Deep Cut
Robot Facts
| Builder | Liam Drew, Ryan McFarlane, Max Morningstar, Tom Jaeger |
| Driver | Max Morningstar (January 2023), Ryan McFarlane (March 2023) |
| Team | TRC |
| Weight Class | 3lb |
| Body Material | 6061 Aluminum, TPU Chassis |
| Weapon | Horizontal Spinning Disk (AR500) |
| Weapon Drive | SunnySky V3506 600Kv |
| Drive | Repeat Drive Max from Repeat Robotics |
| Power | 3S Lipo |
Deep Cut is a 3lb robot originally conceived by Liam Drew and Ryan McFarlane of team TRC, which was later built by Drew, McFarlane, and new team member Max Morningstar for the January 2023 NHRL event. The core identity of Deep Cut, a horizontal spinner, was chosen by Drew after he suffered a loss to a similar style of robot in an internal combat robot competition held by TRC.
At the January 2023 NHRL event, Deep Cut was initially defeated by Frustration but bounced back, accepting a forfeit from FRC Who? (who failed to show up to the event) and taking a tapout win over a damaged Red Rocket. Deep Cut's bracket run was cut short after a devastating loss to Abomination, earning Deep Cut the dubious honor of being tied for 5th on the Fastest KOs-3lb list. Despite being eliminated, Deep Cut ended the day on a win after a dominant showing in a rumble with fellow TRC robots Stress Concentration and UH... Foot.
Following the disappointing 1-2 performance at its inaugural event, Deep Cut was extensively redesigned for the March 2023 NHRL event by veteran TRC team member Tom Jaeger. Featuring a 12oz weapon and a drivetrain sporting Repeat Drive Max motors, TRC was optimistic in Deep Cut's chances. However, an accelerated build timeline and lack of testing led to extensive electrical and mechanical issues not being diagnosed until after the team had already arrived to compete. While it was able to pass inspection, Deep Cut quickly fell to Poly whiip in its first fight before being forced to forfeit its second fight to Ankylosaur.
The name Deep Cut was originally suggested by Morningstar, who thought it could be entertaining to construct a robot branded around referencing obscure media. This can be seen in the January and March 2023 pogs, which featured an image from the little known 1981 TV movie Goliath Awaits.
Deep Cut's win count by drivers
- Max Morningstar 1-2 (2-2 including rumble wins)
- Ryan McFarlane 0-1
Fight History
Norwalk Havoc Robot League January 2023
Deep Cut vs Frustration
In its first-ever fight, Deep Cut was driven by team captain and true rookie Max Morningstar, and faced Frustration, a vertical spinner designed by veteran combat robot builder Peter Garnache and driven by his sister Alicia Garnache, also a true rookie. Frustration was one of several "Peter bar" robots competing at the January event as prototypes of a kitbot due to be released soon by Peter's company Repeat Robotics. Before the fight began, one of Deep Cut's wheels slipped off of its motor axle, killing half of its driving ability. Despite this, Deep Cut was able to dodge several attack runs by Frustration, and deliver a few blows to Frustration's weapon mount and flanks. Ultimately, a weapon-to-weapon interaction ended up ripping the weapon and drive shaft out of Deep Cut, leading to a prompt tap out by Morningstar and earning Alicia her first ever win.
Deep Cut vs FRC Who?
After its preliminary fight loss, the Deep Cut team was slated to fight robot FRC Who?. However, the team behind FRC Who? was not able to make it to the competition in time to pass inspection, and as a result ended up forfeiting their fight, allowing Deep Cut to advance into the next round of the competition.
