Outlined below are several important new ruling additions, updates, and clarifications to some WBO Organized Play rulebooks and the Organizers' Guide. View all WBO Organized Play Rules & Resources here, and a summary of the changes below:
Updates Overview
All Rulebooks Updates
First Stage – Consecutive Draws: Limit Reduced from 3 to 2
The battle limit for consecutive draws across all Match Types in the first stage has now been reduced from 3 to 2.
Why did we make this change?
The increased accuracy offered by allowing three consecutive draws ultimately probably wasn't worth the amount of times that it would actually make a difference in matches. This seems clear now after having initially implemented the rule forcing three consecutive draws before advancing.
Given the struggles we've had with the length of some events lately, and it generally being in our best interests to help Organizers host events of a more reasonable length, we see this as a positive change to Organized Play.
Final Stage – Deck Match Type: Battle Limit (15 Rounds) Added
A battle limit of 15 rounds has now been added to the Deck Match Type.
The "Battle Limit & Consecutive Draws" section of all rulebooks has been separated into a section for First Stage (what currently existed) along with the following new section for the Final Stage:
Why did we make this change?
We've improved the First Stage with things like the battle limit and consecutive draws rule, but nothing was done to the Deck Match Type used in the Final Stage.
The Final Stage was conceived along with a new Match Type for it–WBO Deck–back when draws were not anywhere near the problem they are today.
The WBO Deck Match Type itself was not designed to work for the current Burst Format environment. And we don't want to force events to take longer than they should. It's not feasible for everyone.
Adding a battle limit will help to speed up the Deck Match Type. Implementing this alone also helps to avoid compromising the advantage owed to the loser of each round by forcing a re-pick at any point.
Especially as the battle limit gets closer, players in a disadvantageous position (ex. Down 4-3) will be forced into a different strategy since they will lose otherwise. Doing so will then increase the chances the battle will end faster.
The limit for first stage matches and all other existing match types is 10 battles.
Unlike all other Match Types, because the Deck Match Type goes to 5 points, the battle limit should be higher.
With the limit at 15 for the Deck Match Type, the ratio of battles permitted per point required is roughly the same (3.33 for First Stage, 3 for Deck Match Type if the limit is 15).
This change does not necessarily solve for the situation where it is 4-4 or 3-3 and draws continue indefinitely, but it should help in many situations where that it not the case.
In the future, we can consider other methods of improving the speed of the Final Stage as needed.
Legal Equipment – Foreign Substances & Physical Modification Ruling Updates
The "Foreign Substances & Physical Modification" and "Significantly Worn Parts" sections in each rulebook have been replaced with the following:
Why did we make this change?
The previous "Foreign Substances & Modification" rule was first written many years ago and had never been questioned or touched since.
However, there were a few problems:
1. "Foreign Substances" and "Physical Modification" can be considered separate issues as physical modification can occur without the application of a foreign substance.
2. We have always allowed for other parts that need to be bent to 'fit' or for physical modifications such as winder straightening, so by not explicitly stating that, our rules may seem inconsistent when you look at how we handle these things.
3. The game has evolved a lot since the existing definition was written. There is a lot more obvious and official tolerance for certain types of physical modification now that changes performance.
Along with this, we recognized that we can't expect all volunteer judges to even know about every possible minor physical modification.
Ultimately, there was no tangible benefit to not permitting a more lenient stance on physical modification within these more explicit, set parameters.
If there are any exceptions that prove to be particularly powerful because of this, we will announce and publish them under the part-specific rulings for individual formats at a later date.
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.
Updates Overview
- All Rulebooks: First Stage – Consecutive Draws: Limit Reduced from 3 to 2
- All Rulebooks: Final Stage – Deck Match Type: Battle Limit (15 Rounds) Added
- All Rulebooks: Legal Equipment – Foreign Substances & Physical Modification Ruling Updates
All Rulebooks Updates
First Stage – Consecutive Draws: Limit Reduced from 3 to 2
The battle limit for consecutive draws across all Match Types in the first stage has now been reduced from 3 to 2.
Why did we make this change?
The increased accuracy offered by allowing three consecutive draws ultimately probably wasn't worth the amount of times that it would actually make a difference in matches. This seems clear now after having initially implemented the rule forcing three consecutive draws before advancing.
