WBO Organized Play Update: COVID-19 Requirements, Burst Limited Banlist, & more

Hi everyone! Recently, the Organized Play division of the WBO Staff met to review some proposed updates to the rules of several formats, as well as get a pulse check on our guidelines for hosting tournaments during the era of COVID-19.

While there are some larger-scale adjustments in the works for competitive play that have yet to have some of their finer details ironed out, we'll keep you updated on those when they're ready, so keep an eye out!

For now, here are all of the changes that we agreed on during the meeting, which can be enacted immediately.


Updates Overview
  • Organizer's Guide: COVID-19 Requirements for Tournaments
  • All Rulebooks: Update to Deck Format Launcher Restrictions
  • Burst Limited Format: Ban List Updates
  • Plastics Format: Ban List Updates


COVID-19 Requirements for Tournaments

In addition to the following the WBO COVID requirements while attending a tournament, organizers must now announce the local COVID requirements for their state or region at the venue, at the start of the event. This can most easily be done when announcing the rules at the beginning of a tournament.



Update to Deck Format Launcher Restrictions

Effective September 28 2020, the WBO will be loosening restrictions regarding using different Launcher setups during Deck Format. Players may now include up to three Launchers in their Deck, one per combo. Additionally, the restriction for re-configuring Launcher setups during a match has been removed.

Launchers can still be repeated. For example, you can use the Long Beylauncher LR with a Grip as your sole Launcher in a dual-spin, three-combo Deck. However, now you may also include the left and right Sparking Launchers for your other two combos, and exchange the grip between the Launchers as you use them.

Old WBO _____ Format Rules: Deck Format Wrote:Deck Building
  1. Choose 3 Beyblades: Build up to 3 Beyblades with no repeating parts that will make up your deck for the match.
  2. Choose Launcher(s): Choose one launcher for each spin direction for the match.
  3. Declare you are "set" to the judge.
  4. Judge Inspects Deck: The judge will inspect your deck and launcher(s).
  5. Players Inspect Opponent's Deck: Before the match begins, both Bladers will inspect each other’s decks.
  6. Beyblade Selection: Both players then select their first Beyblade in secret.
New WBO _____ Format Rules: Deck Format Wrote:Deck Building
  1. Choose 3 Beyblades: Build up to 3 Beyblades with no repeating parts that will make up your deck for the match.
  2. Choose Launcher(s): Choose up to three launchers (one launcher per combo) for the match.
  3. Declare you are "set" to the judge.
  4. Judge Inspects Deck: The judge will inspect your deck and launcher(s).
  5. Players Inspect Opponent's Deck: Before the match begins, both Bladers will inspect each other’s decks.
  6. Beyblade Selection: Both players then select their first Beyblade in secret.

Old WBO _____ Format Rules: Gameplay Appendix - Deck Format Advanced Rulings Wrote:
  • Launchers & Accessories:
    • Launchers and accessories must be chosen during the deck building phase.
    • Accessories attached to each launcher may not be removed or reconfigured once the match has begun.
New WBO _____ Format Rules: Gameplay Appendix - Deck Format Advanced Rulings Wrote:
  • Launchers & Accessories:
    • Launchers and accessories must be chosen during the deck building phase.
    • Accessories attached to each launcher may not be removed or reconfigured once the match has begun.


These rules were changed due to some issues where certain Layers were incompatible with certain Launchers and were unlaunchable as a result, and in the interest of making Deck Format more accessible to players that use more complex Launcher setups.

Ultimately, addressing these issues was ruled to be more important to the game than the strategic depth offered by keeping the restrictions in place.



Burst Limited Banlist Update: GT Layer Bases + GEN Unbanned
[Image: SXJtWdA.png]

About a month ago, LazerBeamz posted a proposal to unban some of the weaker GT Layer Bases, as well as all Gatinko Chips except Diabolos, and the GEN Layer Weight.

The four Layer Bases included in the original proposal were Ace, Slash, Venom, and Erase, but as other members such as Shindog, myself, and AirKingNeo contributed testing for these parts, it was revealed that those four Layer Bases, as well as Union (Speed Mode), Grand, and by extension Rock were not powerful enough to upset the balance of the Limited meta as it currently appears to be.

Though it may seem a bit controversial to throw the latter three into the mix, keep in mind that Burst Limited is still in an experimental stage, so if there's any right time to experiment with these new parts, it would be now.


Side Note: Burst Limited & Burst Classic Watchlists
Several members of the OP Team began using the term "Watchlist" to classify questionably overpowered or overcentralizing parts that had the potential to be banned, pending tournament results, so we thought it would be good to compile and publicize these Watchlists so everyone can get a good idea of what all parts are under scrutiny.

