work either way up, how can you go wrong? One way is the exposed tires to overhead attacks, another would be reliability issues...so Martyn better not panic!

C&B1: Didn't compete.
C&B2: (as Panicking) Flipped over the fence in Round 2 by Knightrous Wedge.
C&B3: Was unluckily drawn against 19th seeds Wedge Devolution and eventually met the bottom of the pit in Round 2 again.

Roboteers, stand by...

Ah...Hexadecimal, good to see you back...or not? Debatable. Oh, and how about we throw in Sir Killalot, who's been repaired after that nasty bout with MacBeth?

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

PsycloniZer's off...but Panicking Still is off much quicker! It's already tackled the ring spinner before PsycloniZer even had a chance to get up to speed! And that could prove perilous for captain Andrew Jackson, now! In comes the...Panic Attack-inspired machine into Sir Killalot's corner patrol zone...and Killalot's got them by...one of the weapon supports! Panicking Still heads for the pit release button...ooh, out comes Killalot, and spinning...and going into a sort of spin that would make Michael Jackson surprised! Of course, no offense meant there...do believe Sir Killalot used to be a mean disco dancer in his part-time. Whatever the case, PsycloniZer's weapon cage has been bent now and it may effect his ability to - oh my goodness, something came off there...I think it was again part of Sir Killalot! Yes, the breastplate is separated again! Oh dear, our knight in gleaming armour...is gleaming a little less now! MacBeth, you will pay for your damage infliction, sir! Now here comes...Panicking Still again on the attack, having just opened the pit, but no PsycloniZer's away, and is able to spin up! The cage damage seems to superficial, but no! Panicking Still has reached in underneath the hammers with its forks, lessening the half-blow...and stopped it again! Lifting it up, it takes PsycloniZer again to Sir Killalot's CPZ...and thankfully for Panicking, Killalot is moving. And looking deadly! And clamping PsycloniZer's cage again in his jaws of death! Oooooh...that's some nasty frame bending right there...Andy is waiting for Killalot to drop his robot but...out we go for a spin again! Martyn is enjoying this; he loves his disco, he loves his parties, and right now he is in control of this party, Sir Killalot spinning PsycloniZer around - look at that! The cage has been crumpled! One of the hammers is bent lower now! Will that affect their spinning capabilities? And there they go, released from Killalot's clutches and bouncing away...to be collected onto Panicking's forks! Oh dear. Martyn knows he's won this by now...unless some sort of freak accident of course occurs, we HAVE see robots go out at this stage...but it seems very unlikely right now, and PsycloniZer is up against it here! They simply cannot get back into this match, Panicking Still has pushed it across the arena, and Hexadecimal is waiting...unlike Sir Killalot, Hex seem to be repaired a bit better, the blades are spinning...ahh...no, we'll not use the blades today. Panicking Still pushes the 15th seed up onto Hexadecimal, who lifts PsycloniZer up over top of Panicking Still...Martyn backs up, PsycloniZer piggybacking on top of his robot! And Panicking Still flies across the arena, right towards the Disc of Death!

CRASH!!!

The stranded PsycloniZer is buffeted by the spinning arena weapon, sporting a small scratch on the ring but nothing more! And off he goes, Panicking Still trying to catch up to it, nearly succeeding but Andy evades the charge...but I think he can do much, look, the weapon cannot gain enough momentum to spin up properly. Martyn has Sir Killalot to thank for that, and now Panicking Still is under the seeded spinner again and throwing it against the arena wall! He's just having some fun, now, Martyn, and Andy is not doing so at all...ahh...under the spinning ring again, lifting it up...and heading straight towards the pit now. A push, a shove, a futile wiggling of suspended wheels and a thrust later and Andy is defeated at the first hurtle for the second time this tournament.

CEASE!

PsycloniZer forgets the laws of centrifugal force and is washed away!
Panicking Still advances to the Heat H Final!

----

Fight 2
Black Panther vs. The 6isc

From Geddinton...Black Panther!
Really low 180 wedge with a front flipper and powerful pneumatic axe; rear prongs help stabilize it when it uses the axe. Fast, decently powerful, well-armoured in the front, but very hard to control at top speed and the weapon power will run out sooner or later.

C&B1: Didn't compete.
C&B2: (as Black Panther Queen) Ripped apart in Round 1 by Infusion.
C&B3: Again fell at the first hurdle when Wedge Devolution flipped it over the fence.

From Gainsborough...The 6isc!
Bar-belled shaped, has a 26kg 2.5cm thick spinning disc in the middle with teeth carved into the disc so they don't break off, attached to a Hardox axle. It's as powerful too but not as fast, and with its awkward 6WD system it will scoff at flippers but be rather tricky to control.

