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+--- Thread: Draft Energy Layer - Greatest Raphael (/Thread-Draft-Energy-Layer-Greatest-Raphael)
Energy Layer - Greatest Raphael - p0l1w4g06 - Nov. 15, 2021
Greatest Raphael (グレイテストラファエル, Gureitesuto Rafaeru) is an Energy Layer released by Takara Tomy as part of the Burst System as well as the Dynamite Battle Layer System. It debuted in Japan with the release of the B-192 Greatest Raphael Over High Xtend+' on November 13th, 2021.
==Description mock up==
Greatest Raphael is a round energy layer with 2 armor pieces with 3 spikes on each half, akin to the Draciel Attack Rings of the Original series and Variant, and the front profile of the layer's namesake: Raphael, an archangel and one of the three heavenly visitors entertained by Abraham at the Oak of Mamre from Abrahamic religions.
Unlike every release before it, Greatest Raphael consists solely of an energy layer, about the size of those released late in the Cho-Z System. This causes it to be unable to synergise as well with the commonly used DB discs such as Giga and Over due to exposing a gap on the disc that shorter combinations can exploit to destabilise.
Like most post God Layer System layers, it has gimmicks, the 2 armor pieces will lift up and change the beyblade into a rounder shape, akin to a smaller Maximum Garuda, as well as activate 2 metal burst stoppers when spin velocity drops, increasing burst resistance. Raphael also features 3 strong teeth that can withstand its recoil, but the Attack mode's inherent recoil causes its stamina to drop so much it is in a weakened state when entering its defense mode, relying heavily on spin equalisation to survive until the end.
However, this automatic mode change can destabilise the Greatest Raphael combination prematurely. Furthermore, while the rounder layer means Greatest Raphael will not suffer the same amount of recoil as Variant or the Draciel line, the contact points are too short for any meaningful attack.
That said, Greatest Raphael's Defense mode can be used against opposite spin combinations akin to Blaze Ragnaruk and Maximum garuda, though its same spin performance isn't as good due to its light weight, and its recoil can be exploited for easy knockouts.
==Overall(aka Poliwag06's opinion)==
Greatest Raphael's design has multiple flaws that prevent it from being top tier. While it can somewhat act as a counter to Opposite spin combinations, Prominence is recommended instead.
As such, Greatest Raphael is not a must have but a welcome addition to any blader's collection.
RE: Energy Layer - Greatest Raphael - Vtryuga - Nov. 15, 2021
Making a draft this early does seem surprising if not a bit rushed. I would have suggested to wait for some time.
Anyways, I think you should really come on to the WBO discord please. We had a discussion about its effectiveness against opposite spin.
It was observed that Greatest Raphael has potential in opposite spin matchups while it's same spin performance is lacking due to its relative light weight.
Note that this is initial data, and we definitely need more testing to be clear on this front.