Top 10 Robot Wars Series 10 Competitors
After the excellent Series 8 and the rather disappointing Series 9, was Series 10 any better? Heck yes! It introduced a new format that worked out so much better, there was a much greater variety of different robot designs, and every heat felt like it had something good to give. There were also some excellent fights, making this the best series of the reboot, and possibly the entire show.Bots are as usual ranked based on design and performance. Also Spoilers.
One of the most consistently successful flipper bots in the UK's live scene returns in the most difficult heat in the series. It started out well, getting out-of-the-arena KOs on Aftershock and Crackers N Smash, then beating a very good Big Nipper.
Unfortunately, it lost an underwhelming fight with Carbide after losing drive on one side. It then fought in the 10-Robot Rumble, which it managed to win via clever (albeit sly) tactics.
The fantastic comeback continued by taking out Rapid and getting a break against Magnetar (with neither bot being at 100%). It then beat Behemoth to get to the Grand Final, where it was a rematch of the previous Grand Final.
This time Eruption was the bot in better fighting fitness. Despite all the damage it was taking, it kept going, stayed aggressive, and got some good flips on Carbide. The fight went to the judges, and Eruption (very deservedly) got the decision. Michael Oates fulfilled his lifelong dream of winning Robot Wars.
After winning the previous series quite comfortably, Carbide found its first title defense to be considerably more difficult. This was evident as early as the first fight, when it scraped through on a judges' decision against Gabriel 2.
After getting the machine fixed, it proceeded to knock out Aftershock and Eruption. In the finals, however, it lost when Nuts 2's flails struck the weapon chain and caused the bar to stop spinning.
It came back by beating Rapid, then beating Nuts 2, before facing Eruption in the final. At this point, the strain was getting to Carbide, and even though the fight lasted the full 3 minutes, Carbide lost the decision.
After this series, Carbide was officially retired from combat.
After 20 years of misfortune and near-success, it seemed unlikely that Behemoth would ever truly triumph again. However, in Series 10, its moment of glory came.
It started out well in its heat, beating the likes of Sabretooth and Donald Thump, but no one was expecting it to beat ex-champions Apollo. Through some clever driving from Ant and seizing the opportunity, Behemoth got the famous win and won its first heat since Series 2.
Unfortunately, in the first melee of the Finals, it got caught by the pit very early on. Then it made another tremendous comeback by beating the highly fancied Magnetar before fighting Eruption.
Try as Behemoth did, it couldn't get under Eruption to get a good flip in and ultimately lost on a judges' decision. Still, for a team that's been in every Robot Wars since Series 2, this was by a wide margin the best they've ever performed.
Nuts has always been a wacky joke entry, but as team captain Rory Mangles said, "You can still be silly and crazy and kill things." This series was when Nuts 2 came out of its shell and proved to be a legitimate threat.
The spinning chain flails have a lot of reach, and its complex meltybrain system allows it to spin and drift while spinning. Because most other bots weren't designed to take on Nuts 2, they didn't really know how best to approach it.
Nuts 2 struck killer blows on bots like Androne 4000 and Concussion, even beating Carbide in the Finals. But in an unfortunate draw, it had to fight Carbide again, and this time Carbide got the better of them.
Still, for a bot that was largely considered a joke, to become the bot that went the furthest in the series undefeated is just astounding.
Bot builder Ellis Ware went back to the drawing board and made a brand new robot, Magnetar. Design-wise it was very similar to Pulsar, with a spinning drum and srimech as usual, but this time with earth magnets to give it better hold on the arena floor.
It breezed through its heat seamlessly, making short work of Push to Exit and Expulsion, even taking out Thor. Its weapon was deadly, and the death hum it made was scary.
Unfortunately, in the Finals, it came down with technical gremlins. Its srimech broke in both its fights, and the control went as well. It lost to Eruption and Behemoth after getting flipped in both fights. What a disappointing end to a machine that looked invincible in its heat.
The ex-champions return with a new and improved Apollo, with the help of Dave Young's brother Alan. The flipper was on top form in its first fight, flipping one of The Swarm clusterbots over the high arena wall, the first bot ever to do so.
It also got an out-of-the-arena flip on Sabretooth and then fought a very good fight with Behemoth. It looked like Apollo had the advantage, but Behemoth got some good flips in. In a split second of letting their guard down, Behemoth pushed Apollo into the pit.
Apollo then competed in the 10-Robot Rumble, where it did very well. It managed to come second, only losing out to Eruption. No matter how well Apollo does, the team always puts on a great show, and it's always a fun bot to watch.
The most expensive bot from the previous series returns with a more refined design (with some gold armor). Its flipper had huge power and was able to chuck Tracktion and Terrorhurtz out of the arena. Due to its limited flips, it had to make use of the arena hazards.
In the finals, it was the first to go out against Magnetar and Eruption. Then in its fight against Carbide, it almost flipped it out of the arena, but then Carbide smashed it and caused the bot to go up in flames.
After its underwhelming exit in Series 9, this time it really went out in a blaze of glory, a much better way to go out.
John Reid has been a long-standing Robot Wars competitor all the way back to Series 2, and Terrorhurtz has been fighting since Series 5. It had limited success in the previous two series due to the pneumatic systems freezing in the cold conditions of the warehouse.
With better conditions here, Terrorhurtz was able to do what it does best: hit hard with its axe of pure blunt trauma. It got past its first two rounds against Apex and Vulture and looked good, but in the Heat Final, it was no match for the powerful Rapid.
It then competed in the 10-Robot Rumble where it did really well, finishing third before Eruption flipped it and got it stuck on the wall.
The Dorset Roboteering Team were the best newcomers of the previous series, and this series they return with pretty much the same robot, but with more reliable electronics.
It suffered an early defeat at the hands of Nuts 2 when the flails locked up one of its wheels. But then, against The Kegs, they absolutely destroyed them, showing just how deadly that drum was. The run continued by then taking out Iron Awe 6 (taking advantage of the flipper not working), before fighting Nuts 2 again.
This time they tried protecting their wheels, but ironically that ended up being what hindered their control of the robot. Concussion got knocked out but then returned for the 10-Robot Rumble, where it was taken out by Thor.
The Big Nipper team have fought in four series now, never to any great success. They've kept the same basic design since Series 7, a small and compact titanium-coated robot with lifting/grabbing claws.
In the reboot series, however, it can be interchangeable with a spinning disc. In Series 10, they were unlucky enough to be drawn in the Heat of Death. It lost early in the first melee with Gabriel 2 and Carbide but then scored an out-of-the-arena KO on one half of Crackers N Smash, delivering the highest flip in the show's history, with a spinner no less.
It then lost to Eruption on a unanimous judges' decision but made an impressive comeback by beating Aftershock. It then competed in the 10-Robot Rumble using the claws. It got quite far but ultimately ended up in the pit.
This was when Tauron was starting to evolve into the beast we now know as Monsoon.