THE FOUNDATIONS OF BEY (BST) - 6/26/22
Toronto, ON, Canada - Burst Format - Unranked (First Stage 1on1, Final Stage 5G)
1st: Rew Rose
Guilty Longinus Legacy Xceed'-Z-7
Divine Valkyrie FGear Karma Zone’+Z-2
Devil (F Gear) Belial Karma Bearing'-9 (5G Finals Only)
Astral Fafnir Over Metal Drift-6 (5G Finals Only)
Divine (F Gear) Valkyrie Giga Drift-2 (5G Finals Only)
2nd: Kei
Vanish Longinus Over Bearing'-3
Vanish Bahamut Over Bearing'-3
Dynamite Belial 2 Over Bearing'-6
Astral Spriggan Nexus (S Gear) Drift-2 (5G Finals Only)
Dynamite Belial 2 Over Bearing-6 (5G Finals Only)
3rd: Dan
Guilty Longinus Over Xtreme'-2
Vanish Longinus Giga High Xtend+'-0
Devil (F, L Gear) Belial 2 Over Moment
Guilty Bahamut Karma Xtreme'-2
World Spriggan Blitz Drift 1S (5G Finals Only)
Saviour Valkyrie 2 Tapered Quick’-7 (5G Finals Only)
4th: Skotty Dawg
This was Toronto’s first ever event using the 5G Match Type. I had been wanting to try it out ever since first
trying it in Japan back in 2020 when it was introduced by the WBBA.
What I realized going into this event was that the rules really promote safety for the first few rounds given that KOs are worth two points. As such, my choices revolved around as much safety as possible for the first three picks. Then, the last two picks became progressively more risky because it is at that point where the score is likely to be at 2-1 or 2-2 anyways, so you have nothing to lose and have likely already exhausted most of your top, top tier stamina/defense combo choices.
That being said, certainly you can catch people off-guard in the first few battles too with an attack type; you just put yourself at risk at the same time. But if you’re confident it will work. That’s why I lost against Rew Rose; he scored a KO with Guilty versus my Astral in the first round. I battled back, but lost 3-2 ultimately.
I enjoyed the intensity manufactured by the danger of the two point KO in a three point match, even in stamina matches. It places so much emphasis on preparation and ensuring your launching skills instinctually are top class. And I enjoyed being able to see spin direction as an option for this format; it’s just not overpowered in the same way it is in the 1on1 Match Type.
One of the things we debated after this event was whether to make any adjustments to the rules for
BEYBLADE NORTH 2022 Sunday event which will also be using 5G. Ultimately, I’ve decided to try running 5G to five points at BEYBLADE NORTH 2022 as I am still in a phase where I’d like to experiment. But I’m not convinced yet that it will be the ‘best’ way to run the match type. Another way we discussed was running it to 3 points, but lowering the value of KOs to 1 point. It will probably come down to personal preference as they each evoke the consideration of a slightly different strategy.