Phantom (Attack Mode) Hades 90MF
So, way back when Earth and Burn were hot stuff for Stamina, one of my favorite combos once MF came around was Burn on MF since it could fill two roles: it could tornado stall against defense (a "moving stamina type" as I called it) or attack into Earth-based stamina combos for a KO. Basalt kinda killed anything Burn-related I threw at it though, and I had to retire my favorite custom. With Phantom's release, however, I immediately turned back to the old idea, and my results have been absolutely stellar. I've been holding off on posting this since for the longest time my new Beylauncher LR (I'm on my second) has been launching very poorly, and thus I have been unable to use this custom well (much less conduct accurate tests). I discovered a few days ago that the piece that connects the prongs to the gear system was loose, and after replacing this piece with one from one of my spare Light Launcher 2s, my Beylauncher is finally launching at full tilt and I have done some official testing with this custom.
On that note, in order for this combo to work, you MUST have either a Beylauncher or Rev-Up launcher in order to achieve the RPMs this custom demands. If the best launcher you have is that Light Launcher 2 that came with your Phantom, this custom simply will not work.
Updates
6/6/12
* Thread: Started
* Testing: Initial tests added
6/11/12
* Thread: Cleaned up test section
* Thread: Added info about launch techniques vs. BD145
* Combo: Changed overall clear wheel preference to Hades
* Testing: Tests against almost the entire top-tier added
* Testing: DefStamina88's testing added
Overview
This custom is a very launch-technique-intensive Balance combo that is a mix of Attack and Stamina. Provided you have some actual skill in launching, this is designed to be a relatively safe pick in a tournament, since as long as you aren't staring down an Attack type, this custom has a very good chance of winning against whatever you throw at it.
The primary goal was to create a "moving Stamina custom" based on MF that would allow the bey to tornado stall to avoid freak KOs. The secondary goal was to create a bey that could also attack into traditional stamina types that would otherwise potentially OS this MF-based custom.
Part Choices
Face Bolt
A regular face bolt is used to keep the overall weight distribution as focused around the outside of the bey as possible. A fine alternative is MF-F, though it is by no means necessary and I don't particularly prefer it.
Clear Wheel
Hades is used because of its incredible synergy with Phantom, namely how its use adds around a minute of solo spin time (see the Clear Wheels Testing thread). This makes Hades vital to the combo as it allows the custom to OS defense types and, occasionally, stamina types by tornado stalling. Cancer is a decent replacement, but Hades really brings out the best in Phantom.
Metal Wheel
Phantom was chosen for several reasons. First and foremost, it is a Stamina powerhouse, thus enabling the "moving Stamina custom" idea. Duo also fits this role, but comes up short in fulfilling the second goal of enabling attack. Thus, Phantom is used in Attack mode as this mode does not hinder its overall stamina in any way (unlike Duo's Attack mode) and it provides enough attack to KO opposing Stamina customs.
Track
90 was chosen after a lot of testing. At first I tried high tracks with MF, but that just didn't ever seem to work. I then moved onto 120 to 145-height tracks, but the custom was coming up short (no pun intended) when I tried attacking into low-height Duo-based Stamina customs. Finally I settled on a low-track setup, and 90 proved the best track for Phantom in Attack mode against what I considered the two biggest Stamina threats: Phantom and Duo on AD145WD (Phantom hits the bottom of the wheel perfectly) and anything on TH220 (Phantom makes great contact with the structure of TH170). 85 and 100 didn't do particularly poorly (and DF105 did strangely well) as most low-height tracks handled low-height Stamina customs, but 90 did the best at what the custom was designed to do and overall.
Bottom
MF was the basis of this custom from the very start. It has great stamina for an attack-type tip, and it enables the bey to tornado stall against rubber bottoms. WF and XF were other contenders for the "moving stamina type" idea, but I greatly preferred how much more controllable MF was.
Launch Techniques
The key to success with this custom, as I already mentioned, is in your launch technique, as the best launch technique for a given match up changes based on the type of custom you're facing:
Against pure Stamina types, you should bank hard so that you achieve the best flower pattern you can muster with MF. Your goal is to KO the opponent in the first few seconds of the fight, though failing that you'll still have a good shot at an OS if the opponent didn't launch perfectly. MF, 90, Phantom in Attack mode, and a VERY hard launch make this possible (this won't work unless you get some serious RPMs going, which is why you need at least a Beylauncher).
