Testing the Tried and True (Mass Generic Combo Testing)
I don't have many new, exciting parts to test so I figured I'd make myself useful by doing some of the more generic or well known stuff, mainly to provide some comparisons.
Today is Attack Metal Wheels on 145-Height Tracks vs
MF-H Earth Aquario GB145CS
RF is a bit past prime, which is only really problematic on heavier stuff (Leone in particular was hard to get going, Gravity wasn't easy either, Screw was moderately tough). CS is worn, largely stationary, but at the point where wear won't affect it too much (post-testing edit: prediction was correct, it behaved the same the whole time). I'm using it over RSF so there is more definition in the winrates, to allow more effective comparison, not because it's a worthwhile defense tip on anything above 90. Tests are not quite in the order they were done but generally pretty close to it, I can't be bothered moving everything around.
Note that some of these wheels, for example Vulcan, do better in different height matchups. I have noted this where I think (based on informal testing) this is the case, so do not just judge wheels by this. That said, 145 is a very good height for attack, especially for wheels that have good synergy with R145.
Feel free to include these results in your Part Discussion Threads (though really you don't need my permission haha). I might make Gravity's myself soon (though if someone else wants to and has the three clear wheels, R145, a good CH120, and TR145 and/or F230+CF/GCF feel free to do it as I lack the latter two and think they may be important. Also if you do make sure you include a warning about the sonokong thing)
MF-H Gravity Perseus (ATK) R145RF
Perseus in Counter Mode (helmets behind slopes), R145's wings under the jaws or whatever those are, as that has always worked best for me.
Right Spin:
1. GKO LIFT!!!!
2. EOS
3. GKO
4. EOS wallllllssssss
5. EOS
6. GKO
7. GKO
8. GKO
9. EOS
10. GKO
11. GKO after like 6 wall saves lol
12. GKO
13. EKO rebound
14. GKO
15. GKO
16. EOS
17. GKO
18. EOS 90% earth bribed the walls at this point that was like 10 consecutive wall saves
19. GKO
20. GKO
Draws:
Notes:
Results:
Gravity: 13/20 =
65% (All KO)
Earth: 7/20 =
35% (1KO, 6OS)
Perseus (ATK) is very important to Gravity. I recall it being even more noticeable against taller opponents but idk.
Left Spin:
1. GKO
2. GKO
3. GKO OVER THE WALL!!!!!!!!!!
4. GKO
5. GKO
6. EOS earth managed to cramp gravity's flower pattern nicely here
7. GKO
8. GKO
9. EOS: Again via cramping gravity's movement and catching the lip of the stadium at one point
10. GKO
11. GKO "let me help you out of the stadium there Earth buddy" *gently nudges earth 3 times*
12. GKO GRAVITY 2 STRONK
13. EOS: Finally the walls decided to join in maybe out of sympathy for earth
14. GKO
15. GKO
16. GKO
17. EOS Cramping again
18. EOS wow, such wallsave
19. GKO the walls only have to not be there one time
20. GKO Gravity bounced earth off the wall and out of the exit next to it to finish. I love this format!!!
Draws:NONE
Notes:
Results:
Gravity: 15/20 =
75% (All KO)
Earth: 5/20 =
25% (All OS)
Yeah, Gravity Perseus (ATK) is the best attack wheel outside of Metal Fury/ZG. I don't think it's enough to be banworthy, as it does get walled by MF-H Earth Bull 85RSF and probably other stuff too and kinda hard to get good speed out of because of its weight (and it really does need speed), but if it does come up for ban based on its performance as an Attack MW, a ban on Perseus (ATK) may be sufficient (though forcing Gravity to use the regular/defense CW for attack may be crueller than banning it outright, tbh).
MF-H Gravity Perseus (DEF) R145RF
Perseus in Counter Mode (helmets behind slopes), R145's wings under the jaws or whatever those are, as that has always worked best for me.
Right Spin:
1. EOS wallsaves
2. GKO
3. GKO
4. EOS
5. GKO
6. GKO
7. EOS wallsaves
8. EOS dem walls
9. EKO
10. GKO
11. GKO
12. GKO clean as heck
13. GKO mid to late game
14. EOS
15. GKO
16. EOS I've never seen CS hug the ridge so tightly lol
17. EOS
18. GKO
19. GKO
20. GKO
Draws:
Notes: Gravity was battling both Earth and the Stadium Walls here lol
Results:
Gravity: 12/20 =
60% (All KO)
Earth: 8/20 =
40% (1KO, 7OS)
Not bad, but nothing compared to the ATK version.