C&B1: (as The Disc 5) Pitted by Warrior SKF in Round 2.
C&B2: (as The Disc 5) Lasted the battle against Infusion in the Series-Semi Finals, but at that 4th round lost the judges decision.
C&B3: (seeded 8th) Rendered immobile by MeCannibal 3.0 after a few direct hits to the disc in Round 2.

Roboteers, stand by...

The robots that are fighting for the house are...Damocles and Shunt.

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

It's Get The 6isc! time! Or is it? Black Panther, cautious...so sleek, so low to the ground, I'm...well, I'm not exactly sure how the weaponry of The 6isc is going to be a factor here. In comes the Panther, trying to get to 6isc's wheel pod...ooh! Down comes the axe, barely missing said outer pod! Did you see that? It's made a huge dint in the arena floor! The weaponry is powerful on Black Panther, we know that now! The question is...can it be of any use on The 6isc's chassis, armour? Alex is hoping to test this out in the match...but The 6isc is turning so quickly, it has that huge width and turning advantage and Black Panther can't really get a real assault on the wheelpods now. Oh! The 6isc has turned far too much! That's the danger with having more manoeuvrability, trickier control! And Black Panther is after that side wheelpod now, slamming the axe down -

CRASH!

OOOHHHH!!! The 6isc's hit Black Panther here! The axe glanced off the wheelpod, turning Black Panther aside, and allowed The 6isc to come in on a side assault! And that has flipped Black Panther over, not really causing any damage but forcing Black Panther to self-right, which it does. So the weaponry isn't quite as small of a factor as we thought! Frank wastes no time and immediately brings in another hit, jolting Black Panther's side a bit more but no causing any more damage and Black Panther's in its face, trying to...push it but it can't gain too much purchase and it drives under The 6isc after a few tedious seconds...then back up under it! The weaponry of the 6isc isn't spinning still and it tries to spin around and shake the cat loose...Black Panther fires the axe, and the shaft hits the 6isc's main axle. Now Black Panther drives forward, and is able to drag the 6isc along with it! They go for a ride into the arena side wall, and both of them slam heavily against it! The 6isc actually bounces away but Black Panther remains stable and turns about, again trying to target those bulbous wheel pods but not having much luck there I'm afraid. A real game of wits here between the two, Alex cannot bring his weaponry properly into play, but at the same Frank's weaponry seems to be completely ineffective! Black Panther is relentless, oh it's trying so hard to get to those pods...and spins about to find itself facing that bludgeoning flywheel!

CRASH!

Only a deflecting blow, nothing more! It did hit the flipper but the flipper didn't appear to receive any damage and The 6isc is bounced away again! Black Panther looks to be the aggressor here as it chases the 6isc across the arena, catching it up and finally tackling one of the wheel pods! It brings down the axe and manages to dent one of the housings, but it isn't long before the 6isc manoeuvres out of the way and out of danger! But Black Panther is again after it, and by my reckoning ahead in this fight! The Gainsborough born bar-bell bot swings about, but trying to judge Black Panther's approach turns a little too far, exposing the side wheelpod again! Black Panther slams the axe down and creates another dent in the wheelpod, but can't make another as the 6isc turns violently and nearly whacks Black Panther aside with the other housing as it tries to get its weaponry into play! Black Panther backs off and tries to avoid the weaponry of Frank's creation, turning aside at jet speed and sending the 6isc flying past! Now it goes after the wheelpods yet again, but another swish of the bar-bell from Frank sends the mighty weaponry of The 6isc into Black Panther's...main body. Well, only a series of glancing blows, to be honest! I don't think The 6isc can effectively get a hit on anywhere in the front, it has to attack the sides and most definitely the rear, where it is quite vulnerable! Black Panther, it seems, isn't giving it that vast of a chance and it is quickly lining up its opponent...the panther is teething, it wants its bite felt! The 6isc's weaponry is still spinning, still working very well, but still largely impotent here, and Black Panther flies in again to test that disc!

CRASH!

