(HAPPY APRIL FOOLS' DAY!)
Hello World Bladers!
Today we have a huge announcement regarding the Limited Format which many of you have come to know and love.
With the upcoming North American Championship being centred on the Format, as a committee, and with the input of a few other members, we have submitted the format to a highly stringent internal review process and have come to the conclusion that it has thus far failed to adequately fulfil its secret primary goal of becoming a format completely free of any remotely effective part. The systems already in place, including an extremely reactionary ban process that has been stymied by the risk of users catching on to the fact that the ban of Gravity (thus far the only part to become Banned since the format's inception) was just the first tumble down the slippery slope to the format's true goal. In the end, we have decided that rather than continue to maintain the illusion that Limited is actually a stable format where only a small number of changes from the starting banlist are at all likely, we will simply cut to the inevitable end goal that many sharp-eyed members pointed out: The complete removal of any remotely worthwhile part from the format!
As part of this rebranding, we have changed the banlist numbering to signify this, by jumping all the way to update 2.0, holding notions of technological advancement and modernity. In addition, we have devised a new logo for Limited Format, based around its central wheel, which can be seen at the top of this announcement!
::Limited Format V2.0 Ban List::
As a general rule, almost any part considered even remotely effective is banned from Limited Format V2.0, because there is simply no middle ground between 60g+ Synchroms and Wheels such as Poison and Dark. In addition to this, many new parts have been banned due to their wider availability making it likely they will overshadow wheels such as Poison and Dark. These therefore are the primary answers to "Why is this part banned", though we will provide detailed explanations on all legality rulings in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we have a short list of explanations as to why certain parts are legal, based on those we thought people would be most curious about!
Legality Explanations v1.0 Wrote:Aries (Metal System): Aries is a reasonably heavy wheel, especially the premium returns version, however it has seen little testing showing it to be a threat, so while it will be watched closely, we have decided to leave it in Limited 2.0 for the time being.
Pisces (Metal System): Pisces, much like Aries, is a wheel on which we lack data, and it is not necessarily so heavy that it will present a problem. We strongly encourage users to test it but for the time being we have decided that it should remain legal in Limited 2.0.
Rock: While some have claimed it has use as a Tornado Stalling wheel, Rock has a long history of being derided as a useless or otherwise mediocre part. As such, we have opted to include it despite its relatively heavy weight.
Inferno: Again, some have indicated that Inferno is of similar or greater efficacy to Sagittario, a wheel which is a focal point of Limited 2.0 based on its status as a wheel used a somewhat of a joke by well known members in otherwise serious tournaments. Informal testing showed it does not appear to be a significant threat, however if it does turns out to overshadow our beloved Sagittario, the community has our word that Inferno will be quickly dealt with.
L Drago: A wheel that has seen some popularity in the past, L Drago has been included simply to make sure we still kept a Left-Spin wheel in Limited 2.0, as we as a committee decided differing spin directions were a vital element of Beyblade play, and L Drago was the least threatening option available due to its extremely light weight and the format's lack of metal faces with which it could compensate for this.
F230: Continuing our stance that F230 is absolutely not a problem in any format, we have opted to allow Zero-G's favourite track in Limited 2.0, where the lightweight L Drago is the only Left Spin Wheel.
Orojya: While we have generally not allowed any Zero-G Wheels in Limited 2.0 due to the fact they are too new and thus likely to overshadow wheels like Poison simply through wider availability from Hasbro, we decided to make an exception to Orojya based on the similarity of its design to Poison Serpent, the symbol of Limited 2.0. However, to make sure it does not overshadow Poison, we have banned all Crystal Wheels (as well as carrying over the Synchrom Ban from the original, failed incarnation of Limited Format), which should reduce the chance of it overshadowing the wheels Limited 2.0 is focused on to reasonable levels.
Orso: Our first Clear Wheel entry in this list, Orso is by far (~0.5g on all but one Clear Wheel) the heaviest Clear Wheel in Limited Format, thanks to the ban of nearly every other clear wheel over the weight of 2.8g. Orso has remained legal due to the fact we agreed that the face it comes with is particularly cool. Orso must therefore be used with the Orso face, which must also be in good condition.
Leone: Leone is perhaps the heaviest Wheel in Limited 2.0, and many of us had doubts about it. However one particular user who refused to mind their own business about the process (who will remain unnamed) insisted it was absolutely necessary for "proper gameplay balance in a tournament situation" and after hours of debate (resulting in the delay of this announcement), we eventually grew tired of arguing and decided that Leone would remain legal, but with the condition that it must be hand spun rather than launched.
Serpent: Serpent is the other Clear Wheel that has remained Legal despite being over the 2.8g Weight Limit imposed on that category of parts. This is quite simply a matter of the Format's new image, as Serpent was released alongside the Format's Central Wheel, Poison.
The full banlist for Limited Format V2.0 is as follows:
Quote:::Limited Format V2.0 Ban List::
Wheels (Metal System):
Banned:
All Wheels not listed as Legal.
Legal:
Aries
Capricorne
Escolpio
Gemios
L Drago
Leone (must be Hand Spun).
Pisces
Sagittario
Wolf
Metal Wheels:
Banned:
All Metal Wheels (Including 4D Metal Wheels) not listed as Legal.
Legal:
Cloud
Counter
Crash
Cyber
Dark
Death (Metal Fury)
Divine
Fang (Metal Fury)
Firefuse (Metal Fury)
Flame
Forbidden
Fury
Galaxy
Grand
Hyper
Inferno
Infinity (but not Thunder)
Jade (Metal Fury, Non-Hyperblade)
Killer
Mercury
Midnight
Night
Poison
Rock
Storm
Torch
Tornado
Wing (Metal Fury)
Light Wheels:
Banned:
None!
Legal:
All Light Wheels are Legal, and the use of a Light Wheel affords the user a one-round head start for the BeyBattle (i.e. they start at 1 – 0 in their favour, or 1 – 1 if both players are using Light Wheels).
Clear Wheels:
Banned:
All Clear Wheels over 2.8g (Hosts should weigh all Clear Wheels before Tournaments begin) not listed as Legal.
Legal:
Orso (when used with the Orso Face, which must be in good condition).
Serpent
All Clear Wheels under the weight of 2.8 grams
Chrome Wheels:
Banned:
All Synchroms
All Chrome Wheels not listed as Legal.
Legal:
Orojya
Crystal Wheels:
Banned:
All Crystal Wheels.
Tracks:
Banned:
85
90
100
145
160
230
AD145
BD145
CH120
D125
DF105
DF145
E230
GB145
H145
R145
S130
SA165
SP230
SR200
T125
TH170
TR145
W105 (due to SonoKong's 100-Height W105)
W145
Bottoms:
Banned:
BWD
CF
CS
D
EWD
GCF
LRF
MB
MF
PD
R2F
RB
RDF
RF
RS
RSF
SD (See 'Exceptions' section)
SWD
TB
WD
WF
XF
Exceptions
SD may be used in an uncustomized Poison Serpent SW145SD.
4D Bottoms:
Banned:
B: D
Faces
Banned:
All faces other than Metal Face Feather and Metal Stone Face Feather.
We hope the community will come to love this new Limited Format just as much as they did the previous, incomplete version, and quickly embrace the opportunity to use rarely-seen wheels such as Poison and Fury to their fullest capability!
That's all for now folks, we'll see you at Anime North 2014!
- World Beyblade Organization Committee