Burst Classic
  • Wave: Wave initially showed top level performance as a same spin Stamina Driver while also having enough Life After Death on its own to counter Dragoon, but later testing suggests that its same spin performance is not as good in a lighter format without Wheel.
  • Charge': It can Tornado Stall, but doesn't seem to be very good at it. However, its weight and strong spring mean that it is difficult to score 2 points against, which could pose an issue in Deck Format.
  • Universe: Universe can achieve similar results to the banned Atomic, but it must be launched hard in order to do so, and can self KO as a result. Tournament results pending on whether this is enough of a drawback to moderate its use.
  • Trans': Trans' is popular on the Winning Combos list, and can also be used to Tornado Stall. However, its shape makes it an ineffective Staller compared to α' or Z', and the level of knowledge and technique required to bring out its best performance seems to keep it balanced.
  • Zeta': May provide some combos with an unhealthy combination of Stamina and Burst Resistance, but has yet to do so since its introduction over a year ago.
The first three new Drivers from Sparking were our main topic of discussion here, though Trans' and Zeta' have had enough concerns raised about them that their spots here are justified.

Burst Limited
  • Shining αmaterios
  • Shadow αmaterios
  • Hercules H4
Shining αmaterios, Shadow αmaterios, and Hercules H4 are all on the Watchlist for the same reason - while testing has shown that they may indeed be too powerful, we ultimately decided to leave them unbanned for now.

These Layers don't have any notable tournament feats as of yet: out of the three, only Shadow αmaterios appears in the Winning Combos thus far, and only once. Attendees of BSL tournaments that have owned these parts have opted not to use them in favor of other Layers.

As previously mentioned, the format is still in an experimental stage, so we just need more data on these before we can draw a real conclusion.


Plastics Format Update: Dragon Breaker + Screw Zeus Unbanned

[Image: nXYaVE3.png]
Old WBO Plastic Format Rulebook Wrote:Screw Zeus (Zeus)
  • The combination of Screw Zeus with Attack Rings that visibly do not fit, cause the parts to bend from their original shape, or do not sit level with each other is forbidden. One example of this is Dragon Breaker.
  • The combination of Screw Zeus on SG Free Wing Base with Weight Disks that visibly do not fit and cause the parts to bend from their original shape or do not sit level with each other is forbidden.
New WBO Plastic Format Rulebook Wrote:Screw Zeus (Zeus)
  • The combination of Screw Zeus with Attack Rings that visibly do not fit, cause the parts to bend from their original shape, or do not sit level with each other is forbidden. One example of this is Twin Horn G.
  • The combination of Screw Zeus on SG Free Wing Base with Weight Disks that visibly do not fit and cause the parts to bend from their original shape or do not sit level with each other is forbidden.

Last, but not least, we also decided to overturn a ruling made over three years ago regarding a particular Plastics combo using the Dragon Breaker Main AR with the Screw Zeus Sub-AR that was said to be incompatible for some players.

Upon further examination and reconsideration of this combo, we have re-evaluated our stance on this issue and decided that it falls within acceptable limits of what constitutes a legal AR setup. While highly competitive, the AR setup in question is not overpowered, and does not cause damage to itself or opponents during battle, so there is little reason for it to remain banned.



Feedback?
If you have any feedback on these particular changes, or any questions or suggestions for further adjustments or additions, please post your thoughts below or in the WBO Organized Play Rules thread.

Thank you to everyone for your continued support of WBO Organized Play! We appreciate any and all feedback and are always looking to improve and clarify things where possible.
Epic! Hopefully soon we can unban the turbo exclusives in classic!
This may be far-fetched, but maybe just maybe Pegasus could be allowed, but it can’t have dash drivers (so no quick dash combos). Pegasus is never used and the weight is really close to that of Saggitario (I believe the heaviest layer allowed)
Since I didn't see them in the banned parts list, I wanted to ask: Are there any GT weights that are banned/are on the watchlist?
I think ban lists are pointless cause um free play?
Well I don't know if this is the right place to ask; but I am wondering if we will have any intimation on the updating the knockout definition? I think Kei mentioned it in his Bey Base article but I did not notice anything after that.

Has that discussion been discarded due to some reasons?
(Sep. 28, 2020  3:19 AM)bladekid Wrote: Epic! Hopefully soon we can unban the turbo exclusives in classic!

