Gambit Dragon D8 Competitive Testing & Discussion

I recently obtained Hasbro’s ugly-assin Gambit Dragon D8 and have done a bit of testing. Testings were 10 rounds each, with alternating launches. The Pro Series BeyStadium was used, and the Launchers used were both the Power Custom BeyLauncher LR.

Preface

Gambit Dragon D8 is similar in shape to Hasbro’s 2021 SpeedStorm System Layer, Triumph Dragon D6. Triumph Dragon D6 has already found success in the Burst Limited Format as a good Hasbro Stamina Type Layer option, due to its mix of Defense and Stamina traits. Comparing weights between the two Layers:

Triumph (10.8 grams) + Dragon Storm Chip (3.0 grams) = 13.8 grams Layer total
Gambit (9.6 grams) + Dragon Strike Chip (5.0 grams) + 4/4' Gravity Ring (1.7 grams) = 16.3 grams Layer total
Gambit (9.6 grams) + Dragon Strike Chip (5.0 grams) + G13 Gravity Ring (“Greatest Armor”) (3.2 grams) = 17.8 grams Layer total

With the G13 Gravity Ring (“Greatest Armo”), Gambit Dragon D8 G13 is 0.4 grams heavier than the pre-QuadStrike record holder for the heaviest Hasbro slopes Layer, Turbo Achilles A4.

With this in mind, I referred to Wombat’s 2021 Triumph testing thread, and matched against similar opponents, however using Tapered-Q instead of Outer for Gambit Dragon D8, and Hasbro’s Wheel instead of Outer for the opponents. Prior to more in-depth testing, I found that Low Mode was generally preferable to High Mode as it was less elevated. With that being said, High Mode is not bad per se, just not optimal when compared to Low Mode, as the latter opens up access to Discs like Tapered-Q. No, I am not calling it Apex and Core Mode.

First off, a test against Hercules H4:

Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Eternal-S-10 vs Hercules H4 Wheel (Hasbro) Eternal-S
Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Eternal-S-10: 7 wins (7 OS)
Hercules H4 Wheel (Hasbro) Eternal-S: 3 wins (3 OS)
Gambit Dragon D8 winrate: 70%

For this test, I also alternated Eternal-S (gold and green) between the two combinations halfway through the matches. However, there was no noticeable Stamina difference, and neither Combination Burst despite the difference in Driver Burst Resistance.

At this point we must address…

G13 Gravity Ring (“Greatest Armor”)

The G13 Gravity Ring, aka the "Greatest Armor" and colloquially referred to as the “R Gear” as coined by originalzankye, is a unique Gravity Ring released with Glory Regnar R7. Although seemingly designed for the Glory QD Blade, there are currently no restrictions or guidelines from Hasbro about its usage. G13 can fit underneath most QD/QS Blades, providing additional weight and stability, as it compensates for the hollow undersides of QD/QS Blades. Due to the way G13 sits underneath Blades, it slightly increases the distance between the Chip slopes and the Driver, while the Disc pushes against G13. This interaction results in higher Burst Resistance that varies depending on the QD/QS Blade and Disc being used. This effect is most prominent on Discs with thick topsides, such as Nexus-Q and Qq-Q.

G13 has been primarily used to provide increased Burst Resistance to Attack Type QD/QS Blades such as Salvage and Xiphoid, which lacked the Burst Resistance necessary to handle their own high recoil. However, this is not the case for Gambit, as it lacks much of a hanging underside, and thus there is little to no Burst Resistance increase from G13 - there is simply no pressure being created. Furthermore, due to the wide shape of Gambit, the protrusions of G13 are covered and do not make any meaningful contact with the opponent or the stadium floor.

Prior to any testing, I had this question: How much of a difference does G13 make in terms of Stamina performance?

The answer is…a little yet meaningful bit. Here’s the previous test against Hercules H4, but now with G13 instead of 10:

Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Eternal-S-G13 vs Hercules H4 Wheel (Hasbro) Eternal-S
Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Eternal-S-G13: 8 wins (8 OS)
Hercules H4 Wheel (Hasbro) Eternal-S: 2 wins (2 OS)
Gambit Dragon D8 winrate: 80%

Getting one additional win is not much, so at this point it seemed that G13 was not essential for Gambit’s performance. The battles were not close either, as there was always a clear winner.