Against any custom with utilizing a non-aggressive tip with rubber (primarily Defense types), you need to launch so that you tornado stall without ever going through the center of the arena. What this launch technique does is allow the opposing bey to solo spin for an extended amount of time, thus losing its stamina due to the rubber-based bottom. By the time this custom reaches the center, it is a simple matter for it to destabilize and knock over the now slowly-spinning bey. By avoiding the opponent rather than grinding against it like normal Stamina types, the freak KOs that sometimes plague regular Stamina types (especially against wheels like Basalt) are avoided altogether. Learning how to launch this custom into a perfect tornado stall can be surprisingly difficult (at first I kept slipping over the Tornado Ridge when I tried shooting straight), but it is very rewarding in the end.
Against anything with Basalt or BD145 on it, you tornado stall. Basalt wins stamina fights by grinding down the foe; if you turn the fight into a solo-spin-time battle, you'll win every time. BD145 simply doesn't provide as good a solo spin time as 90MF, as even with EDS, BD145 will scrape if you've been tornado stalling.
Against non-attacking spin equalizers, you need to decide whether or not you want to risk attacking it or you want to avoid it. Attacking into Meteo is usually very effective since it is so light, while against LDD and LDG avoiding them is the way to go since they have such piss-poor balance and solo spin times as it is. Gravity is trickier due to a slightly higher risk of being KOed; against heavy customs it is best to avoid it, and against lighter ones attacking into it is safe.
Against attack types, your best bet is to tornado stall and pray; sometimes you'll KO the opponent and sometimes you'll avoid them long enough to easily OS them, but in general this is not a custom to use against attack types.
Test Results
BB-10 Attack Stadium
Beylauncher LR with Suspension
Standard Procedure
_______________________________
Vs. Stamina
Overall % Win: 87.8%
_______________________________
Vs. Defense
Overall % Win: 100%
_______________________________
Vs. Balance
Overall % Win: 45%
_______________________________
Other User's Testing
_______________________________
Closing Remarks
I'm not going to pretend tornado stalling or using Metal Flat on stamina types is some new thing or that I was the first to come up with doing this, especially with Phantom (I was browsing through the Phantom discussion thread and ლ(ಠ益ಠლ) briefly tested almost this exact custom, except he used Aquario and a Metal Face). What I do want to make known is that this custom is a very tournament viable Balance custom, and that it's a hell of a lot of fun to use since you have to be so precise with your launch techniques to succeed (rather than just straight-shooting Stamina or Defense customs all day and praying). I'll do any requests anyone has (I don't have every bey, but lord knows I have a lot), and I encourage you all to try it out and post your own results!
So, way back when Earth and Burn were hot stuff for Stamina, one of my favorite combos once MF came around was Burn on MF since it could fill two roles: it could tornado stall against defense (a "moving stamina type" as I called it) or attack into Earth-based stamina combos for a KO. Basalt kinda killed anything Burn-related I threw at it though, and I had to retire my favorite custom. With Phantom's release, however, I immediately turned back to the old idea, and my results have been absolutely stellar. I've been holding off on posting this since for the longest time my new Beylauncher LR (I'm on my second) has been launching very poorly, and thus I have been unable to use this custom well (much less conduct accurate tests). I discovered a few days ago that the piece that connects the prongs to the gear system was loose, and after replacing this piece with one from one of my spare Light Launcher 2s, my Beylauncher is finally launching at full tilt and I have done some official testing with this custom.
On that note, in order for this combo to work, you MUST have either a Beylauncher or Rev-Up launcher in order to achieve the RPMs this custom demands. If the best launcher you have is that Light Launcher 2 that came with your Phantom, this custom simply will not work.
Updates
6/6/12
* Thread: Started
* Testing: Initial tests added
6/11/12
* Thread: Cleaned up test section
* Thread: Added info about launch techniques vs. BD145
* Combo: Changed overall clear wheel preference to Hades
* Testing: Tests against almost the entire top-tier added
* Testing: DefStamina88's testing added
Overview
This custom is a very launch-technique-intensive Balance combo that is a mix of Attack and Stamina. Provided you have some actual skill in launching, this is designed to be a relatively safe pick in a tournament, since as long as you aren't staring down an Attack type, this custom has a very good chance of winning against whatever you throw at it.
The primary goal was to create a "moving Stamina custom" based on MF that would allow the bey to tornado stall to avoid freak KOs. The secondary goal was to create a bey that could also attack into traditional stamina types that would otherwise potentially OS this MF-based custom.
Part Choices
Face Bolt
A regular face bolt is used to keep the overall weight distribution as focused around the outside of the bey as possible. A fine alternative is MF-F, though it is by no means necessary and I don't particularly prefer it.
Clear Wheel
Hades is used because of its incredible synergy with Phantom, namely how its use adds around a minute of solo spin time (see the Clear Wheels Testing thread). This makes Hades vital to the combo as it allows the custom to OS defense types and, occasionally, stamina types by tornado stalling. Cancer is a decent replacement, but Hades really brings out the best in Phantom.
