Banshee (US)

* BattleBots Proving Ground
* BattleBots World Championship VII

## Overview

"*Banshee is one robot that'll have you screamin' for more!*"
— David Small introduces his *BattleBots* entry

**Banshee** is a heavyweight robot designed by Team Small Robots, which is due to compete in *BattleBots* World Championship VII.

It is a based on the female spirit of Irish folklore, in keeping with Banshee's name, and is armed with a pneumatic flipper boasting 18,000lbs of force thanks to a custom pneumatic system which operates at 1500psi. It also sports two forks attached to its flipper as well as two hinged forks either side to slide underneath opponents to throw them into the air. Banshee sports a wailing head on the weapon with streaming eyes and long hair spreading up the flipper panel. It also bears traditional Celtic iconography across the top and sides of the robot, as well as a traditional green and brown color scheme.

Banshee was one of two robots to be sponsored by Team Malice ahead of the 2022 competition, alongside **Drago**. However, Drago would not be successful in their application. On September 21, 2022, Team Small Robots publicly confirmed their inclusion into *BattleBots*.

## Robot History

### BattleBots World Championship VII

Banshee's *BattleBots* debut came against the newly-redesigned Switchback, built by Greg Needel.

The fight began with Banshee dashing across the BattleBox, but missing with its initial flip. Switchback raised its articulating eggbeater weapon and gave chase, but was ultimately thrown over by Banshee. Although Switchback successfully righted itself, it appeared as though Switchback could not retract its arm, so opted to use it in its downward-spinning position. Both robots entered the short corner momentarily and Banshee landed another flip, but lacked the power to overturn Switchback again.

As Greg Needel's bot grinded its eggbeater against the flipper of Banshee, one flip from the rookie robot actually repositioned the primary weapon on Switchback, and it could function as a traditional vertical spinner once more. Banshee first suffered a blow to the front of its flipper, and then overhead attacks from the pulverizer as Switchback got in underneath. Switchback eventually backed up to free Banshee, but also to allow it time and space to spin its weapon back up. It circled Banshee before tearing away part of its flipper, ramming it from the side and driving the rookie bot into the wall.

"*Switchback doing most of the damage so far, but Banshee might just need one flip to end this thing...*"
— Chris Rose as Banshee is snagged on Switchback

With the end of its flipper buckled, Banshee could no longer get in underneath its opponent as intended and Switchback took advantage, dealing further flows to Banshee's chassis. Smoke began to emit from Switchback and the eggbeater stopped spinning, but Banshee was pinned against one of the arena paddles in the closing seconds of the fight.

Both robots were mobile at the end of the battle, and the judges voted unanimously in favor of Switchback, confirming Banshee's first loss. In a post-fight recap video, the team revealed they did not have time to fill its air tanks. Banshee had to go into the fight with what remained from after its safety tests, resulting in its limited flipper power in this battle.

Keen to avoid an 0-2 start, next up for Banshee was Valkyrie, now captained and driven by Lucy Du. For this battle, Banshee was equipped with a large green plow at the front to protect its front from its opponent's powerful undercutter.

Banshee flew out of its square and box-rushed Valkyrie, who was popped into the air and struggled to escape its starting square. Unable to find space to spin up, Banshee was able to attack without fear and flipped Valkyrie into the screws. Lucy Du was able to drive Valkyrie away, but the robot was now inverted and its three-toothed disc appeared to unbalance the former Most Destructive Robot winner on its nose. Banshee charged at the front of Valkyrie again, who tore its own fork off as the rookie bot was able to easily slide its plow underneath and further disrupt Valkyrie's stability.

"*If I'm Lucy Du, Chris, I'm doing everything I can to flip back over. Hit the gas and run yourself into the wall, if that's what it takes.*"
— Kenny Florian as Valkyrie struggles to assert itself against David Small's machine

Banshee then drove Valkyrie into the short corner as it remained aggressive, missing with several flips and allowing Lucy Du's team to escape unpunished. Valkyrie got back up to speed, but as it was still upside-down, only landed a glancing blow high up on Banshee. The rookie bot drove into the screws of the Upper Deck before circling Valkyrie and firing its flipper into the horizontal spinner.

"*Uh-oh... the green goblin suddenly isn't moving!*"
— Chris Rose as Banshee becomes stuck

Valkyrie struggled to drive around as Banshee found itself above a killsaw slot and unable to move. With a minute to go, the saws raised and sliced against Banshee's plow, freeing it from the hazard. Banshee swung around as Valkyrie kept its weapon pointed at its opponent, but neither robot was able to leave a lasting impression on the judges.

Both robots were still mobile at the end, and in only the second split judges' decision of the season, Banshee was declared the winner. David Small's team picked up their first win of the season, and improved to a 1-1 record.