Here’s some tests against Flame Sagittario:

Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Atomic-10 vs Flame Sagittario Wheel (Hasbro) Atomic’
Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Atomic-10: 0 wins
Flame Sagittario Wheel (Hasbro) Atomic’: 10 wins (10 OS)
Gambit Dragon D8 winrate: 0%

Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Atomic-G13 vs Flame Sagittario Wheel (Hasbro) Atomic’
Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Atomic-G13: 1 wins (1 OS)
Flame Sagittario Wheel (Hasbro) Atomic’: 9 wins (9 OS)
Gambit Dragon D8 winrate: 10%

As was the case with Triumph Dragon D6, Gambit Dragon D8 did not perform well, with G13 only once again providing 1 additional win that I can chock up to a fluke. However, I did note in the G13 battles that it seemed to tilt less than when 10 was in use. If you are running Gambit and Attack Type QD/QS Blades in the same deck, I would suggest saving G13 for your Attack Combinations. If you are solely running Gambit and no other QD/QS Blades, then I recommend using G13 to give it that extra little kick.

For good measure, I also put it up against Caynox C3, which is probably the best right-spin Hasbro Stamina Layer I have:

Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Eternal-S-G13 vs Caynox C3 Wheel (Hasbro) Eternal-S
Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Eternal-S-G13: 8 wins (8 OS)
Caynox C3 Wheel (Hasbro) Eternal-S: 2 wins (2 OS)
Gambit Dragon D8 winrate: 80%

The performance was pretty close to the Hercules H4 matchup, but I also noticed that Gambit was destabilizing Caynox C3 pretty consistently, which I assume is due to the width of Gambit.

At this point, I realized that Gambit Dragon D8 was reminiscent of the recently banned Driger V2 Layer.

"Diet Driger V2"

I tried a match with similar parts (High Xtend+’ vs Orbit-Q+Xtend+). The Xtend+ Armor Tip was very close to High Xtend+’ in terms of height:

Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Orbit-Q+Xtend+-10 vs Driger V2 Tapered-Q High Xtend+’
Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Orbit-Q+Xtend+-10: 1 wins (1 OS)
Driger V2 Tapered-Q High Xtend+’: 9 wins (9 OS)
Gambit Dragon D8 winrate: 10%
3 Ties (too close to determine)

This matchup was very, very close, but Driger V2 won 9 times, and Gambit only once. There were three matches that were too close to call. With these testings done, I moved onto repeating this, albeit with G13, and the results were interesting:

Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Orbit-Q+Xtend+-G13 vs Driger V2 Tapered-Q High Xtend+’
Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Orbit-Q+Xtend+-G13: 6 wins (6 OS)
Driger V2 Tapered-Q High Xtend+’: 4 wins (4 OS)
Gambit Dragon D8 winrate: 60%
No ties

With G13, it seems the slight increase in weight, stability, and Stamina, allowed Gambit to edge out wins against Driger V2 in this particular matchup, with it being less close than before.

December 22, 2022 update: I've done additional tests against Driger V2, which can be found below.

Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Bearing-G13 vs Driger V2 Tapered-Q Bearing’
Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Bearing-G13: 0 wins
Driger V2 Tapered-Q Bearing’: 10 wins (10 OS)
Gambit Dragon D8 winrate: 0%

Gambit lost very hard in this matchup. Bearing variance aside, it seems that Gambit G13 is strictly inferior to Driger V2 in a mirror match, which is not too shocking considering the 4 gram weight difference and smoother perimeter of Driger V2.

Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Assault-Q+Kick+-G13 vs Driger V2 Tapered-Q Bearing’
Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Assault-Q+Kick-G13: 5 wins (5 OS)
Driger V2 Tapered-Q Bearing': 5 wins (5 OS)
Gambit Dragon D8 winrate: 50%

It seems that Gambit performs as a better Triumph against Driger V2. I personally could not Triumph to work consistently in Driger V2 matchups, but I was able to get Gambit to 50% winrate with a few close matches. This reaffirms in my mind that Gambit is Triumph, but better.

