Blacksmith

* World Championship VI
* WC IV
* WC III
* WC II

## Overview

**Blacksmith** is a heavyweight robot from New Jersey built by Team Half Fast Astronaut, which has competed in four *BattleBots* World Championships.

Team captain Al Kindle previously entered Season 2.0 of Comedy Central *BattleBots* with Enforcer, a two-wheel drive lightweight sporting a lifter with an in-built circular saw. However, his involvement with the sport dates even further back, having fought with a more primitive version of the same bot as early as the 1996 *US Robot Wars* competition.

In each of its iterations, Blacksmith has been a large, square-shaped robot with four-wheel drive and a hammer as its primary weapon, which also served as a self-righting mechanism. Blacksmith's design was inspired by a 30lb sportsman class robot named **Mangi** which was also built by Al Kindle. The hammerhead of Blacksmith had a unique design aspect; It had a flamethrower mounted inside it which can be ignited. The original idea was suggested by Al Kindle's team as they were afraid they wouldn't get accepted into World Championship II, which also stressed that bots needed to have a "theme". Al Kindle thought it was absurd to create and there was little time left to construct it. Alan Young from the team swore he would make it work, and in the end, he managed to build it.

The hammer of Blacksmith was powered by an NPC Black Max electric motor. The goal was not to deliver massive shots, but to be hit more rapidly, be more reliable, and have more controlled self-righting. The fire shooting from the flamethrower is fueled by propane. The frame of Blacksmith is a combination of tapped holes in the frame and through bolts and nuts in the side, front and rear panels, with the top armor consisting of all tapped holes in the frame. It had two thicknesses, one of which was 1/16" and the other being slightly thinner. Blacksmith won its qualifying round in its debut season before being defeated by Bronco. It received a wildcard to reach the Top 32, only to lose against Minotaur in spectacular fashion.

"*The first order of business is to make the hammer motor not self destruct in each fight... We should be able to maintain the same power level. The power was there, it's difficult to generate spinner level power with half of one rotation. It's a different type of strategy than always going for the KO. The hope is the shock of the hammer will shake something important loose inside... The secondary plan is for the steel tips to create dents, holes, or gaps for the fire to enter the opponent.*"
— Al Kindle on plans to improve Blacksmith for future seasons in a Reddit AMA.
Al Kindle and his team returned for World Championship III with a remade hammer head that swings at 30mph and was quoted to weigh around 11lbs. The hammer arm and head were both made from one piece of AR500 steel. The hammer arm also originally had HDPE around it, but was no longer used after fighting Bite Force. The team also had brought two full flame hammer assemblies and two plain steel non-flame hammers in case damage was done to the hammer. The hammer shaft is custom machined titanium that has a hollow path in two directions that minimized the hose twisting this time. Blacksmith now had a revised chassis in which the entire frame is welded from AR500 steel. Al Kindle stated the top armor is thin and light, but the sides and rear are heavily armored with 3/16 AR500 steel. Blacksmith notably now has additional front configurations/packages to adapt against different opponents, including two heavy front red forks specifically designed for drum spinners like Minotaur, and a "small heavy wedge" designed to counter horizontal spinners. There were oversized holes to allow the wedge to float and remain flat on the floor, resulting in multiple front end packages that bolt to the main frame for easy replacement. The front end caps also double the front armor thickness and reinforce the front corners. Speed controllers with current limiting were used as additional precaution so Blacksmith would not overheat during matches. It had a much better performance in the 2018 season, lasting the full three minutes against every opponent it lost to, but failed to make the tournament bracket.

