Libra: The siren song of Beyblade, and the MFB Metagame

Over the past few months, Libra has been a hot topic of discussion. In particular, there's been discussion about banning Libra because it is simply overpowered. And now, having gotten some hands on experience with MFB, I can confidently say that not only would banning Libra be absolutely foolish, Libra is not even that great.

Don't misunderstand what I'm saying here. Libra is a strong part by any definition. However, it's also incredibly vulnerable to anyone who knows what they're doing. Right now, for pure Defense (essentially, to counter RF) Libra is still the best Wheel to use due to its incredibly heavy weight and round shape.

Stamina, however, is a whole other story. I learned this the hard way when I lost a battle to Harclave, who was using Virgo DF145B Vs. my Libra CH120B. Even using it at 145 I was beaten. And now, doing some preliminary tests, it's clear to me that Libra is not the best wheel for Stamina.

So what is? Well, although I've done only some preliminary testing, it seems that Virgo and Flame are about equal in Stamina. Virgo has a higher chance of scoring a KO than Flame does. However, both Virgo DF145B and Flame Cancer DF145B were able to make easy work of Libra DF145B.

Libra's strongest asset is also its shortcoming - its weight. At 42-44g, it is simply way too heavy to have high Stamina. There is too much force pushing it down, so while it has great Defense, its Stamina suffers. Anubis should remember that this problem was exacerbated by adding Metal Face to this combo; there's simply too much weight. The friction slowly wears it down, so while the difference isn't incredibly noticeable at first, it's there, and it can cost you a battle.

And even though Libra has great Defense, it can still be bested by RF + Storm or Quetzalcoatl. However, it's still the best defense against these threats. However, if you play on the assumption of an Attack type, the opponent can easily best you with a Stamina type, so it's a moot point.

Playing off of the discussion of Metal Face earlier, MFB has been throwing curveballs at us since it began. We assumed that Metal Face would be the God-part and that every combo would need it, but it appears that it's actually detrimental to a lot of combos. At BWR, almost no Libra-based Bey were using MF because of what I mentioned earlier. In fact, the popular use for MF appears to be making RF more controllable. However, I do think it will be good for lending weight to Virgo and Flame to increase Defense.

Then there's parts like DF145 and B, which we thought to have been fairly useless but have proven to be incredibly useful. DF145 is arguably the best Stamina track out now (I don't have conclusive evidence as to why, but DF145 does much better than most Tracks) and B has more Stamina than D, S and BS because of its ability to regain its balance. CH120 is also more useful than any of us imagined. In fact, all of us were saying that any Track higher than 105-125 would be useless ... but here we are now.

MFB, in its current state, is incredibly balanced. There is no "surefire" way to win a Beybattle. For those of you still waxing nostalgic about Plastics ... I'm not sure why. The Plastic metagame was a sea of Zombies and some grip Attack-based combos for the brave. HMS was basically Wolborg MS and Circle/Samurai Upper and GFC/GFCUM. MFB is a far more balanced game.
In my tests, DF145 has equal stamina to 145. Or very near it. The reason DF145 is better is because it is heavier, which lends to its defense. I believe the drag caused by the downforce wings null the stamina increase.

These t racks have higher stamina because they allow the Beyblade to wobble far more before hitting the stadium floor. I believe that some track heights will have better stamina against other track heights, though. For example, I think D125 may have better stamina against 100 than DF145.
Told you Virgo was better than Libra in overall Grin

Also, Brad is it possible for you to see how a Flame Cancer WD145WB performs(I don't have a Flame Metal Wheel to test it), by theoretical means it seems promising...
I will perform tests on all these wheels today. Virgo obviously needs to be retested.
(May. 29, 2009  7:04 AM)Anubis Wrote: In my tests, DF145 has equal stamina to 145. Or very near it. The reason DF145 is better is because it is heavier, which lends to its defense. I believe the drag caused by the downforce wings null the stamina increase.

These t racks have higher stamina because they allow the Beyblade to wobble far more before hitting the stadium floor. I believe that some track heights will have better stamina against other track heights, though. For example, I think D125 may have better stamina against 100 than DF145.