In its next match, Banshee took on the tracked vertical spinner, Emulsifier. For this fight, MadCatter captain Martin Mason served as a guest commentator.

Banshee dashed towards its opponent as Emulsifier hung back, but drove into the path of the vertical spinner, peeling up one of its side panels. David Small drove away, but became caught in one of the killsaw slots momentarily. As it attempted to circle Matt Bores' machine, it clipped Banshee and caused further damage.

"*A game of cat and mouse here so far. Emulsifier searching for that big shot; Banshee looking to upend Emulsifier with its flipper...*"
— Chris Rose as Banshee misses an opportunity to fire its weapon.

Emulsifier then stabbed its single fork against the flipper panel of Banshee, but the 1-1 bot squandered a chance to flip its opponent and escaped. Giving chase once more, Emulsifier forced Banshee back as it reversed into the housing for the screws.

**Kenny Florian**: "*Emulsifier has Banshee on the run. David Small on his heels here, Martin.*"
**Martin Mason**: "*Emulsifier looking really aggressive, but here comes Banshee again.*"
— Kenny Florian and Martin Mason as Banshee fights back.
Though it drove onto the flipper a second time, Banshee again failed to fire its weapon. David Small's robot got underneath for a third time, but once again opted to retreat, sparking questions over the functionality of Banshee's primary weapon. Emulsifier then slid its fork under Banshee and coerced it towards the drivers' booths, landing several grazing shots with its 50lb disc.

Damage began to show as Banshee lurched forward, grinding to a halt over the killsaw slot as one of its batteries dangled loosely. Referee David Sanfilippo asked David Small if he had any control over Banshee, to which he shook his head. Banshee was counted out, and fell to a 1-2 record.

"*...if David [Small] doesn't win this flip-off tonight, he will be headed back to Arizona.*"
— Chris Rose

Banshee's final Fight Night opponent was a fellow flipper in Blip, captained by Aren Hill of Seems Reasonable Robotics and also looking to improve from 1-2. For this match - crucial for its chances to progress into the main bracket - it entered the BattleBox without any wedgelets or forks at the front of the chassis to maximize manoeuvrability. The twin forks at the tip of the flipper arm remained.

**Chris Rose**: "*Face to face... Blip's key, Kenny... get under Banshee, right?*"
**Kenny Florian**: "*Absolutely, and there you go. You see it. Blip is the lower bot here to start. When it comes to flippers, winning the ground game... is the name of the game!*"
— As Banshee comes under early pressure from Blip
Both competitors met in the center, with Banshee trying to initiate an early ram on Blip. However, this had the effect of allowing Blip to scoop up and push it back, after which Banshee retreated over the killsaw slots and around the arena center. This began a highly tentative phase where the two robots merely bumped and pushed each other across the BattleBox. Eventually, Banshee was pressed against the top-left paddle by its opponent, which was looking to line up its first flip of the match. It escaped being flipped as Blip struggled to get fully underneath it, as a result of the metal block attachment on the end of its own flipper arm. Both robots separated after a few seconds, though Banshee was thrown sidewards by another high-speed ram from Blip.

Banshee kept being rammed and pushed by Blip, eventually finding itself sliding back into the top-left pocket after Blip caught one of the killsaw slots. Immediately, it tried to head back into the center, but was intercepted and side-swiped by Blip. More rams and pushes were exchanged; Blip slammed Banshee into the bumpers and red square screws, though neither robot had made much use of their flipping weapons by the half-way point.

"*...at this point, David Small realizes he's lost the ground game. He's gonna try and turn this into a track meet. Make Aren Hill chase him around, and see if he can get Blip to make a mistake.*"
— Kenny Florian, as Banshee continues to get pushed and rammed across the BattleBox

Banshee, again, could not find a suitable opportunity to assert itself, as Blip kept shoving and slipping underneath it. David Small's machine was steered backwards over the killsaw slots, which Blip frequently caught with its piano key wedgelets. During one of these exchanges, a near-simultaneous thrust from Blip's flipper panel allowed Banshee to briefly get underneath, as the match entered its final sixty seconds.

As Blip darted free, Banshee skidded into a blue square screw mount as it tried to reposition itself. Another head-to-head exchange resulted in it being pressured, collected and rammed against the control booth wall bumper by Blip. This, in turn, forced Banshee over the top of Blip's flipper attachment, allowing Aren Hill's machine to toss it into the *BattleBots* banner. Part of the banner came down as Banshee landed upside-down; it soon became apparent that its flipper was not functioning at all.

Unable to self-right as a result, Banshee was thrown twice more by Blip, opposite the control booth and into the red square screws respectively. Banshee was re-righted following the second of those flips, immediately darting forwards before attempting another series of rams at the front of Blip. However, this again proved disadvantageous, with Blip eventually getting underneath and slamming Banshee into the blue square screws and Upper Deck bumper. Another head-on collision resulted in Banshee driving up the tip of Blip's weapon. Blip flicked it over, then catapulted it across the arena perimeter.

