Hey world bladers!
We’re excited to introduce our brand new rulebook for Beyblade X, our first ground-up rethink of our rules experience since the launch of Beyblade Burst.
Every word of our new Beyblade X rule book is written from scratch, designed to provide:
Now let’s cover what’s new.
Introduction of “Match Phases” and “Rules of Battle”
Our new rulebook provides a step-by-step guide for both bladers and judges to everything that needs to happen in a match, from the moment bladers arrive at the stadium to the winner being called, by breaking down the match into distinct match phases:
Introduction of “Out-of-Play” and “Battle End” Definition
Out-of-play is a new term used to describe a Bey that stops spinning, bursts, or cannot return to the battle zone. Once a Bey is out-of-play, it is no longer considered to be in any zone and its state can no longer change.
Additionally, there is now a clear definition for when a battle ends — which is funny to say, but in Beyblade X it isn’t always obvious! The battle now ends:
New Terms for “Initiating” and “Scoring” Finishes
In the official English Beyblade X rules from Takara Tomy, an Xtreme or over finish are “finishing moves” that “occur” when a Bey enters the Xtreme or over zone, and are “completed” when the Bey is unable to return to the battle zone. (“Completed” is actually only used in a video, and not in the actual rulebook, which has no term for this.) It's perhaps an issue of translation, but this terminology is extremely complicated to write rules around.
To make the rules and the state of the game easier to understand, we've decided to use new terminology to describe finishes (win conditions). Finishes now have two states:
Removal of Win Condition Priority
The original “burst priority” rule was introduced during the first year of Beyblade Burst. This rule considered that if Bey A bursts and Bey B exits the battle zone at the same time, Bey A is the loser. The reason is that bursts initially occurred extremely easily and quickly, often resulting in battles that looked like draws even though they actually weren't. The goal wasn’t actually to treat two things that occurred simultaneously as different; the goal of this rule was to understand that even if it looked simultaneous, it almost certainly wasn’t.
A lot has changed since then. Beyblade Burst itself became progressively less burst-prone, and bursts in X are typically not so explosive that the outcome cannot be determined with the naked eye. This rule was never a good fit for Beyblade X, and is probably the rule that is the least understood in our previous rule book.
Now, if two finishes initiate simultaneously and both finishes score, the battle is a draw regardless of the type of finish scored, in alignment with the official rules of the game.
Voided Battles, Replays, and Relaunches
We've seen these terms often used interchangeably by organizers and players, so we've clarified what each of these terms mean:
Introduction of “Launch Errors”
When a blader commits two launch errors during the same battle, their opponent will receive 1 point (a penalty point) and the battle will be voided. A blader commits a launch error when they:
“Ranked Clauses” Renamed to “Optional Rules”, Optional Rules List Simplified & Added to Rulebook
We’ve renamed ranked clauses to optional rules because it more clearly describes what they actually are: rules that are optional.
We’ve also simplified the list of optional rules available for Beyblade X events down to what actually gets used, along with simplifying their names:
Finally, optional rules are now directly included in the rulebook without requiring opening a separate document!
Own Finish Moved to Optional Rules
With this rules update, we are moving “own finish” out of the core rules and into optional rules. The own finish rule is still available to be used by all events ranked with WBO. Additionally, the own finish rule can now be applied to specific stages of an event (first stage) individually.
The own finish rule is popular among organizers and bladers, and it’s no surprise: losing 3 points to a self Xtreme finish can feel awful, and a match ending with zero contact can be anticlimactic for both players and spectators.
A common misconception is that own finish exists in the official Takara Tomy Beyblade rules, but it was used for only one event that was heavily attended by and reported on by the press (the Tobu Zoo Cup). The goal of this rule, along with the restricted parts rule used at that same event, was seemingly to give spectators a better experience (which is a valid goal!). Takara Tomy has never used either rule since that one event. Just because a rule is or isn't official means nothing about how good it is, but this is worth noting.
The proposal to add own finish to the WBO rules came after these rules were announced for this special event, but before that event took place. Most people who voted in that poll voted to add it to the default rules.
Our new Beyblade X rulebook has been written completely from scratch. In doing that, we had to consider exactly what the core rules needed to provide, and we decided that it was the essentials of supporting tournament-level play. While the own finish rule has many benefits which have been noted by organizers and bladers, it’s not essential. We also want to avoid communicating the idea that using own finish is the “correct” way to play versus just another way to play the game.
We hope organizers who feel this rule best suits their communities will continue to use it, and enjoy the increased flexibility of applying it to only certain stages of a tournament. We also hope communities that typically play with the own finish rule will consider trying some events without it to see how it goes — we’ve heard positive feedback from organizers who’ve done so!
Other Changes
Available For Use Now, Required by March 15th
Organizers can start using the new rule book in their events effective immediately. Events ranked by WBO will be required to run under the new rule book by March 15th, 2025.
Note we are not looking to punish organizers due to any confusion that arises from changes in the rules (e.g. win condition priorities are used, own finish is used despite not being mentioned in the event posting). We understand this is a ton of new information and mistakes can easily happen. Just give us a heads up!