Given the struggles we've had with the length of some events lately, and it generally being in our best interests to help Organizers host events of a more reasonable length, we see this as a positive change to Organized Play.
Final Stage – Deck Match Type: Battle Limit (15 Rounds) Added
A battle limit of 15 rounds has now been added to the Deck Match Type.
The "Battle Limit & Consecutive Draws" section of all rulebooks has been separated into a section for First Stage (what currently existed) along with the following new section for the Final Stage:
All Rulebooks – Battle Limit & Consecutive Draws (Final Stage) Wrote:All final stage matches using the Deck Match Type have a battle limit of 15 battles. If a fifteenth battle is played and,
One player has more points than the other:The score is tied: the match score remains as is, continues, and the first player to score a point wins the match.
- Player with more points wins the match.
Why did we make this change?
We've improved the First Stage with things like the battle limit and consecutive draws rule, but nothing was done to the Deck Match Type used in the Final Stage.
The Final Stage was conceived along with a new Match Type for it–WBO Deck–back when draws were not anywhere near the problem they are today.
The WBO Deck Match Type itself was not designed to work for the current Burst Format environment. And we don't want to force events to take longer than they should. It's not feasible for everyone.
Adding a battle limit will help to speed up the Deck Match Type. Implementing this alone also helps to avoid compromising the advantage owed to the loser of each round by forcing a re-pick at any point.
Especially as the battle limit gets closer, players in a disadvantageous position (ex. Down 4-3) will be forced into a different strategy since they will lose otherwise. Doing so will then increase the chances the battle will end faster.
The limit for first stage matches and all other existing match types is 10 battles.
Unlike all other Match Types, because the Deck Match Type goes to 5 points, the battle limit should be higher.
With the limit at 15 for the Deck Match Type, the ratio of battles permitted per point required is roughly the same (3.33 for First Stage, 3 for Deck Match Type if the limit is 15).
This change does not necessarily solve for the situation where it is 4-4 or 3-3 and draws continue indefinitely, but it should help in many situations where that it not the case.
In the future, we can consider other methods of improving the speed of the Final Stage as needed.
Legal Equipment – Foreign Substances & Physical Modification Ruling Updates
The "Foreign Substances & Physical Modification" and "Significantly Worn Parts" sections in each rulebook have been replaced with the following:
All Rulebooks – Additional Equipment Regulations (Illegal Section) Wrote:Foreign Substances: Beyblade and launcher parts cannot be painted or coated in any way that affects their performance except in the methods explicitly outlined in the green section below. Bladers who intentionally modify the performance illegally of their equipment will be disqualified and potentially banned from future WBO events.
All Rulebooks – Additional Equipment Regulations (Legal Section) Wrote:Physical Modification:
Unless explicitly stated otherwise by another rule, Beyblade and launcher parts can only be physically modified through:
- Battle with other Beyblades of the same series.
- Launching a Beyblade into a Beyblade stadium.
- Assembling a Beyblade or launcher with parts that fit and are intended to be used together based on the part composition of the series in question.
- Displacement of part components that have give to them by hand.
Minor physical modifications caused by other means (such as accidentally dropping a Beyblade onto the floor) may be permitted with judge approval. Please ask a judge if you are unsure if your part is legal.
Why did we make this change?
The previous "Foreign Substances & Modification" rule was first written many years ago and had never been questioned or touched since.
However, there were a few problems:
1. "Foreign Substances" and "Physical Modification" can be considered separate issues as physical modification can occur without the application of a foreign substance.
2. We have always allowed for other parts that need to be bent to 'fit' or for physical modifications such as winder straightening, so by not explicitly stating that, our rules may seem inconsistent when you look at how we handle these things.
3. The game has evolved a lot since the existing definition was written. There is a lot more obvious and official tolerance for certain types of physical modification now that changes performance.
Along with this, we recognized that we can't expect all volunteer judges to even know about every possible minor physical modification.
Ultimately, there was no tangible benefit to not permitting a more lenient stance on physical modification within these more explicit, set parameters.
If there are any exceptions that prove to be particularly powerful because of this, we will announce and publish them under the part-specific rulings for individual formats at a later date.
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.
![[Image: beybase-signature-is-beyblade-a-sport-Article.jpg]](https://i.postimg.cc/VLksgt2k/beybase-signature-is-beyblade-a-sport-Article.jpg)
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