Cover image courtesy of Nate's Dad Franklin.
Robots are fighting! So many robots, doing so much fighting, that you’re likely to miss some great fights unless you watch absolutely everything. Here are 5 that didn’t make the main NHRL stream this May.
Cheese and Quackers vs. Dug
Three months ago, these two builders faced off in the finals of the February tournament with their main bots. Colossus, the 3lb division’s most dominant big wheel, versus The Wall Pt. 2, the division’s most dominant hammersaw. Between that fight and this, the fight with a yard sign in it is the serious one. Proving their versatility, here they engage in the frontrunner for Goofiest Fight of the Year. It’s like watching those videos of a pelican trying to eat a capybara twice its size, but the pelicans now think they have a better shot thanks to the power of teamwork. It's beautiful.
John Undercutter vs. Grond
John Undercutter debuted a meltybrain mode at this event, seen in this fight against the partially autonomous Mrs. Buff. Turns out Aaron also unlocked a hammersaw mode this month. It’s rapidly becoming one of my favorite bots to watch in any weight class. It’s just got so many ways to make a fight fun now. I also need to shout out Grond, who was winning pretty much every engagement against a championship qualifier before getting sniped from the top rope. I think it’s nearing a breakout performance soon.
Stardust vs. King Snake
It’s fun how many sub-archetypes we’ve gotten in robot design. Both bots are 4 wheel drive verts but their design and game plan have fundamental differences. It reads as baby Showtime vs. baby Fragment X (a pretty big credit to both robots) but it doesn’t read as the mirror match that an archetype list would predict. I feel like eventually, bots with buttery smooth drive like Fragment X and King Snake will outperform most other verts just by virtue of being able to place hits wherever they want, but at this current moment in general driving knowledge, it’s pretty even.
Eviscerator vs. Poshanka!
Longtime readers of this series will know I find it really funny when one bot is way larger than its opponent in a fight. Longtime readers may not know why, but that’s fine because I don’t either. Look at this matchup; the arm of Poshanka is the same size as the beetleweight of Eviscerator. That’s hilarious.
This also hits at the theme I brought up in the last fight of bots in an archetype differing wildly; on paper this is the same fight as Pinevictus vs. The Wall Pt. 2, but the vibe and arc of the fight is totally unique. I also just love the shape of both these, how compact Evis is and the strange organic look of Poshanka’s shape language. This fight made me go watch both bot’s tournament runs, which is what a great fight should do.
Zenith vs. Blink
I think it’s nice that Zenith took it upon itself to make sure it was well rested for this fight. I just wish it was a little better at planning ahead.