Overview[]
Tartarus Robotics Group is a team originally founded on the Fantasy Battlebots subreddit in the spring of 2016. By the summer of that year, it had made its jump to ARC and its much more extensive league. The team is owned and administered by Lazarus 'Laz' Mantella, which is a stage name used by ARC's Madman. TRG is one of five active Canadian teams and is based in Mississauga, Ontario, in close geographic proximity to Team Covenant, Team 57, (occasionally) The Monsterworks, and Killjoy Syndicate. The latter two are actually owned by Laz' siblings and have been part of many occurrences of (largely friendly) sibling rivalry.
TRG machines tend to focus on speed and control, with a brash and sometimes abrasive RP style. They also feature an aggressive aesthetic making extensive use of bold patterns and the colour black. To date, this relatively new team has completed only a handful of tournaments on ARC, including ROBOTS, where it won its first major title. It is currently scheduled to compete in the upcoming Cherry Bomb Classic 2, Ruination 4, and Gentleman's Club as of August 2017. It also, taking advantage of some vague wording and a technicality, inserted itself into The New Blood Championship with the tried and true Hellhound V in July of 2017, reaching the championship round with results pending.
Results[]
With seventy-seven fights under its belt as of late August of 2017, Tartarus Robotics Group's record currently stands at an impressive 54-23, making it the #3 ranked team on ARC, and the second best in terms of winning percentage at .688. For a long time, this trend showed few signs of slowing, especially when one compared the team's early results, which saw it go 8-6 for a solid .571 winning percentage with its subsequent 15-5 record much-improved at a .750 winning percentage, followed by a 17-3 run, for an intimidating .850. It finally slowed down upon facing championship-caliber competition to a decent 14-9 (or .609). Initially stabled under the banner of The Monsterworks, TRG broke away upon joining ARC, and this was reflected in its reddit banner as well as its ARC signature. The two teams have since enjoyed an ongoing rivalry where TRG has usually come out on top. Other noteworthy rivalries include those with Team Instant Regret, Chaotic Robotics, Alpha Robotics, and Angry Goat Robotics.
Reckoning: Extinction[]
TRG participated in the spring/summer 2016 reddit tournament Reckoning: Extinction. The team's flagship heavyweight, Hellhound, fared relatively poorly, being eliminated in the group stage and resulting in a minor, but important redesign ahead of its next tournament: Pressure Drop.
Pressure Drop[]
With the improvements made as a result of experience gained during Extinction, TRG's Hellhound II entered the annual premier reddit tournament with high expectations, which were furthered by what many saw as an advantageous group placement. However, in the event, Hellhound struggled to qualify for the knockout stage, losing a very unpopular decision to Team British-Robotics' Powerdrive II and being outfoxed by a canny bit of strategy on the part of Killjoy Syndicate's Scarab in a match between brother and sister. Despite these setbacks, Hellhound managed to squeak through to the group stage by topping unlikely group leader Popo's Corkscrew in its final qualifying match.
In the knockout stages, it was drawn against fellow spinner killer Terminal Velocity, with the winner slated for a round of sixteen matchup against tournament favourite Glacier, of The Monsterworks. Both teams were highly motivated to win, as Terminal Velocity had previously lost in unexpectedly devastating fashion to Glacier in the group stage, and The Monsterworks was owned by Laz's brother, Alex. The fight was competitive but conclusive, with the superior drivetrain of Hellhound II handing it the victory and a hotly anticipated matchup.
Leading up to the fight, a bare majority of prognosticators had tabbed Hellhound as the likely winner due to its optimization for fighting powerful spinners like Glacier. They proved to be correct. Despite some less than stellar driving and accusations of poor sportsmanship, Hellhound emerged with a fairly straightforward victory and found itself in line for a rematch with Popo's Corkscrew. While their first meeting had proven relatively close, Hellhound romped to victory the second time around to reach the semifinals. There, it faced neighbouring Team Covenant's Tellu, which was riding an unbeaten string of seven straight knockouts. While Hellhound managed to last the distance against the feared axe-wielding robot, an unusual timidity cost it the decision. In the bronze medal match it easily outpointed playzooki's oddly named Log Joke Emancipate Fish Venerate Stagioni.