Finally, Thank You
The explosion of interest in competitive Beyblade that has come with Beyblade X has been incredible to see. In many ways, it feels like exactly the moment we’ve dreamed of ever since we started the World Beyblade Organization over 16 years ago.
This new rule book is a huge labor of love from the entire WBO team to better support organizers and bladers during this very special moment for Beyblade in its quarter-century history. It’s also the foundation for many things to come in the future, including some in the very near future like our upcoming WBO Judge Certification, and some further into the year. We can’t wait to show you more soon.
Thank you for being a part of this incredible moment for Beyblade!
You can find this rule book, along with all of our other rule books and guides, on the new Rules & Resources page.
Have comments or feedback? Reply here, or in the “New X Rulebook” thread on our Discord server under #x-competitive!
We’re excited to introduce our brand new rulebook for Beyblade X, our first ground-up rethink of our rules experience since the launch of Beyblade Burst.
Every word of our new Beyblade X rule book is written from scratch, designed to provide:
- a clearer competitive framework for both bladers and judges
- a single doc with all necessary info for the entire format
- a greatly improved reading experience on mobile devices
- Introduction of “Match Phases” and “Rules of Battle”
- Introduction of “Out-of-Play” and “Battle End” Definition
- New Terms for “Initiating” and “Scoring” Finishes
- Removal of Win Condition Priority
- Voided Battles, Replays, and Relaunches
- Introduction of “Launch Errors”
- “Ranked Clauses” Renamed to “Optional Rules”, Optional Rules List Simplified & Added to Rulebook
- Own Finish Moved to Optional Rules
- Other Changes
Now let’s cover what’s new.
Introduction of “Match Phases” and “Rules of Battle”
Our new rulebook provides a step-by-step guide for both bladers and judges to everything that needs to happen in a match, from the moment bladers arrive at the stadium to the winner being called, by breaking down the match into distinct match phases:
- Beginning the Match
- Launch Position
- Bey Selection
- Bey Presentation
- Battle
- Set Result
- Launching
- Starting and Ending Battle
- Scoring Finishes
- Voided and Replayed Battles
- Regarding Judge Decisions
Introduction of “Out-of-Play” and “Battle End” Definition
Out-of-play is a new term used to describe a Bey that stops spinning, bursts, or cannot return to the battle zone. Once a Bey is out-of-play, it is no longer considered to be in any zone and its state can no longer change.
Additionally, there is now a clear definition for when a battle ends — which is funny to say, but in Beyblade X it isn’t always obvious! The battle now ends:
- When one Bey is spinning in the battle zone while the opposing Bey is out-of-play, OR
- When all Beys are out-of-play
New Terms for “Initiating” and “Scoring” Finishes
In the official English Beyblade X rules from Takara Tomy, an Xtreme or over finish are “finishing moves” that “occur” when a Bey enters the Xtreme or over zone, and are “completed” when the Bey is unable to return to the battle zone. (“Completed” is actually only used in a video, and not in the actual rulebook, which has no term for this.) It's perhaps an issue of translation, but this terminology is extremely complicated to write rules around.
To make the rules and the state of the game easier to understand, we've decided to use new terminology to describe finishes (win conditions). Finishes now have two states:
- Initiated: You initiate a finish when the opposing Bey enters the Xtreme or over zone, stops spinning, or bursts. This is when a finish starts.
- Scored: You score a finish when the opposing Bey becomes out-of-play after you initiate a finish, unless that finish is reversed. This is when a finish ends.
Removal of Win Condition Priority
The original “burst priority” rule was introduced during the first year of Beyblade Burst. This rule considered that if Bey A bursts and Bey B exits the battle zone at the same time, Bey A is the loser. The reason is that bursts initially occurred extremely easily and quickly, often resulting in battles that looked like draws even though they actually weren't. The goal wasn’t actually to treat two things that occurred simultaneously as different; the goal of this rule was to understand that even if it looked simultaneous, it almost certainly wasn’t.
A lot has changed since then. Beyblade Burst itself became progressively less burst-prone, and bursts in X are typically not so explosive that the outcome cannot be determined with the naked eye. This rule was never a good fit for Beyblade X, and is probably the rule that is the least understood in our previous rule book.
Now, if two finishes initiate simultaneously and both finishes score, the battle is a draw regardless of the type of finish scored, in alignment with the official rules of the game.
Voided Battles, Replays, and Relaunches
We've seen these terms often used interchangeably by organizers and players, so we've clarified what each of these terms mean:
- When a battle is voided, the result of the battle is canceled, and the battle is replayed.
- When a battle is replayed, bladers play the same battle again with the same launcher and Bey, unless another rule requires equipment to be changed (such as if a part or launcher breaks).
- A blader who feels their launch was obstructed outside their control can request a relaunch. When the judge approves a relaunch request, the battle is voided. If a judge chooses to void a battle for another reason, it is replayed, but it is not considered a “relaunch” because it was not requested by the blader.