But again it's just not gaining any decent grip on the armour of Black Panther to actually cause too damage - ooh hey, hold onto that thought! There's a rip in the front wedge of Black Panther! It's small, but it's still there, and it must have come from all that grinding! But at any rate, the progress of the 6isc's flywheel is halted and Black Panther can push it by the disc now! And the 6isc is pushing back! And the 6isc has gone overtop of Black Panther again! Alex can't really push the 6isc anywhere, its middle ground clearance is much, much too high to be be pushed around anywhere and the 6isc gets away quickly! Alex is after it once more, but it's really become a game of tag here - a hit, a miss, a hit, a miss, it's been like that almost all match, and Black Panther's slammed into the wheelpod! It's brought the axe down, and struck one of the top wheels! It got in-between the outer and inner housings, and managed to swipe it clean through, and now there's major puncture action! But that wheel currently isn't in action so the 6isc is still okay for now. But how much will it take for the 6isc to win now, should this go to a judges decision? They base the decision on straetgy. On style, control, damage - and aggression! And that's a good attack by Black Panther! Grinding the disc of the 6isc to a halt once again, but is the front wedge itself actually holding up? It appears to be, and now Black Panther is now pushing The 6isc by its weapon again, it's going too fast to be stopped now! It's entered Shunt's CPZ! It's SLAMMED The 6isc right into the house robot! The axe of Shunt comes down but it only strikes the axle and does nothing, but the 6isc is up against it now! They are pegged in the CPZ, Black Panther and Shunt are right in there on either side! Black Panther has it by one of the housings, and is just giving it a brutal beating now with the axe! THWACK THWACK THWACK goes the axe, look at the damage, dents and holes being blasted into it! Shunt isn't having as much luck, striking the body work at a bad angle and after several seconds allows it to go free...and The 6isc's weaponry is at full speed! Shunt ignored it and now Black Panther just might feel it and the 6isc turns about, freed from Shunt and placing itself right into the side of Black Panther!

CRASH!

And flips it over immediately! Oh dear!! Black Panther is stuck against the arena side wall, falling down but in a horrible position!! Again with the axe they're right propped up against there, desperately trying to get the axe to right it but it's only pushing them against the arena wall! The 6isc is nearby, this would be a huge upset if Black Panther fell now! They were in control a few seconds ago but Shunt let The 6isc free and that's what happened! The Watcher is coming in! Oh dear! Black Panther is at it again - and finally manages to self-right! But The 6isc is in there with it's own weaponry!

CRASH!

Catching it on the side corner and flipping it again! But this time Black Panther has righted itself quickly, taking another little scuff from the 6isc's...disc, before wheeling away! There is definitely damage done to the wedge part of the front...little rips and tears, but that was good aggression by the 6isc, getting in those numerous blows! And there's some padding in behind that wedge, can you see that? In behind those little rip the 6isc put in? That's 3 centimetres of titanium foam there, designed to take recoil damage from its own axe blows, and opponents' weaponry! And it's certainly done a good job here, Black Panther looks to be very mobile, as does the 6isc! Both robots seem on top of their game here, and we've come to blows again, Black Panther charging, The 6isc evading, Black Panther spinning around and chasing after the 6isc! Another evasion from the 6isc, another spin from Black Panther! It's cat and mouse out there, very tactical battle this is. They're near the flame pit, get away from there, that'll melt your mechanics, boys! Oh! Black Panther's caught its flipper on the flame pit! That's never happened before, but it's backed away - phew - before the 6isc could take advantage. That's what'll happen if you have too low of a lifting weapon, you'll catch it on an angle shingle or panel edge, like surrounding the flame pit there! But it won't seem to catch the 6isc, it's still just too quick and too bizarrely shaped to be given any sort of knock-out blow here, and Alex is looking mightily grim here. More dodging, turning...oh! The 6isc has turned too far again! And Black Panther has found its way into the wheelpod that's least damaged! Down comes the axe into it, putting a great slice into it! Oh! They're stuck! And you can see why! Part of the titanium armour that was bent and mulched by the axe has caught itself around the middle of the axe head, and has locked them together! Now this could go either way here, but it looks like Black Panther has the greater advantage in this department and starts dragging it forward across the arena! Oh my...Damocles is up ahead - no, they're free now! And Black Panther's up underneath The 6isc from the wheelpod -

CRASH!

And takes a blow to the top part of the wedge for it! Oh dear, that's ripped another little slice into the front, but Black Panther's trying to draaaaaag The 6isc by the other wheelpod...oh! The flipper comes into play here for the first time! It's up and caught between the wheelpods! So that means...that Black Panther has finally got control of the 6isc!

10...9...8...7...

But is it too late? Black Panther turns toward the pit release button, and heads towards it, slamming the 6isc into the opener but that releases the 6isc!

6...5...4...

Back under his own control now, The 6isc is getting aggressive now, it flies at Black Panther, who meets it head-on!

CRASH!

3...2...1...

Sparks fly, and there's a giant tear in Black Panther's wedge now! OHH!!! Black Panther's pushing towards the pit!!! Can they get it in?!?

