Hello WBO. I wanted to propose some thoughts and get some viewpoints on how players feel about the Single Bey Format versus other styles like Pick 3 Choose 1 or Full Deck Format for initial of a tournament, or even WBBA 3v3 format.
This topic came up at my last event and honestly has been something heavy on my mind. I enjoy battling, my whole family does, but there are major issues we run into with the Single Bey Format.
For 1 its the "scouting" some players do to get an unfair advantage for a match. I get that we should definitely hide our combos before showing them to a judge or opponent, but it's tough sometimes and with young kids they aren't thinking of being super secretive with their Beys, they just want to play. Some players will scope out or roam to see their opponents combo and even if this is against the rules, it still happens and judges and/or organizers can't catch everything. Players bringing 2 beys in their pocket and then last second choosing is an issue too. Like I said, it's really hard on young kids who have no thoughts on discretion and get hard countered by others.
Second issue is the "major guessing game". If you're not scouting you are guessing, "what will my opponent use" and that can hurt skillful and tactical players if they guess wrong. This may not be that bad but I've witnessed great players just be SUPER unlucky. They play fair and straight up and just have a bad day with their choices. Strategy in Single Bey Format is heavily outweighed by chance, luck or scouting in my honest opinion.
I want to mention some of my thoughts on solutions also, instead of just outlining problems. These are some alternative thoughts and please let me know if you agree or think I'm just crazy.
1. P3C1: I like this idea because it doesn’t stray too much from what the WBO is already doing. The difference is that it eliminates the unfair advantageous that some players get. True, you can still try to scout out your opponents three combos but it’s a lot less likely to know what they will choose or have a single Bey to counter 3 Beys. It’s a mind game and sometimes luck of the draw. It’s a lot more fair and less complicated for new players. It will also slowly introduce them to strategy.
2. WBO Deck for entire tournament phases: I love Deck format. Honestly I think this would be The Best method to employ. It teaches strategy. Helps to eliminate “some” unfair advantageous. The only downfall I see with this is time, but honestly the time it takes to get bladers ready with a single Bey can take forever as well. If you have a legit deck you can just GO AND PLAY! Overall though I’m onboard for full deck. The nerd dad side of me likes this as well because even though there is no perfect Beyblade I can make my custom deck and have it as my own. I think a lot of players would enjoy that, especially new ones.
3. WBBA 3v3: I think the WBBA format is efficient. When I started Four-Gaming tournaments that is exactly what we did for the finals stage. However we ran into issues with the freedom of strategy. It’s less strategy on countering if you just number your Beys blindly of your opponents. It can also be tough for newer players who won’t have 3 efficient combos. But it does work for fairness.
All in all I like solution 2 then 1 then 3. Agree or disagree, please share your thoughts and hopefully we can bring this up to staff to possibly get something changed or stay the same if that is what the community wants.
This topic came up at my last event and honestly has been something heavy on my mind. I enjoy battling, my whole family does, but there are major issues we run into with the Single Bey Format.
For 1 its the "scouting" some players do to get an unfair advantage for a match. I get that we should definitely hide our combos before showing them to a judge or opponent, but it's tough sometimes and with young kids they aren't thinking of being super secretive with their Beys, they just want to play. Some players will scope out or roam to see their opponents combo and even if this is against the rules, it still happens and judges and/or organizers can't catch everything. Players bringing 2 beys in their pocket and then last second choosing is an issue too. Like I said, it's really hard on young kids who have no thoughts on discretion and get hard countered by others.
Second issue is the "major guessing game". If you're not scouting you are guessing, "what will my opponent use" and that can hurt skillful and tactical players if they guess wrong. This may not be that bad but I've witnessed great players just be SUPER unlucky. They play fair and straight up and just have a bad day with their choices. Strategy in Single Bey Format is heavily outweighed by chance, luck or scouting in my honest opinion.
I want to mention some of my thoughts on solutions also, instead of just outlining problems. These are some alternative thoughts and please let me know if you agree or think I'm just crazy.
1. P3C1: I like this idea because it doesn’t stray too much from what the WBO is already doing. The difference is that it eliminates the unfair advantageous that some players get. True, you can still try to scout out your opponents three combos but it’s a lot less likely to know what they will choose or have a single Bey to counter 3 Beys. It’s a mind game and sometimes luck of the draw. It’s a lot more fair and less complicated for new players. It will also slowly introduce them to strategy.
2. WBO Deck for entire tournament phases: I love Deck format. Honestly I think this would be The Best method to employ. It teaches strategy. Helps to eliminate “some” unfair advantageous. The only downfall I see with this is time, but honestly the time it takes to get bladers ready with a single Bey can take forever as well. If you have a legit deck you can just GO AND PLAY! Overall though I’m onboard for full deck. The nerd dad side of me likes this as well because even though there is no perfect Beyblade I can make my custom deck and have it as my own. I think a lot of players would enjoy that, especially new ones.
3. WBBA 3v3: I think the WBBA format is efficient. When I started Four-Gaming tournaments that is exactly what we did for the finals stage. However we ran into issues with the freedom of strategy. It’s less strategy on countering if you just number your Beys blindly of your opponents. It can also be tough for newer players who won’t have 3 efficient combos. But it does work for fairness.
All in all I like solution 2 then 1 then 3. Agree or disagree, please share your thoughts and hopefully we can bring this up to staff to possibly get something changed or stay the same if that is what the community wants.