There is really no difference between the two, at the abstract level. It's all about having a pattern of some sort that's expected and having a bunch of other patterns that will work regardless. It's then a game. Can the lock designer make it too hard to find those patterns? Can the lock breaker find the careless mistake or overlooked possibility?

You might know the history better than me, I rarely went into the locksmith groups on USENET, but I'm fairly sure Kryptonite locks were broken in the early 90s and I've not heard of any better mechanical lock since then although there must be many by now. What are some of the top contenders in the running these days?