CEASE!

Ohhhh dear!!! A last minute push sends the 6isc into the pit...a little too late! So it goes to the judges decision!

Black Panther - The 6isc

Strategy = 1/5 - 4/5
Style = 3/10 - 7/10
Control = 9/15 - 6/15
Aggression = 13/20 - 7/10
Damage = 12/25 - 13/25

TOTAL = 38/75 - 37/75

Time for The 6isc hit the weights once again, as it just manages to get spunout!
Black Panther advances to the Heat H Final!

----

Next up
Lightweight Melee 2
Ground Zero vs. Minigig vs. Tiny Tengu vs. Minilith

And later
Heat H Final
Panicking Still? vs. Black Panther

[kodster]

Injecting some life into fanfic... :P

Lightweight Melee 2
Ground Zero vs. Minigig vs. Tiny Tengu vs. Minilith

From the United States...Ground Zero!
A revered full-bodied spinner that's taken the RFL lightweight title. Has a 7075 aircraft aluminium alloy shell with several attachable titanium teeth (S7 tipped) that run close to the floor, spinning at 1500RPM, and has Dewalts for drive. He's a lot more happening right-side-up, though, that srimech looks iffy.

From Glasgow, Scotland...Minigig!
Baed on HW brother Whirligig 4.5, it's a 2WD invertible ring spinner with a Hardox ring and Pussycat-style teeth attached and powered by a LEM130. It gets to 1800RPM right quick and can gut quite a few fishes. The drive is powered by 18v drill motors and some NiCads, but it suffers from quite a lack of control.

From Geddinton...Tiny Tengu
Scaled down version of Tengu VI. Has an anti-spinner ring to combat other horizontal spinners. The 3mm titanium shell spins at 1000rpm and can strike fear into the opponents' hearts as well as damage with the 2 2.5kg blades. It ain't a pusher though and the 24v windscreen wiper motors won't help that, but it can self-right if flipped.

From Shrewsbury in Shropshire...Minilith!
Against all these spinners is...a rammer. Oh well. It has 4mm Hardox monocoque as protection. Basically an angled box shape with an extension on its front wedge to get under bots and shove them around. 4WD, 2 24v S28-150 MagMotors and 3600mAh NiCad packs help with this. It's very small though, especially in comparison with Minigig.

Roboteers, stand by...

House robots: Are guests! This time, we throw in a middleweight and heavyweight as Solstice 3.0 and Seung Mina VI play the housie roles here.

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

And the fastest start is indeed directly from Minilith! It's headed straight for Ground Zero! The #1-ranked American lightweight tries spinning up as fast as it can, but Minilith's already there! There's no crash as Ground Zero can't even get anything going, and an arena-long ram from Minilith sends Ground Zero flying into an empty and bouncing away like a pinball! Minigig and Tiny Tengu are spinning now, and they've already gotten to full speed, but Minilith sees Tiny Tengu as its next target and slams into it next, despite the 2.5kg blades having reached full speed!

CRASH!!

However, it makes little-to-no mark on the 4mm monocoque and Minilith takes the opportunity to get under it and deliver it to Solstice's CPZ! But Solstice shouldn't be too pleased! As they collide with the MW-turned-housebot, Solstice has done massive damage from that hit, but only to the anti-spinner ring! Rubber has been ripped right out of it and flacks of it jut out from the gash! Apparently the hit was so great that it wasn't able to turn the anti-spinning ring on contact, but just went through like a hot knife through butter! Now Minilith backs off to attack Minigig, but Ground Zero is back and spinning up quickly! Minigig moves aside from a deadly ram from Minilith as Tiny Tengu gets away from Solstice, looking slightly battered. Minilith goes after the pit release button and finds it; he nails it, and whoa...Minigig get away! Steve avoids the pit nearby as all three spinners are trying to close Minilith in! I had a feeling it might go that way right from the start...but Andy sees his chance! Quickly he rams into Minigig! The hit itself is not too big, and Minilith pushes it towards Ground Zero who looks to be the fiercer spinner in this contest! Samuel tries steering away but even with a 27kg ring spinner on his front Minilith is still able to catch up and bring Steve's robot into oblivion!

CRASH!!!

Ground Zero nails Minigig's ring and sends both of them flying, Minigig quite far! It lands near Seung Mina's CPZ, but Mina doesn't do anything yet. On top of that, Minigig seems to have taken the hit rather well. Minilith is rather focused on trying to get Ground Zero down the pit, but he can't turn and drive Ground Zero to pit, Ground Zero seems to slide off every time Minilith turns! Sensing an opportunity, the now-fully-spinning Tiny Tengu makes another appearance by surprise-attacking Minilith from the rear!