And some other, really bad, early ones like wV4 and zA4. Maybe bL4, though that one is a bit of a half joke.
(Sep. 28, 2020  5:36 AM)BladerGem Wrote: Since I didn't see them in the banned parts list, I wanted to ask: Are there any GT weights that are banned/are on the watchlist?
If you are talking about Limited, the layers are only allowed to be used with Gen. All other weights are banned.

(Sep. 28, 2020  5:45 AM)Vtryuga Wrote: Well I don't know if this is the right place to ask; but I am wondering if we will have any intimation on the updating the knockout definition? I think Kei mentioned it in his Bey Base article but I did not notice anything after that.

Has that discussion been  discarded due to some reasons?

That has not been discarded.  Still very much working on it.
Glad to see Union (Speed Mode) given a shot just like Slash is. I still have my doubts about them, despite liking Union a lot, because they both have a lot of burst resistance compared to the other attack options available, though that may not matter as much with dash drivers. I think both of these are better than Venom (which I do not own), and I heard Venom is pretty good.

Grand, Ace, and Rock are fine since they even get destabilized by mixed attackers. So their high burst resistance compared to god layers does come with the trade off of stamina. Erase is just worse than awful.

I feel like Vice Leopard, probably should have been allowed since its performs really, really similar to Shining/Shadow Amaterios, but my testing for it was on really short notice. Though, I feel like anything that feels "super edge" should probably be banned to keep down powercreep, or at least sA since it has really good stamina. But that's my opinion from testing.

Also, I did a single Cosmo test today, so I'll post results from that. I don't think it should be unbanned since it lacks the weaknesses Ace/Grand/Rock has. Unless we say Ace/Grand/Rock are too weak and the buffed version of Cosmo should exist in the format.

(Sep. 28, 2020  6:06 AM)6Jupiter5 Wrote: Storm Pegasus anyone?

That layer can compete with Archer Hercules. That layer should stay banned.
(Sep. 28, 2020  5:43 AM)kai edits Wrote: I think ban lists are pointless cause um free play?

But this is for actual tournaments or competitions. These are the rules for a format. Free play isn’t really a format. Ban lists are important to keep formats balanced.
(Sep. 28, 2020  6:01 AM)AirKingNeo Wrote:
(Sep. 28, 2020  3:19 AM)bladekid Wrote: Epic! Hopefully soon we can unban the turbo exclusives in classic!

And some other, really bad, early ones like wV4 and zA4. Maybe bL4, though that one is a bit of a half joke.
I'm don't want bL4 in tbh.
(Sep. 28, 2020  6:56 AM)AirKingNeo Wrote:
(Sep. 28, 2020  6:06 AM)6Jupiter5 Wrote: Storm Pegasus anyone?

That layer can compete with Archer Hercules. That layer should stay banned.

What about L-drago, except no dash drivers? L-drago may be heavier, but it doesn’t have the best teeth and is close to the weight to Saggitario
i have a problem with the limited unbans why would you unban those i know they arent that good but my bey were competitive until this came
(Sep. 28, 2020  3:23 PM)6Jupiter5 Wrote:
(Sep. 28, 2020  6:56 AM)AirKingNeo Wrote: That layer can compete with Archer Hercules. That layer should stay banned.

What about L-drago, except no dash drivers? L-drago may be heavier, but it doesn’t have the best teeth and is close to the weight to Saggitario

Lightning L-Drago, like Storm Pegasis, doesn't have the same issues with being unbalanced that Rock Leona, Earth Aquilia, and Flame Saggitario. Burn Phoenix is also banned, but that's probably due to having a very, very round shape and rounder shape.
i agreee with the bans not the unbans tho
the madlads unbanned dragon breaker on holy despell (pretty sure thats the name, idk, correct me if im wrong)
wow
and i can see that wave will soon be good, too
maybe on parts like Mad Minoboros, idk
Nice to see 'drivers being available in limited and classic to give layers that have bad teeth/bad recoil (looking at YOU phantom, you fit into BOTH of these) a chance at being good.
Hercules is going to get annoying rq i predict.
Venom and rock get love now, yay
Question, does the diaboros chip ban mean Diaboros I or II?
and if lets say your sub-ar broke mid battle and you dont have a copy can you use a different sub-ar instead?
(Sep. 30, 2020  9:39 PM)LeonidasKerbeus Wrote: Question, does the diaboros chip ban mean Diaboros I or II?

Diabolos 1. Cause that chip is a chip layer-weight fusion.
So Why not Unban Bushin?
I think Odin Heavy Universe will become dangerous
(Sep. 28, 2020  6:56 AM)AirKingNeo Wrote: Glad to see Union (Speed Mode) given a shot just like Slash is. I still have my doubts about them, despite liking Union a lot, because they both have a lot of burst resistance compared to the other attack options available, though that may not matter as much with dash drivers. I think both of these are better than Venom (which I do not own), and I heard Venom is pretty good.

