Number 45 - Blacksmith

 

Flaming hammer bot Blacksmith makes my top 50 list because it has fought so many great matches with some of the greatest Battlebots in history. Against Bite Force, Witch Doctor, Minotaur (as seen above), Warhead, , SawBlaze, and Rotator in order, Blacksmith's fights as an underdog stunned the world. Blacksmith debuted in 2016's season 2. In order to enter the tournament, it had to win one of four play in rumbles to fight a returning semifinalist in the qualifying round. Blacksmith dominated opponents Basilisk and Gemini and drew Bronco. Even though it suffered one of its two career knockouts, it did well enough to earn a wildcard and the 26th seed in the round of 32. It lost to Minotaur and was out of the tournament. In season 3, Blacksmith was matched up against 2015 champion Bite Force, who exited early in 2016 as well. Blacksmith lost in a judges' decision but the fight really could have gone either way. It dominated mulitbot The Four Horsemen in its next fight and drew an 0-1 Witch Doctor for its third fight. Witch Doctor dominated the first two and a half minutes but Blacksmith drove Witch Doctor into the screws, apparently knocking it out. Just then, the screws reversed for the first time ever, giving Witch Doctor the win from the judges. The incident is known as "screwgate." In season 4 in 2019, Battlebots officials said that the screws would automatically reverse when jammed, and they have ever since, but I don't believe this for one millisecond. Witch Doctor's popularity likely saved its tournament hopes. At any rate, Blacksmith fought Minotaur in another coin toss fight, lost, and battled Warhead in a special exhebition match. It beat the snot out of Warhead but still lost. That was a tough break. In season 4, Blacksmith went an impressive 2-2 in the regular season and fought Rotator in a special play in fight. Blacksmith beat Rotator in a surprising upset and made the round of 16 as the 15th seed. It rematched against Witch Doctor and this time it suffered its only other knockout. Blacksmith did not return for season 5 during the 2020-2021 season. Blacksmith's overall record is 5-9 (.357) with two knockouts (if it had won all five fights against Bite Force, Witch Doctor, Minotaur, Warhead, and SawBlaze instead of losing them all, it would be 10-4 [.714] with three knockouts). For its fantastic fights against legends (particularly against Bite Force), Blacksmith is a solid member of the top 50 Battlebots of all time. 

Number 46 - Slap Box

 

Slap Box debuted in 2020-2021 (season 5). It features a lifter and a flamethrower. Tombstone lost in a monumental upset to End Game in its first fight, so to get it back on track, the selection committee pitted Tombstone against rookie Slap Box, who hadn't yet fought. Everybody expected Tombstone to mop the Battlebox floor with Slap Box, but it actually gave Tombstone some great hits. Even though it lost, it put up a very impressive showing against a legendary Battlebot. In its next fight, Slap Box squared off against Sharko (as seen above) and won in a dominant, 2 minute 45 second knockout. It was on its way to the postseason tournament, but it never got the chance to fight for a third time. Since I liked Slap Box and since it was on its way in, I was initially a little upset, but I realized that they could have had mechanical issues and were unable to fight again. At any rate, Slap Box stands at 1-1 (.500) with one knockout. Even though it hasn't had many fights to prove its full potential, Slap Box has never fought a bad fight and makes it into my 50 for giving Tombstone a taste of its own medicine and for completely dominating a Battlebot that is at least average. 

Number 47 - Bombshell

 

Bombshell debuted in 2016 as a Swiss army bot (one with multiple weapons) and lost its opening battle to Complete Control. It apparently impressed enough to earn a wildcard and the 19th seed out of 32. It won its next two fights over Cobalt and Red Devil for a spot in the quarterfinals, when it squared off against the undefeated drum spinner Poison Arrow, which it knocked out in dominant fashion. Its next fight was against heavy favorite Minotaur, another powerful drum spinner, and Bombshell knocked it out (as seen above). It faced off against Tombstone in the championship and was knocked out in 53 seconds. It's Tombstone, so that's not too disappointing, right? When it returned in 2018, it only sported its vertical disc spinner, and lost all four qualifying fights. Granted, it had the toughest opponents of anybody - Lock Jaw, Bronco, Yeti, and Bite Force in order - and would have beaten Yeti if not for a bad judges' decision. Because it was the previous season's runner up, the selection committee placed it in a play in, six team rumble for the 16th seed of 16 and it won a very controversial decision over Duck!, as well as four others who realistically could not have won. Tombstone was the first seed and its rematch with Bombshell was expected to be a slaughter, but Bombshell ended up knocking Tombstone out. Even though it never should have happened, the fight was so amazing! This win put it back in the quarterfinals in a rematch against Lock Jaw, and Bombshell suffered another knockout. In 2019, Bombshell again went 0-4, but its fight card included Duck!, Rotator, Cobalt (who got its revenge with a new design), and Lock Jaw (for a third time). It sat out the 2020-2021 season. Overall, Bombshell's record is 6-11 (.353) with four knockouts, but for a championship run and knockouts over three legends in Poison Arrow, Minotaur, and Tombstone, Bombshell can rightfully sit in my top 50 Battlebots of all time. 