CRASH!!

The blow sends Minilith flying out from under Ground Zero, and Alex looks smug, feeling rather avenged for that trip to the CPZ, but back across the arena rampages a rather outraged Minilith! WHAM!! It slams into Tiny Tengu and sends it across the arena, actually bouncing it off the front rather than carrying it! Alex hurriedly stops the spinner as Tiny Tengu starts to become unstable, and it falls flat. Ground Zero is spun back up, though, and as Minilith is distracted, it slams into Minilith's side!

CRASH!!!

Minilith is sent flying again, but this time there's noticeable damage! A small dent and larger scratch have appeared on the side of Minilith as it tries to get his bearings back. Before he can even react, however, Minigig gives him a 'hello' slam!

CRASH!

However it's not nearly as effective as Ground Zero's hit and Minilith is relatively unharmed. It slides under Minigig and shoves it straight towards Ground Zero again! But Ground Zero manages to evade it this time, and Tiny Tengu pops in for a hit...but he hits Minigig by accident!

CRASH!!

The ring of Minigig seems fine and dandy but Tiny Tengu is now open for attack and Minilith attacks! He gets under the spinner and finally is in line with the pit! With all his power Minilith zooms over. Alex does all he can do to try and get off the wedge; he even tries firing the srimech a few times, but the bottom line is final; Tiny Tengu meets the bottom of the pit! Now, with 3 robots remaining and 1 to go, this battle's just gotten started! Minilith attacks Minigig again but Ground Zero gets in the way; Andy quickly swerves to avoid it but Minigig beans him from the side!

CRASH!

It's more effective than the other hits Minigig has dished out, but only just. There's another scratch on the side of Minilith but other than that he's finde and dandy. He gets in Minigig's face again, almost literally as the Mauler-esque face on the top continues to glare at the audience! Steve is unable to spin up again and Minilith wedges it! Ground Zero sees the plan already and moves away to hover near the pit as Minilith approaches...what's this?! Minigig is spinning on the wedge! Steve seems as surprised as Andy does, but unlike Andy he doesn't know what to do! Andy however knows exactly what he's going to do, and knowing that he can't go around the pit like that he resignedly dumps Minigig down the pit.

CEASE!

Tiny Tengu was about as effective as a small butter knife, while Minigig goes giggity giggity giggity! all the way home!
Minilith and Ground Zero advance to Round 2!

----

UPDATE FROM THE PITS

Melissa: What's going on here?
Martyn: Argh, our batteries haven't charged properly!
Melissa: Will you be able to get them charged for the next battle in half an hour?
Martyn: Half an hour??? Um...no. They're completely empty.
Melissa: ...what does that mean?
Martyn: *sigh* It means I have to drop Panicking Still? out, unless there's spare packs around here.
Melissa: Oh dear! We don't have those for you.
Martyn: ...balls.
Melissa: ...I hope Panicking returns for the next wars.
Martyn: Thank you...I hope so too.
Melissa: See you later. *traveling over to the Jackson table* Mr. Jackson, your opponent has dropped out!
Andy: Eh? Why?
Melissa: Their battery recharger wasn't working properly, so Panicking Still? has had to resign.
Andy: Well...that's interesting news. About as interesting as the news I found when working on PsycloniZer. Look at this.
Melissa: ...
Andy: SOMEONE fitted a joke cage to this thing's ring...Hardox doesn't crumple like that. This is damned aluminium!
Melissa: Sabotage?
Andy: Maybe; when I find the git that did it...
Melissa: Well the good news is that you're back in!
Andy: Yes. And this time I PROMISE to have the Hardox supports and hammers on the ring.

----

What a shocking development! Panicking Still? drops out and the 15th seeds return from the dead to fight on!

----

Next battle: PsycloniZer (15) vs. Black Panther

[andrewj]

PsycloniZer vs. Black Panther

At 22mph, Black Panther is very quick. Possibly too quick for its own good, and I'm going to try and take advantage of this. My aim is to get round the back of Black Panther, where it is unprotected. If Black Panther rushes at PsycloniZer, hopefully I'll deflect off the front end. This will give me the chance to attack again. I also want to attack it head on, as I think the lifter at the front can be damaged and immobilised. The axe doesn't concern me much, that is what the bars are for - to stops axes from getting good attacks on the main body. Even if it does get a hit or two in, the Hardox lid should prevent much damage. Keep attacking the front and hopefully both robots will bounce off each other. I'm not going to damage the front end, but attacking it can lead to opportunities to attack the rear and/or internal shock damage.