Left Spin:
1. EOS I HEAR PLASTIC ON METAL CONTACT >:C
2. GKO
3. EOS
4. GKO
5. EOS
6. EOS after like 15 wall saves
7. EOS
8. GKO
9. EOS those walls
10. GKO
11. GKO
12. GKO
13. GKO on a roll, rolling earth out the exits
14. EOS walllllllllsssssssss
15. GKO
16. EOS
17. EOS cs managed to just catch the exit at a higher speed than I've ever seen it stay in at
18. GKO
19. EOS wow the wallsaves
20. GKO KO via roll again.
Draws:
Notes:
Results:
Gravity: 10/20 =
50% (All KO)
Earth: 10/20 =
50% (All OS)
I hear plastic on metal contact and it's easy to see the heads of the clear wheel block major contact points in this direction. It's kinda impressive that gravity does comparatively decently despite that but really this is bad get the ATK version instead.
MF-H Leone R145RF
R145's wings under the wider paw-like protrusions, this seems to work best.
1. LKO
2. LKO
3. EOS
4. LKO
5. EOS
6. EOS
7. LKO
8. EOS
9. EOS
10. LKO
11. EKO (recoil)
12. LKO
13. EOS
14. LKO
15. LKO
16. EOS
17. EOS
18. EOS, despite being about 20cm into the air after rebounding off a wall
19. LKO: This time there was no wall to save earth from the lift
20. LKO
Draws:
Notes:
Results:
Leone: 10/20 =
50% (All KO)
Earth: 10/20 =
50% (1KO, 9OS)
Leone is
way worse than it seemed to be from informal testing.
Maybe someone with a really powerful, well controlled sliding shot could make it work but I was really disappointed. I tried it again after testing Pegasis and Ray where I was surprised by the results I got in the other direction, and still no dice, it was down 6-5 after 11 rounds so I stopped. Maybe it needs a different height matchup but this is the combo that worked best for me in pre-testing, so I'm stumped.
MF-H Lightning L-Drago R145RF
R145's wings under heads which are over the scale-like parts rather than the claws.
1. LKO
2. LKO: Damn I forgot how far LKO can send stuff horizontally.
3. EOS
4. LKO
5. LKO
6. LKO rebound (like it needed it)
7. LKO
8. LKO off the corner of a wall!
9. EOS
10. LKO
11. LKO
12. LKO
13. EKO no clue what happened here lighnting just bounced off it and out an exit.
14. EOS so many ridge saves!
15. LKO
16. LKO
17. EOS wow so wallsave such luck
18. EOS: despite being hit midair, it successfully caught the wall three times in a row and bounced airborne back into the stadium.
19. LKO
20. LKO
Draws: DKO R14 DKOR16 x 2
Notes:
Results:
Lightning: 14/20 =
70% (KO, OS)
Earth: 6/20 =
30% (KO, OS)
Lightning sends things further than gravity but is less consistent than Gravity Perseus (ATK), as the latter has more numerous and well exposed contact points. I have to say I don't think any attack ring or metal wheel has ever made better use of left spin offensively than lightning. It loves the destabilisation it causes, and the fact it doesn't lose much spin after each hit.
Lightning also strikes me as easier to use than Gravity, being a lot more forgiving launch strength wise, perhaps due to its lighter weight.
MF-H Screw Uranus R145RF
R145's wings under Screw's wings rather than between them. Very harsh banking
1. EOS
2. SKO GET LIFTED!!!!! Bounced earth all over the stadium and to finish it bounced it off two walls and out an exit. Man I love this wheel.
3. SKO
4. EOS
5. EKO
6. EOS
7. SKO
8. EOS
9. SKO
10. EOS: Wall saves
11. SKO
12. EOS
13. EOS
14. SKO earth was basically on its side lol
15. EKO Rebound
16. EOS
17. SKO
18. SKO
19. SKO
20. SKO
Draws: R8DKO
Notes:
Results:
Screw: 10/20 =
50% (All KO)
Earth: 10/20 =
50% (2KO, 8OS)
I don't think I even banked this hard when using Beat back in the day, but it worked pretty well, this was much better than I expected. Also, between this and the Discussion thread my screw is incredibly worn, though I have a couple of spares, it does seem to wear faster than other wheels (and not just those little protrusions at the sides), though it doesn't seem to have that big an effect on its performance.
MF-H Pegasis R145RF
R145's wings under the serrated parts of pegasis's wings.
1. PKO
2. PKO
3. PKO
4. PKO
5. PKO earth keeps finding exits instead of walls
6. EOS finally walls
7. PKO
8. PKO
9. EOS
10. PKO
11. EOS
12. EOS
13. PKO
14. EOS
15. PKO
16. EKO
17. PKO
18. EOS wall saves
19. PKO
20. EKO
Draws
KO R16
Notes:
Results:
Pegasis: 12/20 =
60% (All KO)
Earth: 8/20 =
40% (2KO, 6OS)
Not to detract from Pegasis' excellent performance, as it did seem more powerful than most of the other wheels I tested today bar Gravity and Lightning, but it's worth noting that Earth seemed to get a lot less wall saves against pegasis than any other wheel I tried (though Ray came close).
Pegasis should IMO be the third wheel on the standard opponents for attack (alongside Lightning and Gravity, replacing Screw), as it requires little in the way of banking, and it also has very solid vertical attack in both directions (though it would prefer not to need R145's weight when dealing with lower opponents as it kinda gets in the way). Also it comes in BB-95 I think it is, alongside Libra, so everyone who rushes out to get Libra despite already having Earth will have one.