"*The power of the hit is not small. Torque wise, it has enough to lift 250lbs at the tip. The head is 13lbs and it travels the full swing arc in 3 seconds. The hammer is more than a weapon to do damage. It delivers the fire, it acts as a self right device, and it may make it possible to free ourselves from precarious areas of the Battlebox...*"
— Al Kindle on Blacksmith's hammer on a Reddit AMA

"*This season is probably the hardest it has hit. But most importantly, this is the season we figured out the magic combinations that keep the Black Max from blowing up in 3 minutes.*"
— Al Kindle on Blacksmith's improvements for the 2019 competition in a Reddit AMA
Returning for World Championship IV, Blacksmith had a new green color scheme based on one of their sponsors: Nuclear Blast. Blacksmith gained a new hammer shaft and a bulkier, more rounded out hammerhead with a little radioactive symbol cut out in it. The hammer was stated by Al Kindle to hit the hardest out of all the previous seasons. Blacksmith's front forks were now painted green, and the hammer axle now had green color lineage on it. It had yet again, another revised chassis/frame structure, with the armor thickness ranging between 1/8 to 1/2. The team had also figured out how to resolve the issues which kept causing the hammer's electric 'Black Max' motor from overheating. Depending on the flow rate, Blacksmith could keep the fire burning from the hammerhead for upwards of two minutes. The team's main success to date was seen in this competition, finishing 3-3 and making the Top 16 for the first time.

After being absent for the 2020 season, Blacksmith arrived at World Championship VI with the hammerhead removed in place of a completely new primary weapon: a hammer saw dubbed the "power hammer" by Al Kindle himself. Keeping its green color scheme, the weapon was an asymmetrical green disc linked to a gear chain and weapon shaft which slams down on opponents. Blacksmith still retained its trademark weapon-flamethrower, which was connected to the back of the weapon axle. Blacksmith also had newly shaped front-forks which were attached and bolted differently. Besides receiving another revised chassis structure, the New-Jersey bot also received a new paint-job, with a graffiti-styled "Blacksmith" logo right next to the numerous drawn skulls on the left-side of Blacksmith, staying true to the 'heavy metal' theme. Its primary weapon proved to be very eye-catching, which led to Blacksmith being used in a lot of teaser footage for the show. Blacksmith's first fight since 2019 resulted in a win by judges' decision over Free Shipping, but it quickly fell to 1-2 after losing out to Adam Wrigley's Shatter! and Bunny Liaw's Malice in consecutive fights.

In September 2022, Blacksmith was confirmed not to be competing in World Championship VII, opting against applying for the competition for unconfirmed reasons.

## Robot History

### BattleBots World Championship II

Blacksmith was one of twelve robots which was forced to fight through the three-way melees of the qualifier round in order to make it into the main bracket. It was placed up against two brand-new teams in Gemini and Basilisk. The match started quickly for Blacksmith, as it charged Basilisk when it approached and dealt damage to Basilsk's flipping arm with its hammer. This seemed to incapacitate Basilisk, so Blacksmith attacked the two Gemini robots, seemingly unfazed by their weapons. Soon, Blacksmith had cornered both Gemini robots and hammered away, knocking out the black half of Gemini. However, the assault took a toll on Blacksmith, as it began to show control issues itself. Basilisk's drone counterpart, Afterbyte, landed near Blacksmith at this point, and Blacksmith scooped it up and smashed it with the hammer. Basilisk itself soon began moving again and once again attacked Blacksmith, but it quickly slowed and stopped once again after taking a few more hits. Blacksmith continued to beat on the red half of Gemini until the final 30 seconds of the match, where it stopped entirely due to a drive chain problem. Smoke and then flame began pouring from Blacksmith's internals, and it looked like it was going to be counted out. However, halfway into the countdown, Blacksmith's drive chain problem resolved itself and Blacksmith moved for just long enough to show controlled movement before time ran out on the match. The match went to the judges, who ruled a unanimous decision for Blacksmith. The reason Blacksmith caught fire was due to the weapon motor burning out, compounded with some spilled propane from the weapon system. This win put Blacksmith to the round of 48.