Deep Cut vs Red Rocket
With a rebuilt and reinstalled weapon shaft and new wheels, Deep Cut prepared to face Red Rocket, driven by combat robotics giant Jeff Waters. Seconds before the robots were placed into the arena to fight, Waters noticed that a fracture had opened up in the rear of Red Rocket, which rendered its rear wheel inoperable and thus left the robot unable to turn. Due to the tight fight schedule, Waters was unable to secure time to repair his robot. Since Red Rocket propels itself using its primary weapon, and since the primary weapon motor had died in Red Rocket's previous match against VLOOKUP(), Morningstar determined that if he could sufficiently damage Red Rocket's primary weapon then the robot would be left unable to drive and thus get counted out. With this strategy in mind, Deep Cut threw itself straight into the weapon motor of Red Rocket multiple times, sustaining heavy damage; the primary weapon, side and back panel of Deep Cut were knocked off the robot, and it began to trail its 3S Lipo battery. Red Rocket also managed to cut through the quarter-inch aluminum of Deep Cut's frame. Before more damage could be sustained, the weapon motor on Red Rocket indeed died, prompting Waters to tap out. While initially TRC believed this to be a result of the repeated impacts on Deep Cut's frame, further conversations with Waters revealed that he had attempted to reverse the direction of the propeller in order to turn the robot in lieu of his rear wheel, which had overwhelmed the main weapon ESC and prompted it to stop working as intended. Nevertheless, Deep Cut took the victory and advanced further into the single-elimination bracket.
Deep Cut vs Abomination
Having been previously defeated by Alicia Garnache earlier in the day, Deep Cut prepared to fight Peter Garnache and his robot Abomination, also a "Peter bar" design. Before the fight, Garnache asked Morningstar and teammate Liam Drew if he should "take it easy" on Deep Cut. Morningstar knew that the team TRC robots planned to do a rumble later in the day, and, seeking to preserve the Deep Cut, informed Garnache that if he was able to remove one of the side plates or the weapon of the robot he would tap out. Drew, on the other hand, ordered Garnache to "give'em hell." Garnache acquiesced to Drew's request, running Abomination's weapon at full speed for the first time all day and demonstrating the power of the "Peter bar" design after roofing Deep Cut, totaling the robot and knocking the battery loose in a fight that lasted a mere 8 seconds, tying it for 5th shortest KO in NHRL history and ending Deep Cut's bracket run.
TRC Rumble: Deep Cut vs Stress Concentration vs UH... Foot
Following its crushing loss to Abomination, Deep Cut was able to rebuild in time to participate in a 3-robot rumble with fellow TRC robots Stress Concentration and UH... Foot. All three robots were not running at 100% - Stress Concentration's battery had fused its leads to the drive electronics, meaning driver Tom Jaeger was unable to recharge it prior to the rumble. UH... Foot had suffered catastrophic destruction at the hands of David Small's robot Púca, which required them to rebuild using a spare PLA chassis instead of the TPU chassis they had previous run. Though its electronics were intact, Deep Cut's frame had been severely deformed after a hard hit from Abomination. With all three robots handicapped by their previous losses, it was anyone's guess who would come out on top during the rumble. Ultimately, Deep Cut was voted the winner by a less-than-democratic audience poll (in which Deep Cut was the only option) after Stress Concentration was largely unable to move on its weak battery and UH... Foot got high-centered on its new frame, leaving Deep Cut as effectively the only functioning robot. Despite the extenuating circumstances that contributed to this victory, the Deep Cut squad continues to lord this victory over their fellow teammates.
Norwalk Havoc Robot League March 2023
Deep Cut vs Poly Whiip
With primary driver Max Morningstar out of town mentoring at an FRC competition, Deep Cut would be driven by longtime TRC member and Deep Cut builder Ryan McFarlane. Plagued by mechanical and electrical issues, the newly redesigned and largely untested Deep Cut was unable to get its weapon up to speed. Despite this, it was able to sustain multiple hard hits from Poly Whiip before the nut securing the weapon shaft came loose, after which McFarlane quickly tapped out to prevent further damage to the robot.
Deep Cut vs Ankylosaur
Unable to fix the issues that had contributed to the weapon failure in its previous fight, Deep Cut's pit crew was attempting to find a potential solution when the weapon ESC, of which the team had no replacement, caught fire. Without a functioning weapon, the team decided to forfeit the fight to Ankylosaur, cutting short Deep Cut's day at a disappointing 0-1. Despite the result, the competition was considered a success by TRC and the Deep Cut squad, as the fight with Poly Whiip and subsequent troubleshooting process demonstrated design flaws that would be fixed in later iterations of the robot.