Tartarus Robotics Group narrowly missed out on entering the inaugural Cherry Bomb Classic on ARC, but is currently active in ARC: Robot Bastards 2, ARC: Armageddon!, /r/Monkeywrench, ARC: ROBOTS, and ARC: New Blood, as well as being slated to appear in ARC: Vexed, ARC: HobbyWham, and ARC: Cherry Bomb Classic II.
Robot Bastards 2[]
For its first ARC tournament, Tartarus Robotics Group fielded a team of the fast and novel drum spinner Meanstreak at lightweight, the cheese wedge Hoarfrost at middleweight, and the newest iteration of its flagship design, Hellhound IV, in the heavyweight division. Pre-tournament speculation had Hellhound as one of the favourites, as well as Hoarfrost, but the unqiuely designed and audaciously statted Meanstreak was largely dismissed, seemingly confirming the team's age-old bias against novel or adventurous designs.
In any event, both Hoarfrost and Hellhound IV began with wins, while Meanstreak lost in non-competitive fashion to the defending champion, Redline of Team Ignition. While the second week saw it grab its first win against the mediocre clusterbot of fellow newcomer Team Foxtrot Uniform, and Hellhound continue its strong form, Hoarfrost lost a very questionable and unpopular decision against Angry Goat Robotics' Heidrun. The third round marked a high point for Tartarus Robotics Group, as Meanstreak scored an impressive win over former champion Zombie Killer, of the decorated Team Blood Gulch, Hoarfrost narrowly outpointed The Monsterworks' Bluetooth and Hellhound IV humiliated Justice of the same team, for a second and third win over a highly-regarded team.
With the tournament on hiatus, Tartarus turned its attention to other events, until the delayed fourth round was announced. Meanstreak lost a narrow decision to feared newcomer Pooky the Lawnmower where both bots were disabled by the end of the match, Hoarfrost continued its winning form, and Hellhound narrowly outpointed the robot that acted as its primary inspiration: Team Toxic's The Raven Mk II, in a battle of dedicated bricks. Following this, the tournament went on a seemingly indefinite hiatus.
ROBOTS[]
Tartarus Robotics Group, quickly rising in the rankings at this time, brought a full team of four machines to 2017's second major tournament, ROBOTS. After a number of lineup changes, it was ultimately represented by multi-configuration clamp/lifter Talons Out! in the featherweight division, novel 360 hammer/lifter Savage at lightweight, audaciously statted drum spinner Black Dog in the middleweight class, and the newest iteration of its flagship design Hellhound V in heavyweight. As had become almost customary at this point, most of its entries were considered either favourites or contenders, with the exception of novel lightweight hammer/lifter Savage, and to a lesser extent, Black Dog.
As predicted, universal featherweight favourite Talons Out! romped through its first round match, Savage lost decisively against Team 57's highly-regarded drum spinner Tidal Wave 2, Black Dog continued TRG's trend of dominance over Team Blood Gulch by besting Sarge in a closely fought match, and Hellhound V scored a knockout over team Cardboard Pony's axe-wielding Smackdown though sheer volume of ramming.
Round two saw earlier trends continue, with Talons Out! thoroughly outpointing the feared spinner Noothgrush of Killjoy Syndicate, Savage losing to Team Stealth's loaned vertical spinner Endless Clowns as a result of some uncharacteristically poor driving on Laz' part, Black Dog winning in a walkover against fellow drum spinner Copperhead, and Hellhound scoring a dominant victory against Team Foxtrot Uniform's dangerous spinner Mercenary Captain.
The third week of fights saw TRG go undefeated, with Talons Out! winning handily, Savage finally making good and punishing Tundra Fox of fellow newcomer Team Fox, and Hellhound V doing what it does best in dominating another spinner, this time, Team 57's Blue Zenith, gaining revenge for Savage's earlier loss to its stablemate Tidal Wave 2. The big standout, however, was Black Dog, which scored what many considered a significant upset over Chaotic Robotics' pre-tournament favourite Corporate Interests, mainly due to some inspired driving.