So essentially, for Stamina your Track should be one "level" higher than the opposing Beyblade?
I think that the wheels themselves come relatively close to being equal when fighting...however the weight is the the greatest difference between them. Libra can be used for some great defensive combinations I've thought, yet in my experience Virgo with the same track and bottom will out spin Libra most of the time. Indeed the MFB seems to be much more balanced that we percieved.
(May. 29, 2009  7:07 AM)Bey Brad Wrote: So essentially, for Stamina your Track should be one "level" higher than the opposing Beyblade?

This is just a hypothesis, but essentially, yes. 145 tracks I noticed lost balance against 100 tracks.
A whole topic for this? I know what you mean though. I used MFLibra for some battles and the differences are noticeable. :X
(May. 29, 2009  7:45 AM)Rocky Wrote: A whole topic for this?

You're right, I shouldn't make topics in the Beyblade General forum discussing the Beyblade metagame in-depth. We should stick to hard-hitting discussion such as:

how much money have you spent on blades
Beyblade dreams?
Beyblade in the Future!

and eight topics about guessing beyblade parts from zoomed, cropped pictures

(seriously, this is exactly the kind of topic this forum needs more of)
Lol, no need to get touchy, just figured most people wouldve worked this out. Plus Im half asleep.....cheer up.
(May. 29, 2009  7:53 AM)Rocky Wrote: Lol, no need to get touchy, just figured most people wouldve worked this out. Plus Im half asleep.....cheer up.

Then please don't try to derail a topic I put considerable thought and effort into by complaining about actual discussion and then calling me touchy. Thanks.
Concluding to your post Brad, isn't WB better than B when it comes to stamina combinations...(or am I thinking about defense Pinching_eyes)
Youre thinking of defense.
I think beyday was a breath of fresh air for us, not only was the day itself just fun, but we learnt so much, we needed it and it didnt happen a moment too soon.
Brad mentioned that libras weight was the issue, which i agree with completely. But now the thing that is on my mind is the future, will the level of friction caused by the wheels weight be countered by flame libras free spinning tip? I guess only time will tell...
Well, this is very good information to have come to Brad and Anubis! I would like to see some tests with Storm Pegasis 90RF against Virgo and Flame DF145 B as well as some tests comparing B and WB. And even though I did not know much in the first place, it is pretty cool that we still have more to learn as bladers Grin.
The Flame D125D beats Libra DF145BS hands down. This was proven countless times at the Spinoff event. This was the custom I was using throughout the tournament.
Espio i thought it was track 145 D you was using not D125D.
(May. 29, 2009  12:31 PM)BeyUK-Espio Wrote: The Flame D125D beats Libra DF145BS hands down. This was proven countless times at the Spinoff event. This was the custom I was using throughout the tournament.
Decimated Libra105B as well.
Looks like I'll be needing a few more B bottoms for insurance, think mines starting to crack, always knew it was a good one though, saw me the whole way through Spinoff ^ ^
(May. 29, 2009  12:40 PM)cutewolfsam Wrote: Espio i thought it was track 145 D you was using not D125D.

No, I use:

Clear Wheel: Sagittario
Metal Wheel: Flame
Track: D125
Bottom: D

[Image: stamina_custom.jpg]

145 track is too high in my opinion.
after some tests, LibraD125WB is still better than VirgoDF145B.
am gonna uploud a video soon to prove what i said...
Yeah but someone else might launch better, or differently than you do..
It's all about the moment anyway..
It's safe to say that virgodf145b is a good answer to libra in most cases
(May. 29, 2009  1:32 PM)Ghost Wrote: Yeah but someone else might launch better, or differently than you do..
It's all about the moment anyway..
It's safe to say that virgodf145b is a good answer to libra in most cases
i launched both myself, so the strength of the launch is almost the same...
IMO libra when customized well is still overpowered... only S pegasis is able to beat it.

Edit: i dont mean we have to ban it or anything, i was just pointing out that its still the best defense/stamina blade out there
What I mean is, someone else might launch their beyblade in a better way, ensuring a victory..

Also, did you do the test launching virgo first AND libra first..
You'd probably get different results..

Not that I'm bashing libra, it remains very very powerful, but I'd never say overpowered..

Like Brad and other said, the game is pretty balanced now..
yes i did launch each first...
and we are talking about which blade is better, not which blader is better Confused