A pick list is not a power ranking — it's a decision tool for the few high-pressure minutes of alliance selection. The classic FRC mistake is building one ranked list and freezing when reality diverges from it. Top teams build scenario-based lists.
Make multiple lists, because your role isn't fixed. Standard practice is to prepare separate lists for the situations you might land in: one for if you're an alliance captain (you pick the best complement to your robot), and one for if you're being picked / picking later (the strong robots are gone, so you optimize among what remains). The right first pick for a top FUEL-scoring captain is different from the right first pick for a captain whose strength is defense and endgame.
Rank by complementary fit, not raw score. If your robot is an elite FUEL farmer, your highest-value partner may be a reliable TOWER climber and HUB defender — not the second-best farmer. Use the EPA component breakdown to find complements: pair your strong teleop-EPA with a partner who has strong endgame-EPA, and you cover two ranking-point thresholds at once. Build the list around what your alliance needs to clear ENERGIZED + SUPERCHARGED + TRAVERSAL, not around who has the prettiest highlight reel.
Weight reliability heavily. A robot that averages high but died in 2 of 11 quals is a coin flip in elims, where one disable can end your tournament. Annotate every candidate with a reliability flag from your own scouting (the public OPR/EPA can't see a robot that broke). Many strong teams will deliberately rank a slightly-lower-scoring but bulletproof robot above a flashier, fragile one.
Tier, don't just rank. Group candidates into tiers (A: pick immediately; B: good; C: situational; DNP: do-not-pick for reliability/behavior reasons). Tiers survive the chaos of selection better than a brittle 1-through-N list, because when your top choice is taken you just grab the next name in the tier instead of re-deriving everything live.
Pre-decision the hard calls. Decide in advance: do you prioritize a second strong scorer or a dedicated defender for your second pick? Do you ever pick a robot that can only play defense? Walking into the selection table with these answers already made is what separates calm captains from teams that burn their pick on whoever the crowd is cheering. The list is the artifact; the pre-made decisions are the real value.
the part worth keeping
Key takeaways
- Build separate scenario lists (as captain vs. as a later picker) - the optimal pick depends on your role and who's left.
- Rank by complementary fit using EPA components (pair your strength with a partner who covers a different ranking-point threshold), not raw score.
- Tier candidates (A/B/C/DNP) and weight reliability heavily, since public analytics can't see a robot that died in quals.
Drive TeamAdvanced Strategy & Case Studieslesson 2 of 5
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Sources and corrections
This lesson is AI-assisted: drafted from primary sources, then reviewed and edited by hand. Errors still get through. When one is reported we fix it and write down what changed, in public, in the corrections log.
sources and further reading
- chiefdelphi.comChief Delphi: Alliance Selection System (strategy discussion)
- blog.thebluealliance.comThe Blue Alliance Blog: OPR and You (basic strategy)
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Articles that go further on this
The lesson gets you through the topic. These go wider on it, and they read in one sitting.
- 13 min readFRC Alliance Selection Strategy: How Picks, Scouting, and Playoffs WorkA complete, rules-accurate guide to FRC alliance selection: how the serpentine draft works, first- vs second-pick strategy, the scouting inputs behind a pick list, and the double-elimination playoff./blogread it
- 20 min readBuilding an FRC Scouting App: Data Model, TBA/Statbotics APIs, and PicklistsBuild an FRC scouting app: match and pit scouting, a simple data model, pulling schedules and EPA from the TBA and Statbotics APIs, and building a picklist./blogread it
- 20 min readPlaying Defense in FRC: Legal Defense, Positioning, and Picklist ValuePlaying defense in FRC done right: when it pays off, legal vs. illegal defense and pinning rules, driving technique, counter-defense, and picklist value./blogread it
answer sheet
Lesson quiz
All 3 right completes the lesson. Miss one and only that question comes back, anything you already answered correctly stays banked.
0 of 3 answered
01Why should you weight reliability heavily on a pick list, even for a high-scoring robot?
02How should you use the EPA component breakdown when ranking candidates?
03What makes a pick list actually 'survive reality' on selection day?
Answer every question to submit.
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01 / prerequisites
02 / the-drive-team-and-its-roles
03 / driver-station-and-controls
04 / driver-practice-and-match-performance
05 / the-pit-and-match-turnaround
06 / worked-examples-mini-projects
- Not read yet:Project 1: A Production-Ready Driver Control Scheme
- Not read yet:Project 2: A Drivetrain That Survives a Whole Match
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07 / common-mistakes-troubleshooting
08 / advanced-strategy-case-studies