Phoenix Rudder has been a very overlooked UX bey, with decent stamina due to its good outward weight distribution. However, it is not round and heavy enough to eat xtreme dashes head on like Wizard Rod, Golem Rock or Mummy Curse, nor does it outcompete Rod in terms of stamina in most cases. Rudder also has an interesting downward slope shape, which in theory drains opponent stamina by using the plastic nubs to grind on the opposing blade. This does open up its key weakness, which is that its shape directly leads opposing blades right into its own ratchet and conceding easy burst finishes. The 9-70 ratchet, with very good burst resistance and an increased height to make use of Rudder's gimmick, is a very good choice. However, the same cannot be said for the Glide bit. The POM surface does not have good enough contact with the stadium, so it just ping-pongs itself around the stadium like an attack type early, before losing enough stamina to settle in and finally make use of the advertised POM plastic underneath, making the stock combo a massive joke. Rudder already has a good blade that synergizes well with its ratchet, so I'm keeping the stock combo and only swapping out the bit for Wedge. Wedge can self-correct after hitting opponents, and it has very low friction, which keeps Rudder spinning longer. It is widely used in taller height, destabilizing stationary attack builds, which is what we want Rudder to do. Its cousin Wall Wedge will be tested as well.
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 W vs Wizard Rod 1-60 H
3 wins (3 spin finishes),17 losses (16 spin finishes, 1 over finish)
Remarks: An expected result vs Rod, the stamina just isn't up to par, nor did the destabilization work as expected. Swapping to 9-80 and/or WW yielded similar results, so trying to dethrone Rod is a bit of a no-go. But what if the destabilization is used against attack types?
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 W vs Shark Scale 1-70 LR
7 wins (5 spin finishes, 1 over finish, 1 xtreme finish), 13 losses (6 spin finishes, 5 over finishes, 1 burst finish, 1 xtreme finish)
Remarks: Rudder could sometimes be rushed down by Shark Scale and Wedge did not self-correct fast enough, so it did concede more spin finishes. Wedge, being a low friction bit, also did not protect Rudder from over and xtreme finishes. However, the 70 height ratchet and Rudder's down-smashing plastic nubs did help defend its core, only conceding 1 burst finish. What if we swapped Wedge with its Wall variant?
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 WW vs Shark Scale 1-70 LR
10 wins (8 spin finishes, 1 over finish, 1 xtreme finish), 10 losses (5 spin finishes, 2 over finishes, 1 burst finish, 2 xtreme finish)
Remarks: That is a very solid 50/50 against Shark Scale. Wall Wedge helped prevent knockouts and stabilized the blade, allowing it to use its down-smash attack more often.
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 W vs Phoenix Wing 3-60 R
13 wins (13 spin finishes), 8 losses (5 over finishes, 1 burst finish, 2 xtreme finish)
Edit: Wrong loss count, I recorded one more battle than the standard 20.
Remarks: Phoenix Wing has lower stamina, so if it can't knock out or burst, it gets completely shut down by Rudder. I'm beginning to think that Rudder got mistyped and should've been a defense type instead.
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 WW vs Phoenix Wing 3-60 R
4 wins (4 spin finishes), 16 losses (5 spin finishes, 6 over finishes, 2 burst finishes, 3 xtreme finishes)
Remarks: Unlike against Shark Scale which tends to wobble, Wall Wedge's poor movement is easily exploited by Phoenix Wing's frequent upright xtreme dashes. Wedge is a much safer bet by comparison. Further testing will only be done with Wedge from this point on.
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 W vs Aero Pegasus 3-60 R
8 wins (6 spin finishes, 1 over finish, 1 burst finish), 1 draw, 11 losses (5 spin finishes, 5 over finishes, 1 burst finish)
Remarks: Even against Aero, Rudder still has a fighting chance when launched with a slight tilt to avoid sitting directly in the center.