Don't worry, I don't know what I'm going on about either. Good luck, Alex!

[kodster]

Keepin' on keepin' on! There's a Mechanical Noise Series 1 grudge match to take care of! Let's get stuck in!

Heat H Final
PsycloniZer (15) vs. Black Panther

Roboteers. stand by...

House robots: Shunt and Sgt. Bash, I say!

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

And in a flurry of movement they're both off; Black Panther with the ramming and PsycloniZer with the spinning! Unfortunately for Alex the spinning works quicker and Black Panther ends up eating a face full of spinning hammer!

CRASH!!

And 3 seconds into the fight we have experienced our first huge hit of the match, as the 15th seed flies starkers back across the arena, while Black Panther's been left without its 5mm polycarb panel on the front of its flipper, but the 7mm titanium underneath seems to be okay. As such, PsycloniZer has slowed down to a speed where the next buffet hardly fazes the Mechanical Noise runner-up and taking advantage of the stoppage, Black Panther meets the spinning ring directly and the fearsome axe strikes down directly on top of PsycloniZer's top armour! It doesn't do too much otherwise than mark up the lovely paintjob on PsycloniZer, but it is able to wedge the seeded machine, therefore taking all its traction off the ground, and thrust it across the arena towards Shunt's CPZ! Unfortunately for Shunt, the house robot eats some hammer too, directly into the scoop. Black Panther fires the axe but this time it's repelled by the cage. Shunt's axe comes down and hits PsycloniZer several times, but it's really looking ineffective; poor old Shunt! Black Panther backs up a bit, to try and get some leverage, but this causes PsycloniZer to escape off the side of Black Panther! As Andy gets away to spin up that ring, Alex is in hot pursuit, but a quick dodge from PsycloniZer and Black Panther ends up flying past, for lack of control. With a gleeful grin Andy attacks the rear of Black Panther!

CRASH!!!

Dear oh dear, that HDPE's not looking too good after such a cheap shot! Attacking while his back is turned?! How dare you Andy! Oh, but I love it! The same hit has spun Black Panther about like a frisbee, and allowed PsycloniZer free spin-up time, which it almost immediately achieves! When Black Panther ceases its uncontrolled rotation, it's almost literally face-to-face with a fully-spinning PsycloniZer, and the crowd roars, knowing they're in for a treat! There's naught Alex can do but charge it right down! PsycloniZer tries to get out of the way but this time Black Panther's superior speed proves telling!

CRASH!

It's largely a deflection but it still leaves a scratch on the 7mm titanium as PsycloniZer is flung back overtop of Black Panther, who immediately spins about, but overturns quite a bit due to the rather poor control. However he still makes a getaway; PsycloniZer was still spinning but is now unable to catch Black Panther's rear end. Black Panther scoots across the arena, looking for a place to commence an extreme running start, but PsycloniZer isn't giving him any room to do so! Foreseeing the inevitable, Alex turns Black Panther around to face his nemesis and finds the spinner mere feet away! One ram later...

CRASH!!!

It's another hit directly on the flipper, and the 7mm titanium's bent in a bit, as both robots go flying. PsycloniZer is flung more terminally and crashes bizarrely onto one of his hammers and then inverted. Black Panther is spun about again, but takes advantage as he did before and slams into the hammers quickly, going past them and into the main cylinder before bringing the axe down. This time, he gets in some multiple hits and PsycloniZer's Hardox armour atop is dented slightly. The fight's once more turned on its head as the MN1 runner-up brings the MN1 champ to Sgt. Bash's CPZ; the drilled sergeant clamps down on one of the bars on the cage...but is unable to snap it...or even deform it slightly?! Well then...what happened last fight? Was there...some sort of situation we weren't informed about? We weren't told anything. But in all honesty I could not have seen this coming after seeing Sir Killalot bend the framework as if it were cardboard! Perhaps Sgt. Bash forgot to take his vitamins, he does have loads of them in the pits you know. Black Panther might need them too because that axe isn't doing much more than the dent it caused previously. That's about 8 hits from the axe there...and finally PsycloniZer is away, Bash has released him and he's escaped off the side of Black Panther...and already getting up to a dangerous speed! Black Panther is fast to attack but PsycloniZer has its say!

CRASH!!!