Here, it faced the daunting challenge of fighting previous semi-finalist Bronco. After dodging each other for the first few seconds, Blacksmith missed its first hammer attack, which allowed Bronco to flip it three times in succession, the last one getting it caught on the screws. Blacksmith escaped, but its flamethrower wasn't working. It pushed underneath Bronco and rammed it into the side wall, hitting it with its hammer. Bronco flipped Blacksmith over and as Blacksmith righted itself, its hammer head broke off. Blacksmith immediately went on the defensive, keeping its wedge to Bronco and eventually getting underneath and hitting it with its hammer arm. Bronco retaliated by flipping Blacksmith into the pulverizer. Blacksmith was able to get under Bronco a few times and dodged the flipper, but eventually Bronco got underneath and flipped it on top of the screws again. This time, Blacksmith was unable to free itself and was counted out. Bronco won by KO at 2:16 and Blacksmith was eliminated. However, Blacksmith was awarded one of the eight wild cards most likely for its unique hammer/flamethrower weapon. This put Blacksmith to the round of 32 with its No.26 seeding, where it faced the No.7 seed Minotaur.

Things started out promising for Blacksmith as it withstood Minotaur's spinning drum and pushed it around the BattleBox. Suddenly, Minotaur started to damage the front wedge of Blacksmith and tore it right off as it was being hit by the pulverizer. Minotaur then tore off Blacksmith's top plate and Blacksmith kept going straight at Minotaur with its hammer. Blacksmith was being tossed around the BattleBox by Minotaur's spinning drum and Minotaur pushed Blacksmith onto the screws, where it lost its hammerhead again. While Blacksmith was swinging its hammer arm, Minotaur went straight at Blacksmith with its spinning drum and pushed Blacksmith against the screws. Blacksmith's weapon motor caught fire and it stopped moving. However, there wasn't enough time to count out Blacksmith and the match went to a judge's decision. Minotaur won on a unanimous 3-0 judge's decision and Blacksmith was eliminated from the tournament.

### BattleBots World Championship III

Blacksmith's first match in World Championship III was an undercard match against the former champion Bite Force. Blacksmith rushed out of its square and tried to hit Bite Force, but the hammer wasn't working correctly and Paul Ventimiglia's bot got the first hit. After dodging around each other for a while, Bite Force landed another blow, ripping up Blacksmith's armor. Blacksmith was starting to get pushed back by Bite Force and landed two hammer blows before Bite Force flipped it over. Blacksmith quickly self-righted and continued to attack, landing a blow that not only temporarily stopped Bite Force's spinning bar, but lodged the weapon into the gap where Bite Force's weapon is housed, leaving the two temporarily stuck. Blacksmith was not undamaged as the hit had severed its fuel system for the flamethrower. Blacksmith continued to attack, but Bite Force pushed it up on the screws and left it there with only seconds left on the clock. Time ran out and Bite Force won by a unanimous 3-0 judges' decision.

In its second fight of the season, Blacksmith had to fight against The Four Horsemen. The fight started with Blacksmith opting to use its wedge over its hammer to avoid taking possible damage from The Four Horsemen. This proved to be a good decision as they were able to easily shove the Four Horsemen around the arena. Blacksmith took the damage dished out by Pestilence and Famine and kept pushing The Four Horsemen around. Blacksmith started taking damage from Pestilence and Famine, but Buttercup was destroyed by its own teammate, allowing Blacksmith to gain the upper hand. Blacksmith continued to attack and managed to cause the spinner of Famine and Pestilence to stop working. With 3 seconds left on the clock, the Four Horsemen were counted out, giving Blacksmith the win to advance to the next stage.

"*Right before the horsemen match a nasty glitch resurfaced that we thought we knocked out before the event began. The bot would just stop for a few seconds at a time. We were very fortunate to actually pull out a win in that match. The spinners are no joke and Ian has years of experience.*"
— Al Kindle on what happened in the BattleBox before fighting The Four Horsemen on a Reddit AMA
Blacksmith now took on Witch Doctor and opted to use the front forks it had previously used against Bite Force. The match started out well for Blacksmith as they were getting underneath Witch Doctor and shoving them into the wall. However, as the match progressed, Blacksmith found itself on the receiving end of multiple attacks and the possible loss of its hammer. On top of all that, Blacksmith was slower to turn than Witch Doctor, so it was unable to keep its opponent from making hits from the side or rear. However, the fight turned as Blacksmith managed to get fully under Witch Doctor and shove it up onto the arena screws such that the left-front tire of Witch Doctor was between the screws and the arena barrier. Blacksmith celebrated, but at the last second, Witch Doctor got free with six seconds left on the clock. Time ran out and Witch Doctor was declared the winner by a 3-0 unanimous judges' decision.