Fun Facts
Obscure Fight Statistics
- Record versus vertical spinners: 0-3
- Record versus BattleBots competitors: 1-2
- Record versus Garnache siblings: 0-2
- Record versus FingerTech beater bars: 0-1
- Rumble record: 1-0
Big Names Beaten
- Jeff Waters of Jackpot, driving Red Rocket
Statistics
Info
- Rank: #423 in 3lb.
- Last 5 fights: LLLLL
- Current streak: L6 (5 KOs/KO'd)
- Longest winning streak: 1 (1 KOs)
- Longest losing streak: 6 (5 KO'd)
- Avg fight time (seconds): 91.1
Record
| Year | Events | Fights | W | L | % | KOs | KO'd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | |||||||
| 2020 | |||||||
| 2021 | |||||||
| 2022 | |||||||
| 2023 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0.125 | 1 | 6 |
| 2024 | |||||||
| All-Time | 4 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0.125 | 1 | 6 |
Events
| Date | Fought as | Reached | Place | Fights | W | L | KOs | KO'd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 28, 2023 | Deep Cut | Round 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
| March 18, 2023 | Deep Cut | Challenger | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| May 6, 2023 | Deep Cut | Last Chance | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | |
| August 12, 2023 | Deep Cut | Qualifier Round 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
Opponents
| Opponent | Fights | W | L | KOs | KO'd | Last Meeting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Rocket | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | January 28, 2023 |
| Kneebiter | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | May 6, 2023 |
| Rick Roller | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | May 6, 2023 |
| Poly whiip | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | March 18, 2023 |
| Frustration | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | January 28, 2023 |
| Abomination | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | January 28, 2023 |
| Bot SLAYER | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | August 12, 2023 |
| Flying Purple People Eater | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | August 12, 2023 |
Click "Expand" to see this table.
Full Fight History
| Date | Opponent | Round | Result | By | Points | Fight Length (s) | Video |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 28, 2023 | FRC Who? | Round 1 | Win | Forfeit | 0.00 | ||
| January 28, 2023 | Frustration | Preliminary Fight | Loss | KO | -1.00 | 66 | https://youtu.be/NB5QtU-uyeM?t=1391 |
| January 28, 2023 | Red Rocket | Round 2 | Win | KO | 1.11 | 51 | https://youtu.be/teQQMIBK4DM?t=19798 |
| January 28, 2023 | Abomination | Round 3 | Loss | KO | -1.00 | 8 | https://www.youtube.com/live/NB5QtU-uyeM?feature=share&t=25803 |
| March 18, 2023 | Poly whiip | Challenger | Loss | KO | -1.00 | ||
| March 18, 2023 | RB | Last Chance | Loss | Forfeit | 0.00 | ||
| May 6, 2023 | Kneebiter | Challenger | Loss | KO | -1.00 | 25 | https://youtu.be/bBr04nbt-hU?t=159 |
| May 6, 2023 | Rick Roller | Last Chance | Loss | KO | -1.00 | 145 | https://youtu.be/Sz2K1HilZAQ?t=7898 |
| August 12, 2023 | Bot SLAYER | Qualifier Round 1 | Loss | KO | -1.00 | 163 | https://www.youtube.com/live/nAXvrZdnceQ?feature=share&t=4336 |
| August 12, 2023 | Flying Purple People Eater | Qualifier Round 2 | Loss | Judges Decision | -1.00 | 180 | https://youtu.be/IMD6ArOMrPY?t=9531 |
* Forfeits before the 2024 season are not counted in a bot's W-L record. Forfeits from 2024 and on are counted in a bot's W-L record.
For more information on how points are calculated for rankings, click here.
Click "Expand" to see this table.
Select Fights
Video links Coming Soon!
Gallery