Through week four, TRG's roster was looking good, with Talons Out! continuing its winning streak and Savage following suit, using its plow attachment to best dangerous spinner, Disgruntled Ceiling Fan, of Team Instant Regret. Black Dog disposed of another respected control bot in Team TBR's Lethal Carriageway to keep rolling, and Hellhound took care of another spinner in the form of Blue Zenith.
Round five witnessed all of Tartarus Robotics Group's entries score wins, except for its flagship Hellhound V, which lost a close decision to Team Instant Regret's cluster: Hati & Skoll, which had given it trouble before.
During week six, the wheels finally came off, with Talons Out! losing a controversial forfeit to fellow undefeated robot Mudcrab, of Chaotic Robotics. Savage also found itself in the loss column once again, as did Hellhound, this time to The Monsterworks REX: a purpose-built Hellhound killer. The lone bright spot was Black Dog, which locked up the top spot in its group with another win.
Going into the final round of qualification, three of TRG's entries had locked up their playoff spots, while the fourth, Savage, had a make or break match with The Monsterworks' Elrathia. Talons Out! easily bested North-West Sheds' Quarter to Nine, while Hellhound also scored a win. However, Black Dog took its first (and ultimately only) loss against the Monsterworks' unconventional and exploitative walking cluster Safe Space. Similarly, Savage was humiliated by Elrathia, seemingly putting an end to TRG's traditional dominance over The Monsterworks.
Entering the playoffs, two of TRG's three remaining entries had solid draws, with Talons Out! disposing of Angry Goat Robotics' deathspinner Guleh fairly easily, and Black Dog scoring an impressive KO over the same team's middleweight, Glitch. Hellhound was up against Alpha Robotics' walking hammer Coup de Grace, and it was deemed that its anti-hammer attachment had not been ready for the tournament on time, leaving it effectively defenseless in losing a close decision.
The semifinals saw the team's only significant strategic blunder of the tournament, when Talons Out! mounted its claw attachment for the long-awaited rematch against Mudcrab, costing it the decision as it actually took some damage from the underpowered spinner. Black Dog, meanwhile, secured its second win against Corporate Interests and revenge against Chaotic Robotics in dominant fashion, earnign it considerable acclaim as a legitimate "brick killer".
In its final match of the tournament, Black Dog faced off against its archrival, The Monsterworks' Safe Space, which had handed it its only loss so far. In what turned out to be a knock 'em out, drag 'em out brawl, Black Dog avenged the earlier loss by knockout, securing Tartarus Robotics Group's first championship and inspiring a flood of imitators as several other teams rushed to build "brick killers" of their own.
Active Robots[]
Hobbyweight[]
Black Pup: 0-0 (HobbyWham)
Tiger: 0-0 (CBC2)
Featherweight[]
Talons Out!: 8-2 (ROBOTS, CBC2)
Lightweight[]
Meanstreak: 2-2 (RB2)
Savage: 3-4 (ROBOTS)
Wild Child: 0-0 (CBC2, R4)
Middleweight[]
Hoarfrost: 5-3 (Armageddon!, RB2)
Black Dog: 9-1 (ROBOTS, CBC2, R4) - ROBOTS Champion
Heavyweight[]
Hellhound IV: 9-2 (MonkeyWrench, RB2)
Hellhound V: 9-3 (ROBOTS, New Blood, CBC2, R4)
Superheavyweight[]
Thundercaller: 0-0 (R4)
Morality: 0-0 (Whodunnit, CBC2)
Retired Robots[]
Hobbyweight[]
none
Featherweight[]
Omerta: 0-0
Lightweight[]
none
Middleweight[]
Hoarfrost II: 0-0
Heavyweight[]
Hellhound: 2-3
Hellhound II: 7-3
Hellhound III: 0-0
Superheavyweight[]
Vicious: 0-0
Upcoming Robots[]
Hobbyweight[]
Hellpup
Featherweight[]
Meanstreak II
White Fang
Lightweight[]
Bloodhound
Middleweight[]
Hoarfrost III
Heavyweight[]
Violence
Superheavyweight[]
Thundercaller II