The flipper now truly is dented up, but not so much that it should hinder its effectiveness...PsycloniZer's flung back again but so is Black Panther...PsycloniZer can't spin back up! It takes very little time for the cage, of sorts, to get back up to speed, but it is clearly not working anymore! To say Andy isn't happy about this would be an understatement of the highest proportions...now he guns for the pit release button in desperation! That might well fully help Black Panther in its duty, as he does hit it and the pit descends! Black Panther crashes into it again and gets right to the cylinder like before, and starts smacking away again! It's on a different angle of PsycloniZer, so now a small dent begins to appear, growing bigger with each hit where the axe comes down! Unfortunately PsycloniZer starts to push back, having a rather equal drive to Black Panther, so he ends up getting wedged, but falls off the side of Black Panther and across, past the saws, near the pit but past it and into the middle of the arena...and it's spinning!! Only a temporary problem, it seemed! A shellshocked Alex Holt blasts Black Panther across the arena to ram into PsycloniZer, but the clever spinner dodges aside again and Black Panther's tricky control makes it go a bit too far...plenty of space for the 15th seed to get in another devastating shot!

CRASH!!!

The previously carved up HDPE is warped further, but there's no breach because it's too thick. It has still sent Black Panther flying about and again given PsycloniZer ample opportunity to whirl its cage back up, and it does just that as Black Panther recovers quicker than last time and guns it towards his spinning fiend! He's coming in to quick for any evasive tactics, and PsycloniZer comes right at him in response!

CRASH!!!

Ouch! A very minor deflected blow to the front leading to a huge blow on the 'sails' that protect the axe mechanism and PsycloniZer's gone mental, looking rather unstable as it tries to slow down enough to get stable...but that's not needed for another assault by Black Panther! Alex makes a rough challenge and shunts PsycloniZer; PsycloniZer tries to turn past Black Panther and away from his side, but Black Panther keeps on him and eventually reaches the actual cylinder part of PsycloniZer again, wedging it and smacking it with the axe, grappling it! Now the plain objective is in sight, as Black Panther turns its attention towards the pit! Andy can only watch as PsycloniZer, devoid of any escape, is quickly thrusted across the arena and deposited in the pit after a well fought back-and-forth fight!

CEASE!

PsycloniZer wasn't a pushover by any means, but having 'Psy' in its name the 15th seed really should have seen this coming.
Black Panther advances to the Series Semi-Finals!

----

Next time on C&B4
The second half begins as 16th seed Tornado and GBOD vie for supremacy!
With Or Without You prepares to confuzzle Magnitude with its lovely teamwork!
And our second Middleweight fight dawns as The Unnamed Feeling, Killoteeny, Hazard, and T-Minus fight for the final two spots in the Middleweight semis!

[andrewj]

Never mind, great fight Kody and well done Alex.

Tornado and Magnitude FTW in the next heat.

[samuel3764]

Psyclonizer is OUT???? Now I've seen everything. :shock:

Anyway...

GBOD VS Tornado (16)
I think this entirely depends on what setup Tornado will be using. If it's the scoop, then Tornado will win. Other than that, GBOD will prevail.

With or Without You VS Magnitude
Without You to completely explode while attacking.

[kodster]

Can I borrow that? Thanks.

*dusts off thread with Steel Avenger's featherduster*

Now then, we were halfway through the heats, weren't we? Well we'll bypass that, by the end of this.

Heat I
Fight 1
Tornado (16) vs. GBOD

From Sawtry in Cambridgeshire, seeded number 16...Tornado!
Very experienced machine, invertible box on a 4 wheel drive system with 7 peak horsepower and 10mph top speeds, titanium and polycarbonate armour and chassis, and the interchangeable weaponry; this one can easily blow all the others away.

C&B1: Didn't compete.
C&B2: Taken out in the 2nd round by champion Salamander III.
C&B3: Went a step further and Under Pressure halted its progress with a third straight pitting.

From Hoogvliet, Holland...Giant Bell of Death!
Otherwise known as GBOD! As much power as Tornado in a Hardox FBS package, spinning at 2000rpm and sure to cause pain. The srimech is the form of a pole atop the shell but it is a bit unreliable, and pushing contests aren't its forte.

C&B1: Didn't compete.
C&B2: Didn't compete.
C&B3: Didn't compete.

Roboteers, stand by...

Tornado will be going with the usual wedge set-up today.

Mr. Psycho. His mission: destruction. Shunt. His mission: quite the same, thank you very much.