Blacksmith next found itself in a rematch against Minotaur. Blacksmith kept the red front forks to try and keep Minotaur's weapon at bay and control the fight using its hammer. This seemed to work out as neither robot dished out any hits for several seconds. However, Blacksmith started to take attacks from Minotaur, though they were mostly sparks. Blacksmith retaliated with its hammer, but dealt about the same level of damage. Blacksmith then had Minotaur underneath, causing more sparks as it was thrown against the arena barrier, but retaliated with its hammer once again. As the fight wore on, Blacksmith was starting to seemingly lose some of its power, but it pressed on and withstood an attack from Minotaur near the pulverizer. Time ran out and the judges awarded a unanimous 3-0 decision to Minotaur.

Next for Blacksmith was a battle against Warhead in the USA vs. The World special tournament. The match was off to a pretty even start for Blacksmith, with both bots moving around and activating their flaming weapons. Eventually, Blacksmith and Warhead clashed head on and the former fired a shot to Warhead's head before maneuvering to the side and striking an area just behind the clamping head and firing a third shot that missed, instead tangling with one of Warhead's self-righting arms. After backing away, Blacksmith let Warhead grab onto its hammer, allowing Blacksmith to lift Warhead off the ground and continue to grill it. Blacksmith eventually let go and clashed head on again, but missed the hammer shot. Blacksmith then connected wedge to wedge to try and aim its hammer, but Warhead started spitting out flames and soon grabbed on the side of Blacksmith's wedge. Blacksmith fired its hammer in retaliation with some of its shots managing to strike the clamping head, but not doing much damage. Warhead eventually let go of Blacksmith and Al Kindle's bot continued to rain down hits on the head until Warhead started gaining a hold of Blacksmith, which by then was grilling Warhead's side. After the two bots separated, Blacksmith continued its barrage of jabs on its opponent's clamping jaw as Warhead continued to grab and push Blacksmith around. The hammer bot eventually got its weapon caught in Warhead's grasp and made a second lift. Blacksmith started pounding away again, but Warhead soon grabbed Blacksmith by the side and pushed it into the screws. After the two were hit by the killsaws, Blacksmith gave one more shot to the head before moving away to get a better position, before charging in and delivering more shots to the upper jaw of Warhead until they separated again. After some maneuvering, Blacksmith charged in and continued to pound away, even as Warhead grabbed Blacksmith by the front. Eventually, however, Blacksmith's weapon motor started to burn up, its hammer slowing down and emitting smoke as Warhead slammed Blacksmith into the rails. Blacksmith got free after getting shoved into the killsaws and delivered another charge, firing its hammer one last time on the T-Rex head as its weapon motor started smoking before getting shoved into the arena wall as the time ran out. The judges awarded a 2-1 split decision to Warhead, a decision of which was debated by fans. This gave 1 point to Warhead and The World.

### BattleBots World Championship IV

Blacksmith started off 2019 with a match against newcomer Quantum. Things were off to a bad start for Blacksmith as they were grappled by Quantum and unable to mount any kind of attack since the hammer was out of reach. After several seconds, Quantum was unable to let go as Blacksmith's AR500 steel armor was actually preventing Quantum from being able to release due to the jagged barbs that were created when Quantum bit down so the match was paused, though the separation of bots was cut from the televised airing and both halves of the fight were sewn together. Blacksmith didn't have any real offense against the crusher and was bitten down again. This time, Blacksmith was carried around the arena and still wasn't able to be let go. This resulted in the fight ending early as the result probably would've been the same. The judges were called in and awarded Quantum a unanimous 3-0 decision.