Introduction of “Launch Errors”
When a blader commits two launch errors during the same battle, their opponent will receive 1 point (a penalty point) and the battle will be voided. A blader commits a launch error when they:
- launch before or after the word “shoot”/”rip” is called
- launch from more than 20cm higher than the stadium body
- launch from a position not directly above the launch area
- launch their Bey outside the stadium
- launch their Bey so that it touches the stadium cover before going through the launch area
- touch any part of the stadium with their body or launcher (except for the string of a string launcher) while launching
“Ranked Clauses” Renamed to “Optional Rules”, Optional Rules List Simplified & Added to Rulebook
We’ve renamed ranked clauses to optional rules because it more clearly describes what they actually are: rules that are optional.
We’ve also simplified the list of optional rules available for Beyblade X events down to what actually gets used, along with simplifying their names:
- Own finish (moved from core rules to optional rules)
- Out-of-bounds spin finish (new)
- Out-of-bounds over finish
- Swap positions after battle
- Loser selects position after battle
- No disassembled components
- No painted parts
- MN (Metal Needle) bit unbanned
- Adjust before presenting (WBO deck only)
Finally, optional rules are now directly included in the rulebook without requiring opening a separate document!
Own Finish Moved to Optional Rules
With this rules update, we are moving “own finish” out of the core rules and into optional rules. The own finish rule is still available to be used by all events ranked with WBO. Additionally, the own finish rule can now be applied to specific stages of an event (first stage) individually.
The own finish rule is popular among organizers and bladers, and it’s no surprise: losing 3 points to a self Xtreme finish can feel awful, and a match ending with zero contact can be anticlimactic for both players and spectators.
A common misconception is that own finish exists in the official Takara Tomy Beyblade rules, but it was used for only one event that was heavily attended by and reported on by the press (the Tobu Zoo Cup). The goal of this rule, along with the restricted parts rule used at that same event, was seemingly to give spectators a better experience (which is a valid goal!). Takara Tomy has never used either rule since that one event. Just because a rule is or isn't official means nothing about how good it is, but this is worth noting.
The proposal to add own finish to the WBO rules came after these rules were announced for this special event, but before that event took place. Most people who voted in that poll voted to add it to the default rules.
Our new Beyblade X rulebook has been written completely from scratch. In doing that, we had to consider exactly what the core rules needed to provide, and we decided that it was the essentials of supporting tournament-level play. While the own finish rule has many benefits which have been noted by organizers and bladers, it’s not essential. We also want to avoid communicating the idea that using own finish is the “correct” way to play versus just another way to play the game.
We hope organizers who feel this rule best suits their communities will continue to use it, and enjoy the increased flexibility of applying it to only certain stages of a tournament. We also hope communities that typically play with the own finish rule will consider trying some events without it to see how it goes — we’ve heard positive feedback from organizers who’ve done so!
Other Changes
- Only the Xtreme Stadium by Takara Tomy or the Xtreme Beystadium by Hasbro can be used. We’ve found that players simply have a bad experience with other stadiums, and they aren’t suitable for tournament-level play.
- Bey selection can now take up to 1 minute before the judge can request for you to immediately finalize your selection. Previously, the time limit was 3 minutes, which is actually a pretty long time. (The question about how long this takes received the most incorrect answers of any question on our previous organizer’s quiz, probably because it seems way too long!)
- Bladers can no longer receive assistance at any point once the match starts (defined as both bladers + the judge arriving at the designated stadium). If bladers need assistance with building their deck, they should do it between matches to avoid delaying the event’s progress.
- If part of a Bey breaks during battle and the blader can’t replace it with another copy, the match restarts from the launch position phase with both bladers retaining their current score.
- Match types have been added to the main rules as well, along with updated language to better support best-of-3 matches which have seen increasing popularity!
Available For Use Now, Required by March 15th
Organizers can start using the new rule book in their events effective immediately. Events ranked by WBO will be required to run under the new rule book by March 15th, 2025.
Note we are not looking to punish organizers due to any confusion that arises from changes in the rules (e.g. win condition priorities are used, own finish is used despite not being mentioned in the event posting). We understand this is a ton of new information and mistakes can easily happen. Just give us a heads up!
Finally, Thank You
The explosion of interest in competitive Beyblade that has come with Beyblade X has been incredible to see. In many ways, it feels like exactly the moment we’ve dreamed of ever since we started the World Beyblade Organization over 16 years ago.
This new rule book is a huge labor of love from the entire WBO team to better support organizers and bladers during this very special moment for Beyblade in its quarter-century history. It’s also the foundation for many things to come in the future, including some in the very near future like our upcoming WBO Judge Certification, and some further into the year. We can’t wait to show you more soon.
Thank you for being a part of this incredible moment for Beyblade!
You can find this rule book, along with all of our other rule books and guides, on the new Rules & Resources page.
Have comments or feedback? Reply here, or in the “New X Rulebook” thread on our Discord server under #x-competitive!
![[Image: Screenshot-2021-05-22-8-50-06-PM.png]](https://i.postimg.cc/qzWPjrR0/Screenshot-2021-05-22-8-50-06-PM.png)
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