Grand, Ace, and Rock are fine since they even get destabilized by mixed attackers. So their high burst resistance compared to god layers does come with the trade off of stamina. Erase is just worse than awful.

I feel like Vice Leopard, probably should have been allowed since its performs really, really similar to Shining/Shadow Amaterios, but my testing for it was on really short notice. Though, I feel like anything that feels "super edge" should probably be banned to keep down powercreep, or at least sA since it has really good stamina. But that's my opinion from testing.

Also, I did a single Cosmo test today, so I'll post results from that. I don't think it should be unbanned since it lacks the weaknesses Ace/Grand/Rock has. Unless we say Ace/Grand/Rock are too weak and the buffed version of Cosmo should exist in the format.

Even on Gen I can still see Slash bursting. I'm not concerned about it at all. Union is overall worse than Venom offensively so no concerns there, though Union could potentially be used defensively. At that point though there's a lot of other options that probably do that better.

Of Grand/Ace/Rock Grand is probably strongest tbh. A mold 2 Grand could be good in particular, though I doubt it has the Stamina to be amazing.

Vice Leopard is an Attack slayer and best at Defense. I have seen it defeat Judgement before, even going far enough to burst it, and quite recently at that. I really don't think it's something we should be allowing at all. Also will admit I've never seen Shining/Shadow Amaterios used defensively. Shadow does have quite a kick in stock and is significantly better than Shining anyways, so I'm surprised to see people equating what I consider an offensive layer with a defensive layer like this.

(Sep. 30, 2020  11:07 PM)SunBlader98 Wrote: So Why not Unban Bushin?

Probably too tanky or something, I'm not quite sure.
(Oct. 02, 2020  5:57 PM)MagikHorse Wrote:
(Sep. 28, 2020  6:56 AM)AirKingNeo Wrote: Glad to see Union (Speed Mode) given a shot just like Slash is. I still have my doubts about them, despite liking Union a lot, because they both have a lot of burst resistance compared to the other attack options available, though that may not matter as much with dash drivers. I think both of these are better than Venom (which I do not own), and I heard Venom is pretty good.

Grand, Ace, and Rock are fine since they even get destabilized by mixed attackers. So their high burst resistance compared to god layers does come with the trade off of stamina. Erase is just worse than awful.

I feel like Vice Leopard, probably should have been allowed since its performs really, really similar to Shining/Shadow Amaterios, but my testing for it was on really short notice. Though, I feel like anything that feels "super edge" should probably be banned to keep down powercreep, or at least sA since it has really good stamina. But that's my opinion from testing.

Also, I did a single Cosmo test today, so I'll post results from that. I don't think it should be unbanned since it lacks the weaknesses Ace/Grand/Rock has. Unless we say Ace/Grand/Rock are too weak and the buffed version of Cosmo should exist in the format.

Even on Gen I can still see Slash bursting. I'm not concerned about it at all. Union is overall worse than Venom offensively so no concerns there, though Union could potentially be used defensively. At that point though there's a lot of other options that probably do that better.

Of Grand/Ace/Rock Grand is probably strongest tbh. A mold 2 Grand could be good in particular, though I doubt it has the Stamina to be amazing.

Vice Leopard is an Attack slayer and best at Defense. I have seen it defeat Judgement before, even going far enough to burst it, and quite recently at that. I really don't think it's something we should be allowing at all. Also will admit I've never seen Shining/Shadow Amaterios used defensively. Shadow does have quite a kick in stock and is significantly better than Shining anyways, so I'm surprised to see people equating what I consider an offensive layer with a defensive layer like this.

(Sep. 30, 2020  11:07 PM)SunBlader98 Wrote: So Why not Unban Bushin?

Probably too tanky or something, I'm not quite sure.

Tanky? The lightist base is tanky? Pathetic!
(Oct. 02, 2020  5:57 PM)MagikHorse Wrote:
(Sep. 28, 2020  6:56 AM)AirKingNeo Wrote: Glad to see Union (Speed Mode) given a shot just like Slash is. I still have my doubts about them, despite liking Union a lot, because they both have a lot of burst resistance compared to the other attack options available, though that may not matter as much with dash drivers. I think both of these are better than Venom (which I do not own), and I heard Venom is pretty good.

Grand, Ace, and Rock are fine since they even get destabilized by mixed attackers. So their high burst resistance compared to god layers does come with the trade off of stamina. Erase is just worse than awful.