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

So starts the second half of the Crash & Burn 4 heats! GBOD is spinning, and like many spinners we've seen so far in this series it has achieved a dangerous spinning speed right quick! And just about the same can be said for Tornado's drivetrain, it may be getting a maximum speed of 10mph but its acceleration is unprecedented, straight away across the arena! Leo van Miert's driving could very well have zero precedent as well, however! His machine has dodged out of the way of that frontal assault and is really revving up that shell! But will it find anything else than the front of Tornado, as the seeded machine whips about to face it? That's the one thing, you NEVER see the rear end of Tornado in a fight, at least not yet. And the front end is being seen, closer and closer as Tornado bears down upon GBOD and no agility or acceleration can save GBOD from it!

CRASH!!!

Which means we have our first epic collision of the match, ladies and gentlemen! And wouldn't you know it, there's hardly a nick on that damned Tornado wedge! There have been sparks aplenty, I must say, and GBOD finds itself against the wall after flinging itself off the wedge and away across the arena! Tornado is quick to capitalize and the highly and rightly feared rambot meets its opponent wedge to shell, crunching it further onto the wall and away along on it. No time is wasted in the assault as Tornado deposits GBOD off the wall into Shunt's CPZ, but the mighty bulldozing house robot is baffled to find its blow ineffective as the axe merely bounces off GBOD's shell without a mark! As if that wasn't enough, the cheeky Tornado boys further smush GBOD into the scoop of Shunt, and Shunt has a faceful of FBS! This doesn't exactly thrill our resident scooper, as Shunt utilizes his own power to thrust GBOD away and, to the consternation of Tornado, out of danger! Tornado's quick after it though, and Leo doesn't have long to spin up the shell before Tornado comes flying in again with another ram to the bodywork of GBOD, the slightly revved shell only serving to bounce GBOD away slightly! That's all the Robot Wars Series 6 champ needs to fly up to it and, to put it bluntly, completely under it! GBOD tries to drive off, but can't seem to find its way off before Tornado connects with its next target: the pit release button! The self-righting pole is the only thing that keeps GBOD upright as it nails the wall itself and bounces back. But that means it has virtually no time to rev the shell up again as Tornado crunches it against the wall! However, Tornado can't seem to get a hold on it this time, as it's rammed the spinner perpendicular to the wall and can't turn within contact of GBOD due to friction involved. Tornado thus backs off, and immediately Leo gets the shell spinning up; Team RCC are revving now! Tornado isn't that impressed and comes within range of the spinning shell...to find GBOD has merely sidestepped it like a matador! Quickly Leo capitalizes!

CRASH!!!

And that...has wholly torn the polycarbonate siding away, revealing the framework beneath...on top of whizzing Tornado away like a frisbee! Desperately Tornado tries to regain the control it had leading up to seconds before that damaging blast, and in the thick of things, GBOD has whipped up its shell to hurricane-force winds! Satisfied that its drivetrain hasn't been compromised by the recent buffeting, Tornado braves the suddenly fiercer storm!

CRASH!!!

Blimey, that sound nearly raised the roof, it did! But Leo's evasion tactic fails this time as the front scoop catches the whole of the collision and deflects it away, flinging GBOD away like a ping pong ball! Quickly after it, Tornado slides underneath and delivers GBOD to Mr. Psycho's CPZ, the pit too far away. They call him Psycho, but there's nothing really chaotic about the blow dealt to the exterior of GBOD; it just bounces off as easily as Shunt's axe did! Instead of going for a second hammer blow, Mr. Psycho lowers the dreaded claw! GBOD can't move anywhere to avoid it, the hellish Tornado back on top of its game as it's underneath GBOD, and seconds later Leo's spinner is dangling from the claw like a Christmas ornament, and a very distasteful one at that, Mr. Psycho thinks! Over to the flame pit we go! Tornado's nearby, not wanting to miss any of the entertainment, as GBOD is hung over the licking flames, seemingly more of an overly grown roasting chestnut than an ornament now! The Watcher seems to think that happy time is over now and bumps Mr. Psycho to get his message across. A sulking Mr. Psycho relinquishes its grip on GBOD who comes crashing down onto its side. And it ain't spinning! And it ain't moving! And it ain't gonna get prettier, either, as Tornado moves in for the kill! If it could still spin whether in 5, 10, 30 seconds, it can't now, as Tornado shoves it over to the pit and deposits it for the win!

CEASE!

GBOD lives up to its acronym namesake. Good battle on death(row), though, Leo. :wink:
Tornado (16) advances to Round 2!

Next battle: With Or Without You vs. Magnitude

[majinb]

with or without you will spin up, have the spinning half protected for as long as possible, and have the spinner come in when spun up...

... because that's what wowy does!

[joey_picus]

Magnitude will flip either half out of the arena at the earliest opportunity, using its gadgets and its flipper...

...because that is what Magnitude does!