Next up for Blacksmith was Matt Spurk and Kraken. As the match began, Blacksmith was having trouble landing hits but managed to start landing several in a row, though none causing significant damage. Blacksmith continued to fire the hammer, and was eventually grabbed by its opponent but thankfully this didn't cause much damage either. Blacksmith continued swinging its hammer as time ran out. The judges awarded Blacksmith a close 2-1 split decision.

Blacksmith's next opponent was Jamison Go and SawBlaze. For the fight, Blacksmith added triangular-shaped extrusions to the top armor to protect itself from SawBlaze's hammer saw. SawBlaze opted to go with its new hammer saw, which was thicker than its traditional saw and could hit harder and its traditional front forks. As the match got underway, SawBlaze struggled to land any hits as their new saw was causing the robot to raise its front forks off the arena floor briefly. Luckily, SawBlaze managed to stabilize and shoved Blacksmith around before dropping its hammer saw. SawBlaze released, then took shots from Blacksmith's hammer. SawBlaze went back on the attack, shoving Blacksmith around again. After a third attack, SawBlaze's saw stopped working as the belts powering it had gotten tangled up, which left SawBlaze vulnerable but Blacksmith was unable to make use of this vulnerability before time ran out. The judges awarded SawBlaze a 2-1 split decision.

With only a win over Kraken thus far, Blacksmith was now looking to improve its odds of being selected for the Top 16 and was placed against Brian Nave and Captain Shrederator. Blacksmith opted to add its anti-spinner configuration, intending to use it to stop Captain Shrederator from spinning and then attack. As the match began, Blacksmith did just that, taking the hits from their opponent without suffering any damage. Blacksmith continued to take the hits, occasionally being sent flying in the opposite direction as a result but was still strong enough to survive. Eventually, Blacksmith got Captain Shrederator up on the screws but Captain Shrederator escaped. Blacksmith managed to get them to the pulverizer before using its weapon to cook Captain Shrederator's top. Soon, Captain Shrederator's weapon stopped and smoke began to pour out. Blacksmith managed to take Captain Shrederator back to the screws and flip it over. With no way to right itself, Captain Shrederator was counted out, giving Blacksmith the win by KO.

"*It was obviously not hitting as hard as it can during the Shred fight. The speed controller used in this fight had an issue we didn’t see until half way into the fight.*"
— Al Kindle on Blacksmith's hammer power during it's fight against Captain Shrederator on a Reddit AMA
With a 2-2 record, Blacksmith took on ROTATOR and Victor Soto for a place in the Top 16 bracket. For this battle, Blacksmith opted for its anti-spinner wedge to counter against ROTATOR's double-disc configuration. The match was pretty even to start as Blacksmith was absorbing the impacts from ROTATOR's upper disc but quickly lost the use of its hammer, although the hammer was still spitting out flames. Blacksmith continued to use its wedge against ROTATOR and eventually gave ROTATOR drive issues near the screws. For a moment, it seemed like ROTATOR was about to get counted out for crab-walking and not showing active moment. However, Al Kindle and Blacksmith decided to keep the match going, looking to take the fight to a judges' decision. Blacksmith then took advantage of ROTATOR's spin technique by flipping them over and shoving them under the pulverizer. ROTATOR had little left to do but both robots survived to the end of the match. The judges awarded Blacksmith a unanimous 3-0 decision and a place in the Top 16.

Having fought hard to make the Top 16, Blacksmith and Team Half Fast Astronaut were now facing a rematch with Witch Doctor. For the match, the team opted to use Blacksmith's long green front forks for the first time. As the match got underway, Blacksmith was ramming continuously straight into Witch Doctor's vertical disc spinners. Blacksmith could not find an opportunity to push or swing it's hammer and continued tanking Witch Doctor's shots. As the match progressed, Blacksmith's front forks were becoming increasingly bent. Blacksmith soon took a huge hit from Witch Doctor which launched it hammer-first onto the Lexan glass on-top of the Screws. Eventually, Blacksmith escaped by swinging it's flaming hammer. Blacksmith began taking more punishment from Witch Doctor until smoke began to pour from one side of Blacksmith. The New Jersey bot was then knocked over under the pulverizer, but self-righted. One half of Blacksmith was now completely on fire and smoking badly. Despite being engulfed in flames and severely damaged, Blacksmith kept on moving. However, Blacksmith was deemed to be crab-walking and not showing active movement. Blacksmith was counted out, giving Witch Doctor the win by KO.