"*...let's see if Banshee in the final twenty-five ticks can do anything. Not sure if there's any life left in **it's** flipper.*"
— Chris Rose, shortly after Banshee is re-righted by Blip

Banshee bounced off the top of a screw mount, landing on its wheels and darting backwards into a screw mount bumper on the opposite side. Blip intercepted its movements, collecting Banshee from the right-hand side and briefly pinning it against an Upper Deck mount bumper. At that point, Banshee was thrown into the air and landed upside-down between the top-left killsaw slots. Blip tossed Banshee one final time during the closing ten seconds. Landing on its wheels once more, Banshee responded with another head-to-head ram, but was shoved into the top-right bumper by Blip as the end buzzer sounded. Both robots narrowly avoided a strike from the nearby pulverizer, coming to rest within the corner as Kathryn Godfrey and John Remar instructed their teams to conduct functionality tests.

Though having lasted the full distance, the subsequent judges' decision ruled unanimously against Banshee, concluding its Fight Night schedule with a 3-1 match record. As it was not selected to compete in the main championship bracket, this concluded a difficult rookie season for Team Small Robots and their machine.

Banshee also fought in a single exhibition match against Horizon. Though not included as part of *Vengeance in Vegas II*, this was instead released separately on the *BattleBots* Facebook page. Banshee opted for its large green plow for this fight in order to absorb side swipes from Horizon.

The match began with Banshee performing a very fast box-rush while Horizon attempted to dodge it by moving to the side. Horizon found itself getting shoved by Banshee and was taken near the short corner.

David Small then managed to flip Joshua Kong's bot, leaving it inverted at the blue starting square. While Horizon remained immobile, Banshee was now hunting down Timeline, Horizon's minibot, but failed to flip it. With chants from the crowd encouraging Team Small Robots to keep the fight going, Banshee landed a flurry of flips on Horizon, successfully freeing the rookie.

From this moment, Horizon gained an advantage. It spun up and hit Banshee, which looked to be having drive issues, and left a large gash in the side of Banshee's anti-horizontal wedge. A pensive Horizon struck again while it was still suffering from drive issues. With Banshee crab-walking, Horizon hit David Small's machine twice more before it was almost deemed immobile in the red square.

Despite concerns over its mobility, Banshee managed to successfully pin Horizon after it failed a box-rush. With thirty seconds left, a crippled Banshee and a now-weaponless Horizon did everything they could to make a final impression. Horizon hit by the killsaws a few times as both robots lasted the full three minutes.

Banshee was deemed the winner by split decision, adding another victory to its name.

### BattleBots: Champions II

Banshee also competed in BattleBots: Champions II, but information on this event will not be available until 2 months after the final episode is aired.

### BattleBots Proving Ground

Following its rookie *BattleBots* season, Banshee returned to the BattleBox for BattleBots Proving Ground, with David Small reunited with Malice's Bunny Liaw and David Rush. Banshee was scheduled to face World Championship VII applicant Snakebyte but Snakebyte was unable to attend the show.

Banshee instead took on the ShowBot, OverKill. Pre-fight, *BattleBots* teased footage of Banshee throwing debris into the roof of the BattleBox, showcasing a much improved weapon system compared to World Championship VII.

David Small's robot won this fight, but it is not known whether this was by knockout or crowd vote.

David Small's robot was set to face Snakebyte for a second time in BattleBots Proving Ground. Due to aforementioned issues, however, Banshee was again left to fight a backup robot.

Banshee fought OverKill for a second time in Snakebyte's absence. Little is known about the fight, but Banshee largely dominated, landing several flips upon OverKill and ultimately winning by crowd vote.

Following the withdrawal of Traves T., Banshee filled in and fought Maximum Paralysis in July's first Proving Ground battles. David Small was joined by David Rush of Malice and Jeff Waters of JackPot for these fights. After suffering issues with its drive from the off, Banshee struggled to perform in what was a "boring" fight according to captain David Small. Banshee took the win by crowd vote, despite neither robot landing a flip during the three minutes.

Banshee took on Maximum Paralysis for a second time over the weekend. Small stated this fight was considerably more exciting as Banshee threw Maximum Paralysis onto the Upper Deck, and then launched itself on the hazard with the aid of its own flipper. Banshee picked up a fourth Proving Ground win, again by crowd vote.

## Results

* Wins: 6
* Losses: 3

## Trivia

* Banshee shares its name with a heavyweight *Robot Wars* competitor from Series 4, though its namesake lost its only battle of the competition.
* If Banshee had been relegated to an alternate from a full competitor, its replacement would have been Slammo!, according to David Small.

## See Also

* Banshee (BattleBots)
* Banshee on Instagram