Next I moved onto some Geist Opposite Spin tests:

Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Orbit-Q+Xtend+-G13 vs Geist Fafnir Tapered-Q High Xtend+’
Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Orbit-Q+Xtend+-G13: 2 wins (2 OS)
Geist Fafnir Tapered-Q High Xtend+’: 3 wins (3 OS)
Gambit Dragon D8 winrate: 60%
Six Ties

Its equalization performance reminds me of Driger V2 vs Geist matchups that occurred in two previous tournaments. Geist seems to only Spin Equalize this well against wider Layers like Gambit and Driger V2.

Gambit Dragon D8 is essentially a heavier, more Burst Resistant (due to its Chip options vs Dragon D6), and stronger version of Triumph Dragon overall. I will probably follow this up with some Attack Type tests as well, as I have a Burst Limited Format tournament tomorrow. It is, in my opinion, a straight upgrade to Triumph and a diet Hasbro version of Driger V2. I don't think it's close to banworthy, but it's definitely a strong option for the format.

Inb4 Hasbro Wind is better

Update June 10, 2023: It's been a few months since Hasbro's Wind (Whirl) was released, and I've taken the time to do some proper testing and documentation.

First, I'll start with a mirror match:

Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Bearing-4' vs Whirl Knight K8 Tapered-Q Bearing-4'
Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Bearing-4': 4 wins (4 OS)
Whirl Knight K8 Tapered-Q Bearing-4': 6 wins (6 OS)
Gambit Dragon D8 winrate: 40%

Note that these matches were done with varying launching angles as well; both Gambit and Whirl got wins in a variety of launches and who launched first did not matter, nor which Bearing/Tapered-Q was used. Ties were not counted. My sense is that the two Blades are fairly even in terms of Same-Spin Stamina, in the same manner of Takara Tomy's Dynamite (F Gear) and Wind in the Burst Standard format. In terms of Opposite-Spin Stamina, High Mode Whirl seemed more effective than High Mode Gambit against Layers such as Drain Fafnir and Geist Fafnir.

To finish off these tests, I wanted to see how Gambit stacked up against Attackers compared to Whirl. I used Hasbro's Xiphoid as the benchmark.

Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Unite-4' vs Xiphoid Xcalius X8 Twist-Q Xtreme-G13
Gambit Dragon D8 Tapered-Q Unite-4': 3 wins (3 OS)
Xiphoid Xcalius X8 Twist-Q Xtreme-G13: 2 wins (2 KO)
Gambit Dragon D8 winrate: 60%

Whirl Knight K8 Tapered-Q Unite-4' vs Xiphoid Xcalius X8 Twist-Q Xtreme-G13
Whirl Knight K8 Tapered-Q Unite-4': 2 wins (2 OS)
Xiphoid Xcalius X8 Twist-Q Xtreme-G13: 3 wins (3 KO)
Whirl Knight K8 winrate: 40%

Granted the sample size is small, but it appears to me at least that Gambit has a better time tanking hits from Xiphoid than Whirl did.

Appendix: Dragon D8 Strike Chip

Similar to QuadDrive’s Evo Belfyre B7 and Perseus P7 Drive Chips, the Dragon D8 Strike Chip has high Burst Resistance, although it is not as high as the top tier HyperSphere GT Chips. The slope is where Dragon D8 gets a bit odd: while something like Perseus P7 takes the entire length of the slope to Burst like a normal Layer, Dragon D8 Bursts slightly before the end of the slope. With that being said, the middle of the slope is very tight - compared to Perseus P7, which has consistent high Burst Resistance along the slope, albeit weaker than Dragon D8’s tight middle section of its slope. For Attack Types you’d probably want to run Perseus P7 just to have more slope to work with, since recoil and multiple hits probably means it’ll click more than a Stamina Type. I feel like Dragon D8 works best on Stamina Combinations, where the first few “clicks” or slides are more difficult.

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Currently translating the Beyblade X manga. Canadian Beyblade Wiki editor and occasional manga translator.

December 22 update: I've added testings against Driger V2 Tp-Q Br'. One mirror match (Tp-Q Br) and one with the Triumph build (+Kick Armor Tip).

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Currently translating the Beyblade X manga. Canadian Beyblade Wiki editor and occasional manga translator.

June 10, 2023 update: I've added some brief notes and testings in regards to Whirl.

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Currently translating the Beyblade X manga. Canadian Beyblade Wiki editor and occasional manga translator.