### BattleBots World Championship VI

Al Kindle and Blacksmith first faced fellow veteran Gary Gin and Free Shipping, both of whom returned after a year away from *BattleBots*. The fight began with Blacksmith welcoming the box-rush from Free Shipping as it fired the hammer saw for the first time. However, Free Shipping won the ground game and was able to spin Blacksmith around and ram it into the Upper Deck in a cloud of fire.

As Free Shipping came back, Blacksmith again fired its primary weapon, causing sparks to fly, but then drove into the pulverizer which temporarily saw it stuck in the corner. Al Kindle's bot escaped and tried to fire its weapon directly onto Free Shipping's lifting arm, but could not make contact. Gary Gin was able to maneuver Blacksmith onto its forks and flipped it over, though its opponent could self-right.

Blacksmith attempted to swipe with its weapon, but misses several times before landing a couple of hits again. Free Shipping then takes Blacksmith to the Upper Deck once more, but Free Shipping's weapon chain is visibly broken, thus disabling its lifting weapon. However, with Blacksmith now smoking and on fire, its spinning weapon also appeared inactive but could still swing like a traditional hammer. Free Shipping took a shot from the pulverizer in the closing seconds, but the fight went the distance with both bots still active. The judges awarded a unanimous 3-0 decision in favor of Blacksmith.

Blacksmith's second fight was against Shatter!, who sported their new Mary Special weapon. Although Shatter! was able to attack in the opening seconds, Blacksmith immediately retaliated as its flaming hammer saw made contact with the weapon of Shatter!, visibly deforming it for the remainder of the fight. However, Shatter!'s next attack caught the belt for Blacksmith's disc in the next attack, disabling part of their primary weapon.

"*Blacksmith has 2 different things going on in their power hammer: it spins the disc and it swings the arm. The disc spins via a belt, and the arm swings via a chain. Apparently some bad wiring inside caused the arm to get stuck extended, and then after we sliced the belt the disc could no longer spin. The electronics eventually rebooted and with the chain still attached, the arm could still swing, but without the spinning disc it wasn't going to do anything to our AR500 tops.*"
— Bots FC's explanation for what happened to Blacksmith during the first few exchanges
Blacksmith attempted to outdrive Shatter! for much of the fight, but Adam Wrigley's team were able to utilize their omniwheels and keep the front forks pointed their way. However, Shatter!'s forks soon proved to work against them, becoming stuck in the killsaw slots. This allowed for Blacksmith to drive Shatter! into the Upper Deck and rack up valuable aggression points. Shatter! remained aggressive itself though and caught Blacksmith under the pulverizer as the fight wore on, continuing to deliver shots to its top armor with its own hammer. Blacksmith was still able to control Shatter! at times during the closing stages, but the fight went the distance and the judges rules unanimously in favor of Shatter!, pegging Blacksmith back to 1-1.

Last up for Blacksmith in the Fight Night rounds was Bunny Sauriol and Malice, who sat 0-2 in the season. For this fight, Blacksmith opted for its anti-horizontal spinner configuration, consisting of a steep 3/8" AR500 steel plow to deflect the drumette of its opponent. As the fight began, it was Malice who got the better of the early exchanges, grazing against the steel plow of Blacksmith before a big shot sent both bots flying to opposite ends of the BattleBox. Overturned, Blacksmith was able to right itself before Malice dealt another couple of hits with its drumette. As Blacksmith attempted to get its hammersaw into play, Al Kindle fired it straight into the primary weapon of Malice, which tore the disc and weapon belt of Blacksmith away while splitting the arm. Malice remained aggressive and attacked the front of Blacksmith as fire began to emit from the New Jersey representative. Despite its best efforts, Blacksmith was able to withstand the assault from Malice in the second half of the fight, so it went to the judges. Malice won by unanimous decision, pushing Blacksmith to a precarious 1-2 record. Blacksmith was not chosen to advanced into the Round of 32 and was eliminated from the tournament as a result.