Old (Click to View)
Metal Wheel
Phantom was chosen for several reasons. First and foremost, it is a Stamina powerhouse, thus enabling the "moving Stamina custom" idea. Duo also fits this role, but comes up short in fulfilling the second goal of enabling attack. Thus, Phantom is used in Attack mode as this mode does not hinder its overall stamina in any way (unlike Duo's Attack mode) and it provides enough attack to KO opposing Stamina customs.
Track
90 was chosen after a lot of testing. At first I tried high tracks with MF, but that just didn't ever seem to work. I then moved onto 120 to 145-height tracks, but the custom was coming up short (no pun intended) when I tried attacking into low-height Duo-based Stamina customs. Finally I settled on a low-track setup, and 90 proved the best track for Phantom in Attack mode against what I considered the two biggest Stamina threats: Phantom and Duo on AD145WD (Phantom hits the bottom of the wheel perfectly) and anything on TH220 (Phantom makes great contact with the structure of TH170). 85 and 100 didn't do particularly poorly (and DF105 did strangely well) as most low-height tracks handled low-height Stamina customs, but 90 did the best at what the custom was designed to do and overall.
Bottom
MF was the basis of this custom from the very start. It has great stamina for an attack-type tip, and it enables the bey to tornado stall against rubber bottoms. WF and XF were other contenders for the "moving stamina type" idea, but I greatly preferred how much more controllable MF was.
Launch Techniques
The key to success with this custom, as I already mentioned, is in your launch technique, as the best launch technique for a given match up changes based on the type of custom you're facing:
Against pure Stamina types, you should bank hard so that you achieve the best flower pattern you can muster with MF. Your goal is to KO the opponent in the first few seconds of the fight, though failing that you'll still have a good shot at an OS if the opponent didn't launch perfectly. MF, 90, Phantom in Attack mode, and a VERY hard launch make this possible (this won't work unless you get some serious RPMs going, which is why you need at least a Beylauncher).
Against any custom with utilizing a non-aggressive tip with rubber (primarily Defense types), you need to launch so that you tornado stall without ever going through the center of the arena. What this launch technique does is allow the opposing bey to solo spin for an extended amount of time, thus losing its stamina due to the rubber-based bottom. By the time this custom reaches the center, it is a simple matter for it to destabilize and knock over the now slowly-spinning bey. By avoiding the opponent rather than grinding against it like normal Stamina types, the freak KOs that sometimes plague regular Stamina types (especially against wheels like Basalt) are avoided altogether. Learning how to launch this custom into a perfect tornado stall can be surprisingly difficult (at first I kept slipping over the Tornado Ridge when I tried shooting straight), but it is very rewarding in the end.
Against anything with Basalt or BD145 on it, you tornado stall. Basalt wins stamina fights by grinding down the foe; if you turn the fight into a solo-spin-time battle, you'll win every time. BD145 simply doesn't provide as good a solo spin time as 90MF, as even with EDS, BD145 will scrape if you've been tornado stalling.
Against non-attacking spin equalizers, you need to decide whether or not you want to risk attacking it or you want to avoid it. Attacking into Meteo is usually very effective since it is so light, while against LDD and LDG avoiding them is the way to go since they have such piss-poor balance and solo spin times as it is. Gravity is trickier due to a slightly higher risk of being KOed; against heavy customs it is best to avoid it, and against lighter ones attacking into it is safe.
Against attack types, your best bet is to tornado stall and pray; sometimes you'll KO the opponent and sometimes you'll avoid them long enough to easily OS them, but in general this is not a custom to use against attack types.
Test Results
BB-10 Attack Stadium
Beylauncher LR with Suspension
Standard Procedure
_______________________________
Vs. Stamina
Overall % Win: 87.8%
Stamina Tests (Click to View)
Vs. Defense
Overall % Win: 100%
Defense Tests (Click to View)
Vs. Balance
Overall % Win: 45%
Balance Tests (Click to View)
Other User's Testing
DefStamina88's Testing (Click to View)
Closing Remarks
I'm not going to pretend tornado stalling or using Metal Flat on stamina types is some new thing or that I was the first to come up with doing this, especially with Phantom (I was browsing through the Phantom discussion thread and ლ(ಠ益ಠლ) briefly tested almost this exact custom, except he used Aquario and a Metal Face). What I do want to make known is that this custom is a very tournament viable Balance custom, and that it's a hell of a lot of fun to use since you have to be so precise with your launch techniques to succeed (rather than just straight-shooting Stamina or Defense customs all day and praying). I'll do any requests anyone has (I don't have every bey, but lord knows I have a lot), and I encourage you all to try it out and post your own results!