Number 48 - Gruff

 

Gruff is a Battlebot with a heavy front wedge, a lifting arm with two forks, and a flamethrower that can burn its opponent for 30 seconds each match. It debuted in 2019 with five fine fights in season 4, going 2-3. It knocked out Railgun Max (which barely failed to make this list) and completely dominated Marvin and Gemini in a rumble. Its three losses came to Copperhead (by a judges' decision), End Game (by a 2 minute 59 second knockout), and 2016 champion Tombstone (by a very controversial judges' decision, as seen above). So, it put up a very good season despite a sub-.500 record. The season was so good that its season 5 debut was featured as the main event, and it responded by knocking out the extremely tough drum spinner HyperShock. It lost a decision to Whiplash in its next match and it earned a matchup against Extinguisher, which was previously winless across two seasons. Gruff started out by dominating its opponent but eventually burned out its motors and lost by knockout. It had Extinguisher knocked out at the beginning of the match but wanted to impress the selection committee and kept the fight going, a decision that it would pay for dearly. Each of the 59 competing teams tried to make the top 32 to compete at the end of the season, and Gruff squeezed in as the 31st seed. In its fight against second seed Bloodsport, everybody expected it to get slaughtered, but it fought hard and lost by a split decision. Overall, Gruff's record stands at 3-6 (.333) with two knockouts. For its great fights against Railgun Max, Tombstone (especially), HyperShock, and Bloodsport, Gruff squeezes into my top 50. 

Number 49 - Mammoth

 

Mammoth may be the most unconventional Battlebot ever built. Its weapon can be used either as a flipper or as a vertical spinner with a maximum speed of 30 miles per hour. Debuting in season 4, Mammoth went 3-3 with three knockouts, including one over the legendary Nightmare. In season 5, Mammoth started off the season with an upsetting knockout over Huge, as seen in the video, marking the second giant that it knocked out in as many seasons. Mammoth was slaughtered by HyperShock in its next match but won a decision over grappler robot Deadlift to make the round of 32. It also beat drum spinner Black Widow in an untelevised exhebition fight earlier in the season. It gained the 30th seed for its two poor matches to end the season and a fight against Copperhead, which was out for blood that season. What do you know? Mammoth won in a split decision (one that, in my opinion, probably should have gone to Copperhead), earning it a reputation as a giant killer. It ended the season with a split decision loss to hammer bot Shatter!, who also had the season of its life. As it stands, Mammoth is currently 7-5 (.583) with five knockouts. Although it has literally no armor and doesn't win its knockouts by inflicting severe damage with its weapon, Mammoth barely makes my top 50 on account of its being a hard bot to attack, for its record, and for its trio of wins over robots who check into this list with a lot going for them. 

Number 50 - WAR Hawk

 

Vertical spinner robot WAR Hawk debuted on the BattleBots scene in 2018's season 3, winning its debut match by destroying Axe Backwards. It had a strong loss against Brutus and won its next two in a row to sit at a fine 3-1. WAR Hawk still needed to win a play-in rumble against Brutus and End Game to get into the round of 16 as the 15th overall seed, and it won the rumble in a quick knockout, getting revenge on the team that talked of retiring it when they first met. It entered the tournament with the second lowest seeding and the fourth best record. It drew Bronco in the round of 16 and put up a great fight, but ended up losing. In season 4, WAR Hawk won its debut battle by knockout over the well armored Petunia (as seen above) but slumped the rest of the way. It lost to HYDRA and had to enter the Desperado tournament to get a real shot at the tournament. It knocked out Ragnarok in the first round but suffered defeat at the hands of Desperado champion Black Dragon. WAR Hawk then dropped its next two fights against powerful drum spinner Battlebots Copperhead and Wan Hoo. It did not return in season 5. WAR Hawk's overall record sits at 6-6 (.500) with four knockouts. Although it lost many fights by knockout and almost completely declined in production in season 4, WAR Hawk still barely reaches my top 50 on account of its well balanced design and amazing rookie campaign. 

Introduction

     Hello, my name is Damien, and I enjoy watching robot combat. This blog is to include all robot fighting tournaments, but it will be centered around Battlebots. I will start out with my top 50 Battlebots of all time and will publish all sorts of fun stuff on this blog from time to time. In my top 50, I will include 47 modern Battlebots, not out of ignorance or prejudice, but because the technology has gotten so much more advanced and most Classic Battlebots would not be able to stand in the same arena with some of the modern monsters. All three are superheavyweights. Let us get started with my 50th seed, coming out on Sunday.