MF-H Ray Kerbecs R145RF
Kerbecs' indentations aligned with the gaps between Ray's wings, R145 under bumpy parts of Ray's sides, which are probably its main contact points.
1. RKO
2. EOS
3. EOS
4. RKO
5. RKO – and wow earth went flying into the wall behind me what the heck
6. RKO
7. RKO
8. EOS
9. EKO
10. EOS
11. EOS Wall saves
12. RKO
13. EOS
14. RKO
15. EOS
16. EKO
17. EOS
18. RKO
19. EOS
20. RKO
Draws:
Notes:
Results:
Ray: 9/20 =
45% (All KO)
Earth: 11/20 =
55% (2KO, 9OS)
Ray's design means it is probably better in this height matchup than against taller or shorter opponents. I think it really loves Kerbecs though, the two match up perfectly and this is a lot better than I ever got Ray to do back in the day.
Also worth mentioning I have another ray that is significantly lighter and I have more than one from both Takara and SonoKong (and no Hasbro ones) as far as I can recall so I'm not sure where it came from but yeah it sucks.
MF-H Vulcan Byxis H145RF
H145 chosen as it puts weight under Vulcan's wings and also may let it do something to lower opponents.
Fairly steep banking
1. EOS
2. VKO
3. EOS
4. EOS
5. VKO wall pinch
6. EOS wall saves
7. VKO
8. EKO three rebound collisions between them and Vulcan was unlucky enough to find an exit
9. VKO
10. VKO
11. EOS
12. EOS
13. EOS exit catches
14. EOS
15. VKO
16. VKO
17. EKO
18. VKO
19. EOS
20. VKO
Draws:
Notes:
Results:
Vulcan: 9/20 =
45% (All KO)
Earth: 11/20 =
55% (2KO, 9OS)
Let me pre-empt the shocked questioning about Vulcan not doing exceptionally well here. Vulcan's legacy was built on Low Tracks (and primarily against 145 height opponents), and it IS legitimately great there, I was a huge fan of it back in the day. However, in a metagame with taller opponents it really suffers – it's not that great unless it can get a good height matchup, and I also find it doesn't do that well on anything above 120 or thereabouts in general. I'm not really sure why, but yeah. Its contact points are similar to Screw's, but there are less of them, and I think that is going to show in Limited.
EDIT 27 Dec 2013: After playing around some more, H145 might not actually have been a good track choice, as while it is helpful against LTDC, it seems to be making contact with Earth GB145 when the MW should be doing so instead. As such, GB145 is probably a better track. However, my second GB145 is basically broken, so I can't actually test that any more.
MF-H Quetzalcoatl GB145RF
GB145 chosen as it keeps clear of Quetz's force smash slopes and provides useful weight to it.
Fairly steep banking
1. QKO
2. EOS
3. EOS
4. QKO
5. QKO
6. EOS
7. QKO
8. QKO
9. QKO
10. QKO
11. EKO rebound
12. EOS
13. QKO
14. QKO
15. EKO
16. EOS
17. QKO
18. EOS
19. QKO
20. QKO
Draws:R7DKO R18DKO
Notes:
Results:
Quetzalcoatl: 12/20 =
60% (All KO)
Earth: 8/20 =
40% (2KO, 6OS)
This really surprised me as I have never got Quetz to do anything particularly great in the past. It seems kinda inconsistent within battles, a lot of the time it makes contact but does nothing, because of those round edges, but when its contact points hit they send things flying, so this doesn't seem to show in the numbers. It also managed to have earth ramp off it and out of the stadium once or twice which looked suspiciously close to upper attack, but it is hard to tell and of little consequence either way. It's worth noting Quetz also has force smash slopes that do sometimes work, so it looks quite promising overall.
Stuff I didn't test
I don't have Forbidden, Cloud, Crash, Divine, Infinity/Thunder (did we work out if those are the same thing or not?), Mercury, Pisces, Aries, Wolf, Aquario, Capricorne, Gemios, Escolpio, Hyper, Fury, Torch, Mirage, any Metal Fury Wheels and no Zero G aside from Saramanda, Revizer, Dragooon, and Samurai.
I will try the three MLD's tomorrow as Assault may be okay despite being outclassed by Lightning and just because I want numbers on them, as well as giving MF-H Libra GB145RF a shot to get a read on its offensive prowess, and probably also Samurai DragoOOOoOOOooOon while I'm at it. Depends how the blisters I got from blading all day feel in the morning haha.
Everything else I have did poorly in pre-testing before the format launched (and yes if I own it I tried it for Attack, aside from Sol, Bakushin, Earth, Gravity Perseus (Stamina Ver.), SonoKong Gravity, Revizer (I may have tried it I forget) – yes I even gave Dark a shot (it's better at defense)).
Kujikato : metal system L drago did not work at all for me when I tried it