### BattleBots: Champions I

Blacksmith returned for *BattleBots: Champions I*, facing Deadlift in the first round of its bracket. Blacksmith immediately spun up its disc and prepared its flamethrower, while Deadlift tried to get a grip on its arm. Deadlift was pinned by Blacksmith against the wall in front of the drivers' booths, then Al Kindle fired the hammersaw down on the left side of Deadlift. As Blacksmith looked to prepare another attack, Deadlift activated its own flamethrower in an attempt to warn its veteran opponent. Blacksmith landed another shot on Deadlift before getting in underneath and driving it into one of the paddles. One half of Deadlift's drive was now down, as it arced in place trying to escape the red square. Blacksmith continued to attack, pinning Deadlift against the screws and delivering further punishment as it looked to finish the job. Referee John Remar disclosed that he could not begin a count unless Blacksmith refused to engage any further, and Deadlift consented to remaining in the fight. However, it was largely at Al Kindle's mercy as Blacksmith drove Deadlift back to the center of the BattleBox and then into the short corner. Deadlift continued to show limited movement, but survived until the end of the fight. Blacksmith lost a weapon belt in the closing seconds but in spite of this, took the win by unanimous decision and advanced in the bracket.

In the second round, Blacksmith faced Greg Needel and Switchback, who previously chalked up a win over Lucky. Blacksmith was again armed with its steep front forks, and began the fight by driving Switchback into the short corner. Switchback found itself pinned under the pulverizer and suffered a shot from Blacksmith's power hammer. Blacksmith landed another blow which took a chunk out of Switchback's side supports before getting underneath and overturning it. Switchback was able to self-right, but fell into the path of Al Kindle's bot, which attacked again with its disc. Switchback's weapon sprocket had been severely damaged by this point and could no longer swing its arm back and forth with the same efficiency. It also appeared to be struggling to drive, as it ran weapon-first into the Upper Deck and bounced away. Blacksmith met the rear of Switchback and fired its flaming hammersaw several more times, herding Switchback into the short corner again. Greg Needel's bot found itself under the same pulverizer as before, but only suffered gentle taps from the 100lb hammer. Blacksmith used this to pin its opponent in place, however, and delivered further attacks to the weapon of Switchback, who struggled to escape the corner. With the clear aggression points to its name, Blacksmith opted to send Switchback towards the front of the Upper Deck, where its wedgelet became caught underneath the robot and stopped Switchback from moving. A countout began, and Blacksmith moved on.

One step away from facing Skorpios, Blacksmith faced Bloodsport. Ahead of this fight, Al Kindle swapped the forks out for a front plow to protect against its opponent's untested horizontal disc. Bloodsport immediately spun up and left a slice in Blacksmith's plow as it dealt a succession of hits which left it upside-down. Blacksmith righted itself as this exchange also cost Bloodsport one of its two hinged wedgelets. Sparks flew as Bloodsport continued to graze the front of Blacksmith, who continued to tank hits before being spun around and taking a hit to its rear. Bloodsport then bounced up the front of its opponent, leaving a scar down the right side of Blacksmith's AR500 steel armor. Yet to land a shot with its flaming power hammer, Blacksmith kept the weapon prepared for any opportunity to attack. Bloodsport hit the rear of Blacksmith again, who suddenly became caught in the wall. Blacksmith took its opportunity with Bloodsport's weapon now halted, and rained down several overhead attacks directly to the new horizontal disc. Although, Bloodsport escaped relatively unscathed, Blacksmith's momentum continued as it rammed Bloodsport weapon-first into the wall before taking it to the screws. Its power hammer delivered several blows to Bloodsport as it was momentarily beached on the hazard. The screws reversed, but Bloodsport fell wedgelet-first and Blacksmith took advantage, pinning it against the hazard once more. Blacksmith got around to Bloodsport's front again, but as its horizontal spinner got up to speed, Blacksmith mistimed an overhead attack, which destroyed its power hammer. The disc lay useless on the floor and parts scattered the BattleBox as Blacksmith made one last attempt to leave an impression on the judges by shoving Bloodsport into the short corner. In a close fight, a split decision went in favor of Bloodsport, and Blacksmith was eliminated at this stage of the competition.

