Number 14 - HYDRA

HYDRA is so named because its flipper is powered by hydraulics. It has a number of weaknesses - driving skills, lack of armor, to name a couple - and it never really impresses me when it fights, but it nevertheless has one of the highest winning percentages in the history of Battlebots. HYDRA debuted in season 4 and went 4-0 in its four opening round fights, knocking out Free Shipping, WAR Hawk, Petunia, and Bronco in order. It made the top 16 as the third seed (too high a seed) and faced 14th seed Minotaur (with too low a seeding). In just 42 seconds, Minotaur, which has proven time and again that it will not be beaten by a launcher robot, knocked out HYDRA. HYDRA also fought dual vertical spinner robot HyperShock in a special exhibition match after the tournament and won by knockout in quick fashion. In season 5, HYDRA kicked off its season with two straight (bad) judges' decision wins, first against returning finalist Witch Doctor and then against HUGE. Its fight with HUGE made it very unpopular, as it cheated. You have to go into each fight with an active weapon, or else you forfeit. HYDRA had a cattle herder attached to the top of it, which made it impossible for it to flip. This was fair, as they didn't remove the flipper and they wanted to protect their robot, since they knew that HUGE, a robot that they couldn't defend against, could mangle their robot beyond reasonable repair. However, another rule states that you can only hold a pin on an opponent for ten seconds at a time. HYDRA used its cattle herder to pin HUGE for far more than the allowed time. HUGE's team members and the referee told HYDRA's captain to back off, and he refused. This childish disobedience gave HYDRA a warning, but not the forfeit that it deserved. In the end, the fight went to the judges, who gave it to HYDRA in the single worst decision ever. After this, HYDRA beat three very strong competitors in Uppercut, HyperShock again, and GIGABYTE (scoring its only knockout of the season against HyperShock) before it met Whiplash in the quarterfinals. Whiplash kicked HYDRA's can and eliminated it from the competition. HYDRA's Battlebots record currently stands at 10-2 (.833) with six knockouts. For its winning percentage alone, HYDRA sits among my top 50 Battlebots of all time.