I feel like Vice Leopard, probably should have been allowed since its performs really, really similar to Shining/Shadow Amaterios, but my testing for it was on really short notice. Though, I feel like anything that feels "super edge" should probably be banned to keep down powercreep, or at least sA since it has really good stamina. But that's my opinion from testing.

Also, I did a single Cosmo test today, so I'll post results from that. I don't think it should be unbanned since it lacks the weaknesses Ace/Grand/Rock has. Unless we say Ace/Grand/Rock are too weak and the buffed version of Cosmo should exist in the format.

Even on Gen I can still see Slash bursting. I'm not concerned about it at all. Union is overall worse than Venom offensively so no concerns there, though Union could potentially be used defensively. At that point though there's a lot of other options that probably do that better.

Of Grand/Ace/Rock Grand is probably strongest tbh. A mold 2 Grand could be good in particular, though I doubt it has the Stamina to be amazing.

Vice Leopard is an Attack slayer and best at Defense. I have seen it defeat Judgement before, even going far enough to burst it, and quite recently at that. I really don't think it's something we should be allowing at all. Also will admit I've never seen Shining/Shadow Amaterios used defensively. Shadow does have quite a kick in stock and is significantly better than Shining anyways, so I'm surprised to see people equating what I consider an offensive layer with a defensive layer like this.

I completely disagree. Union has better attack or at least equal attack with Venom, and its not that great defensively (usable for anti-attack on like Unite at best). As for Slash, we have to consider we've gotten better chips (Spriggan, Achilles) that are more burst resistant since its when it was initially used and the Gen weight's resistor.

Ace/Grand/Rock just have really poor stamina. Won't ever been an issue.

Vice Leopard's shape is circular and its gimmick works as a method of absorbing shock, which makes it a decent defense layer. Shining/Shadow Amaterios has a 5 bladed shape that is really circular, which also makes it defensive. If you've seen testing done with sA, the combos are almost always defense/stamina (some even try sA.outer.Br). If you've seen my testing with Vice Leopard, it performs almost the exact same as sA.
(Oct. 02, 2020  6:44 PM)AirKingNeo Wrote: I completely disagree. Union has better attack or at least equal attack with Venom, and its not that great defensively (usable for anti-attack on like Unite at best). As for Slash, we have to consider we've gotten better chips (Spriggan, Achilles) that are more burst resistant since its when it was initially used and the Gen weight's resistor.
I'd need to see testing to believe that about Union. I've seen Union perform like a tank in Power Mode, but I've never seen it have any real significant attacking power in either mode (though it does gain more hitting consistency in Speed Mode as the power wings block a few contact points). As a result I consider Venom an overall better attacking layer, but still rather sub-par.

Slash's issue isn't the chip, it's the bases shape. Even with Gen I've seen Slash burst rather readily, especially against offensive threats. It's a powerful yet risky shape, and I'm not sure if Gen alone is enough to hold it together even in the lighter Limited format. If it can hold together though it could be pretty good in the format, as its KO power is rather high.

Though true that better chips exist Valkyrie, Dragon, and Ashura are all rather good chips themselves to the point where "better chips" are a very minor upgrade to begin with and not really a significant factor at all imo. This goes double with the Gen weight in play.

(Oct. 02, 2020  6:44 PM)AirKingNeo Wrote: Ace/Grand/Rock just have really poor stamina. Won't ever been an issue.
I could see Grand potentially outdoing layers like Alter Chronos, it does have decent Stamina compared to the others and even better defenses than Rock, but I do agree that none of them are problematic. On Gen they're easily manageable.

(Oct. 02, 2020  6:44 PM)AirKingNeo Wrote: Vice Leopard's shape is circular and its gimmick works as a method of absorbing shock, which makes it a decent defense layer. Shining/Shadow Amaterios has a 5 bladed shape that is really circular, which also makes it defensive. If you've seen testing done with sA, the combos are almost always defense/stamina (some even try sA.outer.Br). If you've seen my testing with Vice Leopard, it performs almost the exact same as sA.
I haven't seen the testing, but what I have seen is stock Shadow Amaterios wreck fools with massive attacks and teeth strong enough that it really doesn't even need the ' driver it comes with because I basically never see it take a click of damage. You may be using it defensively, but I think it's got sleeper Attack potential too just considering that stock performance. Shining maybe less though, as its little wings get in the way more than they help and it just generally seems weaker than Shadow in every way I can think of.
High Blow Dash is upgraded version of currently banned for BsC Blow Dash.
banned when released High Blow Dash