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 W vs Pegasus Blast Heavy 3-60 K
11 wins (10 spin finishes, 1 over finish), 1 draw, 8 losses (2 spin finishes, 3 over finishes, 3 xtreme finishes)
Remarks: Beautifully defended against a CX weight bully, although Rudder does still get thrown around the stadium, it has the stamina to outlast Pegasus Blast.
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 W vs Cobalt Dragoon 5-60 E
1 win (1 xtreme finish), 19 losses (14 spin finishes, 2 over finishes, 2 burst finishes, 1 xtreme finish)
Remarks: The extra height was counterproductive against Dragoon, Rudder could not stabilize nor resist Dragoon's spin-stealing.
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 W vs Wizard Rod 1-60 H
3 wins (3 spin finishes),17 losses (16 spin finishes, 1 over finish)
Remarks: An expected result vs Rod, the stamina just isn't up to par, nor did the destabilization work as expected. Swapping to 9-80 and/or WW yielded similar results, so trying to dethrone Rod is a bit of a no-go. But what if the destabilization is used against attack types?
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 W vs Shark Scale 1-70 LR
7 wins (5 spin finishes, 1 over finish, 1 xtreme finish), 13 losses (6 spin finishes, 5 over finishes, 1 burst finish, 1 xtreme finish)
Remarks: Rudder could sometimes be rushed down by Shark Scale and Wedge did not self-correct fast enough, so it did concede more spin finishes. Wedge, being a low friction bit, also did not protect Rudder from over and xtreme finishes. However, the 70 height ratchet and Rudder's down-smashing plastic nubs did help defend its core, only conceding 1 burst finish. What if we swapped Wedge with its Wall variant?
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 WW vs Shark Scale 1-70 LR
10 wins (8 spin finishes, 1 over finish, 1 xtreme finish), 10 losses (5 spin finishes, 2 over finishes, 1 burst finish, 2 xtreme finish)
Remarks: That is a very solid 50/50 against Shark Scale. Wall Wedge helped prevent knockouts and stabilized the blade, allowing it to use its down-smash attack more often.
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 W vs Phoenix Wing 3-60 R
13 wins (13 spin finishes), 8 losses (5 over finishes, 1 burst finish, 2 xtreme finish)
Edit: Wrong loss count, I recorded one more battle than the standard 20.
Remarks: Phoenix Wing has lower stamina, so if it can't knock out or burst, it gets completely shut down by Rudder. I'm beginning to think that Rudder got mistyped and should've been a defense type instead.
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 WW vs Phoenix Wing 3-60 R
4 wins (4 spin finishes), 16 losses (5 spin finishes, 6 over finishes, 2 burst finishes, 3 xtreme finishes)
Remarks: Unlike against Shark Scale which tends to wobble, Wall Wedge's poor movement is easily exploited by Phoenix Wing's frequent upright xtreme dashes. Wedge is a much safer bet by comparison. Further testing will only be done with Wedge from this point on.
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 W vs Aero Pegasus 3-60 R
8 wins (6 spin finishes, 1 over finish, 1 burst finish), 1 draw, 11 losses (5 spin finishes, 5 over finishes, 1 burst finish)
Remarks: Even against Aero, Rudder still has a fighting chance when launched with a slight tilt to avoid sitting directly in the center.
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 W vs Pegasus Blast Heavy 3-60 K
11 wins (10 spin finishes, 1 over finish), 1 draw, 8 losses (2 spin finishes, 3 over finishes, 3 xtreme finishes)
Remarks: Beautifully defended against a CX weight bully, although Rudder does still get thrown around the stadium, it has the stamina to outlast Pegasus Blast.
Phoenix Rudder 9-70 W vs Cobalt Dragoon 5-60 E
1 win (1 xtreme finish), 19 losses (14 spin finishes, 2 over finishes, 2 burst finishes, 1 xtreme finish)
Remarks: The extra height was counterproductive against Dragoon, Rudder could not stabilize nor resist Dragoon's spin-stealing.