## Results

* Wins: 8
* Losses: 12

## Faruq Tauheed Introductions

"Aww Snookie. From New Jersey so you know it's a shore thing. It's BLACKSMITH!"

"Bang Bang into the box. This bot rules the school of hard knocks. It’s BLACKSMITH!"

"It's got a flaming hammer to swing and its always thinking one thing, "Yeah! I hit that!" Here to get it on, it's BLACKSMITH!"

"Whoop, whoop! This is not a drill. It's hammer time. Here to pound you like Play-Doh, the jersey thornado, BLACKSMITH!"

"In west Philadelphia, born and raised where the slayed spent most of his days. You know who it is. It's the Death Prince of Hell Air, BLACKSMITH!"

"Hang with this bot and you will get hammered. Here to serve a round of bruise, the man, the myth, it's BLACKSMITH!"

"The Jersey Boss should be called Bot Springsteen. It'll leave you Torn in the USA, it's BLACKSMITH!"

"I don't know if this New Jersey bot is in the Mafia but it's definitely out to put a hit on ya. Bot-a-bing, bot-a-boom. Its flaming hammer will send you to your tomb. It's BLACKSMITH!"

"This bot's like a mob boss. It'll smash you into kapeashes. He's no good fella, so you better not flip, because he will never, ever forget about it. Here to amuse you is BLACKSMITH!"

"Back from the fiery furnace, this bot is bringing the heat. Prepare to be lathed to the ground. He dealt it, now he's gonna smelt it. It's BLACKSMITH!"

"You know his name. Al be Kindle, Al be quick. Al be swinging a big, flaming stick. Sorry you turned up, you're about to get burnt up. It's the flaming hammer of myth, the one and only, BLACKSMITH!"

"This is not a drill. I repeat, this is NOT a drill. It's a flaming hammer and it maims at will. It's BLACKSMITH!"

"A bot who's from Jersey like Kevin Smith and Jay, who makes his enemies think ‘I’m not even supposed to be here today!’. When his hammer comes down, the sound is quite violent. And the crowd gets so pumped, not even Bob could stay silent. Snooch to the nooch, it’s BLACKSMITH!”

"From Edison, New Jersey, home of Menlo Park, this bot’s forged to be stronger than the armor of Tony Stark. You’ll be dust when his hammer’s fired and slams. Other bots are like tin foil, but he’s the Iron Man. It’s BLACKSMITH!"

"From Edison, New Jersey, he forges weapons using an anvil, and when he hits you with them, you need an Advil. It's BLACKSMITH!"

"From Edison, New Jersey. He came from the Garden State to make you a vegetable. Give it up for BLACKSMITH!"

## Trivia

* Team member Alan Young shares a name with a member of 2016 season competitor Photon Storm, but the two are unrelated.
	+ This is one of two recognized examples of two unrelated team members sharing a name between different teams. The other being Alex Grant, co-captain of Tantrum, and the Bale Spear team member of the same name.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/4p1gpj/blacksmith\_ama/
2. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/4p1gpj/blacksmith\_ama/d4hbcit/?utm\_source=reddit&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
3. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/cvuoi6/ask\_me\_anything\_with\_blacksmith\_and\_its\_least/ey6kyr2/?utm\_source=reddit&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
4. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/u793wp/the\_battlebots\_season\_7\_rumor\_mill/iovv832/?context=3
5. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/8qn3lm/ama\_with\_blacksmith\_m/e0m1jrt/?utm\_source=reddit&utm\_medium=web2x&context=
6. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/battlebots/comments/cvuoi6/ask\_me\_anything\_with\_blacksmith\_and\_its\_least/ey6kyr2/?utm\_source=reddit&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
7. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTkznzlmQto