Hasbro Hasbro's Beyblade Burst - A Retrospective and Top 5 Combos - Printable Version +- World Beyblade Organization by Fighting Spirits Inc. (https://worldbeyblade.org) +-- Forum: Beyblade Discussion (https://worldbeyblade.org/Forum-Beyblade-Discussion) +--- Forum: Beyblade Customizations (https://worldbeyblade.org/Forum-Beyblade-Customizations) +---- Forum: Burst Limited Customizations (https://worldbeyblade.org/Forum-Burst-Limited-Customizations) +---- Thread: Hasbro Hasbro's Beyblade Burst - A Retrospective and Top 5 Combos (/Thread-Hasbro-Hasbro-s-Beyblade-Burst-A-Retrospective-and-Top-5-Combos)

Hasbro's Beyblade Burst - A Retrospective and Top 5 Combos - KIO - Oct. 17, 2023 Back in April, I wrote an article to look back at Hasbro’s competitive scene through the Burst Series - and promptly forgot to post it. Here’s an article for those interested (particularly internationally), who may not have been following what Hasbro has been up to. Zankye also did a video meant to be a companion piece to this article; the link to his video, and a PDF version of this article, can be found below. Zankye's Video Here PDF Version Here Hasbro’s Beyblade Burst A Retrospective and Top 5 Combos Introduction With the release of Hasbro’s “Quad Creature Battle Set” in July 2023, Hasbro’s Beyblade Burst toyline has finally ended, and Hasbro’s competitive pool of parts is finalized. There will be no more new parts for the competitive Hasbro format. I can hear some of you thinking “Wait, what do you mean by “competitive” Hasbro format?” “Hasbro is for fun! It isn’t competitive. You have to use Takara Tomy Beyblades to play competitively.” Stock photo models play with HyperSphere Beyblades, generally considered Hasbro’s most successful gimmick system This is a sentiment that has been floating around since Hasbro first began to diverge from Takara Tomy’s Beyblade designs. It is one of many attitudes about Hasbro that emerged because of the power disparity between the two brands, as well as a lack of serious consideration of Hasbro Beyblades at a competitive level. But all formats, including Hasbro’s Burst Beyblades, have a metagame. All formats can be competitive, if a Blader wishes to play it that way. Takara Tomy’s Burst Beyblades have several years and hundreds of tournaments worth of data, while Hasbro Beyblades lack almost any tournament data after 2018. Why is that? History 2018 - The Death of Hasbro in Burst Standard When Hasbro’s Burst toyline first released in 2016, they were only a few months behind their equivalent Takara Tomy releases. In general the power level between equivalent parts was roughly equal - some Hasbro releases were better, some were worse, than the Takara Tomy releases. For many players who already owned Takara Tomy Beyblades however, it did not make sense to wait months to buy potentially better Hasbro Beyblades. They could also keep their collection consistent to a single brand. 2018 was a point of divergence for the two brands. Towards the end of 2018, the power creep of Takara Tomy accelerated, along with the time gaps between Takara Tomy and Hasbro’s releases. Here’s an example: If you purchased a Takara Tomy Arc Bahamut in November 2017, you would have waited until September 2018 for Hasbro’s equivalent, Balkesh B3. But by then, Takara Tomy’s new Hell Salamander had already heavily outclassed Balkesh B3 4 months earlier. This is also the period that coincided with the release of Hasbro’s “SlingShock System” Beyblades, and where Hasbro’s power level began to plateau. The inclusion of metal, the main gimmick of Takara Tomy’s Cho-Z Layers, was completely removed from the “SlingShock System”, severely reducing weight; many Drivers lost their gimmicks completely, to facilitate Hasbro’s “SlingShock” Driver gimmick. Takara Tomy’s Z Achilles 11 Xtend (left) and Hasbro’s Z Achilles A4 11 Xtend-S (right) With the majority of new Hasbro releases performing worse than products already released by both Hasbro (in the “SwitchStrike System”) or newly released by Takara Tomy (in the “Cho-Z Layer System”), competitive players drifted further away from buying Hasbro Beyblades. If we look at tournament data for the standard Burst format, appearances from Hasbro Beyblades start to decline around this time. 2019 - Hasbro Gets Stale By 2019, Hasbro releases could no longer compete with Takara Tomy releases. Beginning with the new “SlingShock System”, Hasbro would maintain a stable, albeit stale metagame. The SlingShock System saw many new parts that were on par with the SwitchStrike System in terms of power. The power level achieved by Hasbro with the “SwitchStrike System” remained the benchmark for years. The metagame mostly consisted of the same strong SwitchStrike Layers, heavy Core Discs/Frames, and the same staple Drivers. The Hasbro metagame remained mostly the same from 2017 to 2022 - 5 years of the same top combos. The Bearing Driver remains a staple of Hasbro since 2018 There is no excitement or incentive to buy new parts if they perform the same or worse than parts you already own. With “negative powercreep”, there is no desire for competitive players to test new parts. If most new Hasbro parts are consistently outclassed by older parts, a broad assumption is made that every subsequent new Hasbro part is also of the same poor caliber. The Hasbro metagame had achieved competitive predictability. Naturally, competitive players seeking excitement and the highest level of competitive Beyblade sought out Takara Tomy, which had a constantly evolving metagame every year. 2020 - Hasbro in Burst Limited Continuing the trend of the SlingShock System, Hasbro released the “HyperSphere System”. While some Layers were on-par with SwitchStrike Layers, arguably none powercrept previous Layers, with the top SwitchStrike Layers retaining their dominance. Some HyperSphere Drivers saw niche use, but older Drivers such as Xtreme, Bearing, Unite, etc. remained staples. HyperSphere Discs were completely useless, as they were essentially all underweight 19 gram Core Discs. In 2020, the World Beyblade Organization (WBO) introduced the “Burst Limited” format. Part of the announcement was the following: “The weight class of God Layers is on par with all modern Hasbro releases, thus making many of these products extremely viable and accessible in Limited format.” Indeed, Hasbro parts from every system saw some play in the format, including Hasbro’s “HyperSphere System” parts. With little existing tournament data about Hasbro parts, Burst Limited tournaments became the only contemporary source on Hasbro releases. However, this data came from a small number of Burst Limited tournaments, which were heavily concentrated into a few regions, meaning we did not have the luxury of regional differences or metas to analyze. 2021 - Hasbro Goes Pro The “SpeedStorm System” gave us only 2 powerful parts (Triumph Dragon D6 and Wheel-SP) that powercrept older Hasbro parts. The rest of the system was heavily outclassed by previously released Hasbro parts. The “SpeedStorm System” is unique in that, while almost all of its parts were worse than the general power level of SlingShock/HyperSphere systems, 2 parts finally powercrept SwitchStrike System parts. Wheel-SP is arguably Hasbro’s most powerful and versatile Disc ever released, with it being a staple in the Burst GT and Burst Limited formats to this day. The misconception of Hasbro Beyblades being non-competitive was further reinforced by Hasbro themselves, who resold Takara Tomy releases under their “Pro Series” line as “intermediate skill level” toys - the manufacturer themselves were implying that their own regular releases were not to be taken seriously at a competitive level. 2022/2023 - Hasbro Layer Powercreep Arrives Now we are here, in the middle of 2023, and Hasbro’s Burst toyline has finally come to an end. With Hasbro’s 2022 “QuadDrive System” and 2023 “QuadStrike System” came new Layer parts that finally powercrept Hasbro’s “SwitchStrike System” Layers from 5 years earlier. The top 3 QuadStrike Layers - Xiphoid, Whirl, and Gambit After years of using the left spin Attack Layer Luinor L3, Hasbro players now had access to strong right spin Attack Type Layers such as Xiphoid. After years of Spryzen Requiem S3 and Balkesh B3 dominating top Hasbro combos, Hasbro players could now go out and buy Fierce, Gambit, Twister, and Whirl off store shelves. These Layers arguably powercrept or were on par with top SwitchStrike Layers, and were also compatible with powerful Discs such as the brand new Tapered-Q and Over-Q. QuadDrive also saw the release of a few powerful Armor Tips - namely the Same-Spin parts +Kick and +Revolve. Misconceptions Drivers While it is true that Hasbro players are spoiled for choice when it comes to Drivers, it is somewhat misleading because in reality the actual number of competitively viable Drivers is very low, when compared to the overall number of available Drivers. Destroy Driver variants; Takara Tomy (top 3) and Hasbro (bottom 5) Beginning with SlingShock, every subsequent system would have some kind of system-wide modification to work with Hasbro’s unique system stadiums. Generally speaking, SlingShock had several Drivers with minimal disruptive effect on the primary Driver gimmick, and thus Drivers such as Hunter-S, Destroy-S, and Atomic-S, have competitive usage. HyperSphere Drivers all had the same general wide and round shape, but find little high-tier competitive usage in a Hasbro format. SpeedStorm Drivers are too tall and unstable in a Hasbro format. The exception is Evolution-SP, which can be worn to an acceptable height and used on QuadDrive/QuadStrike Attack Layers. QuadDrive/QuadStrike Drivers, and their Armor Tip attachments, lacked primary Driver gimmicks and thus the vast majority of them are not usable. Only Yielding-Q is marginally relevant as a Same-Spin Stamina Driver, while half a dozen Armor Tips are competitive for Stamina use only. Attack and Defense options in this system are non-existent. Bursting A common misconception that is generally held is “Takara Tomy Beyblades don’t Burst, and Hasbro Beyblades do”. This is usually said as a merit of Hasbro’s Beyblades, and why playing with Hasbro Beyblades is “more fun”. This is simply not true. Since day 1 and up to its last release, Hasbro has always had “tight” Beyblade combos with high Burst Resistance. But because Hasbro competitive is so underrepresented in tournament settings, this myth persists as casual gameplay takes over the discussion of Hasbro parts. Individuals play the game in a casual setting, and make broad assumptions about Hasbro as a whole, including Hasbro’s competitive metagame. A contemporary stock combo example is the recently released Divine Belfyre stock combo, with the Evo Belfyre B8 Chip and Guard-Q Driver, which is very tight. Divine Evo Belfyre B8 Squadron-Q Guard-Q+Adventure-3 However, once we look into current competitive Hasbro combos like Whirl Evo Belfyre B8 Tapered-Q Bearing-4’, it becomes apparent that the Burst Resistance is equal if not greater than similar analogous combos in the upper echelons of Takara Tomy’s metagame, i.e. Wind Lucifer Illegal Bearing Drift-0. The final system of QuadDrive/QuadStrike also has some of the best Driver springs Hasbro has ever released, on Drivers like Assault-Q, Edge-Q, Orbit-Q, etc. Why play with Hasbro Burst? We can only speak for ourselves, but personally my reason was accessibility. I started my journey with Beyblade Burst through a HyperSphere Union Achilles A5 - it was an impulsive purchase at the grocery store - and for many in my area, Hasbro Beyblades were readily accessible in-store, or were already owned. Union Achilles A5 Convert Xtender-H It also was somewhat a personal curiosity - the Hasbro only format’s metagame has been barely explored, and was a format that little cared for. I was curious to discover the best combos in a format where little competitive interest existed. And who knows? Maybe someone would want to know someday, “What is the best Hasbro Beyblade?” The best Hasbro Beyblade The question of what the “best” Beyblade is, is already difficult to answer. Opinions can differ and the matchups and opponent’s Beyblades matter. However, this question is even more difficult to answer in the context of Hasbro Burst, where there is the aforementioned lack of competitive play and data. Thus with the help of the WBO community, we were able to pinpoint some more specific combos. Top 5 Best Hasbro Beyblade Burst Combos This section will cover the strongest Hasbro Burst Beyblade parts and combos, in the context of Hasbro’s “standard” metagame. This article is based on personal and community testing, as well as the limited tournament data that is available. The intention is to either satisfy your curiosity, and/or increase your chances of winning by presenting the strengths, weaknesses, and how to build the top five best Hasbro Beyblade Burst combos. With Beyblade Burst having now seen its final release by Hasbro it is very unlikely this list will change. With that being said, since Hasbro’s metagame is heavily under-analyzed at the time of writing, it is possible that the community may experiment years down the line and discover a hidden nuance of the available Hasbro part pool. The following combos are in no particular order and represent the same power level of Hasbro’s metagame. Best Hasbro Burst Combo #5: Spryzen Requiem S3 Wheel-SP Bearing Powerful opposite-spin Stamina performance. Parts Layer: Spryzen Requiem S3 Disc: Wheel-SP Driver: Bearing If you’ve played during the era of Spriggan Requiem and Spryzen Requiem S3, you’ll already be aware of their powerful opposite spin performance, as in its performance against opposing Beyblades that are spinning in a direction opposite to Spryzen Requiem S3. If you’re coming from Burst Standard, you may be familiar with Astral, Burst, and World filling this role. The Bearing Driver is by far Hasbro’s highest performing Stamina Driver in opposite-spin matchups, and when combined with the dual-spin and high Spin-Equalization capabilities of Spryzen Requiem S3, you are likely to win or tie most matches against the opposite spin direction. Even against opponents in the same spin direction, this combo can hold its own against most. The Disc choice of Wheel-SP was chosen as it offers the best Outward Weight Distribution (OWD) for this combo. While its strength lies in its opposite-spin matchups, if you are unable to change modes or counter-pick, this combo is essentially powerless. It is also vulnerable to Attackers such as Nightmare Luinor L3 and Xiphoid, although it can be launched lightly in the opposite spin direction to mitigate the power of the opposing Attacker. Best Hasbro Burst Combo #4: Xiphoid Xcalius X8 Twist-Q Xtreme-Greatest Armor Legality questionable, Smash Attack not so. Parts Chip: Xcalius X8 (Alternatives: Dragon D8, Balderov B7) Blade: Xiphoid Gravity Ring: Greatest Armor (G13) Disc: Twist-Q (Alternatives: Over-Q, Squadron-Q) Driver: Xtreme (Alternatives: Hunter-S, Keep-S) This questionably legal combo is Hasbro’s most aggressive and powerful right-spin Attack combo. Like its Takara Tomy counterpart, Hasbro’s Xiphoid Blade has powerful Smash Attack, and can easily KO or Burst most opponents. This is especially relevant as right-spin Stamina Layers such as Whirl and Gambit dominate the Stamina metagame of the Hasbro format. As with most Attack combos however, there is a certain element of risk; skill is required to avoid self-KOs and power and speed is required when launching to properly use a Xiphoid combo. The Greatest Armor (G13) Gravity Ring is an absolute requirement, as it makes the combo unBurstable - without it, the combo will be prone to Bursting. Due to the inclusion of the Greatest Armor, the Burst Resistance of the Chip is not important - thus weight is prioritized, and Chips such as Xcalius X8 and Dragon D8, which weigh over 5 grams, should be used. The heaviest right-spin Chip is Balderov B7 (5.2 grams for some molds), but this does increase the chance of Bursting for a somewhat miniscule weight gain. In addition, the G13 Gravity Ring helps balance out the hollow underside of the Xiphoid Blade, reducing Stamina loss and improving hits in general. While Twist-Q is the optimal Disc to use, it is also very difficult to obtain as it is only found on Lightning Pandora P8, which was only released in 2 large sets. Therefore, Discs such as Over-Q are also usable. While Xtreme is ideal due to the softest rubber and best tip diameter offered by Hasbro Drivers, Hunter-S is also an acceptable substitute. Best Hasbro Burst Combo #3: Arc Balkesh B3 00Cross Atomic Great Defense and Stamina against other left-spin Beyblades. Parts Layer: Arc Balkesh B3 Disc: 00 with “Cross” Frame (Alternatives: Wheel-SP, 0) Driver: Atomic (Alternatives: Atomic-S) Balkesh B3 has been a staple since its release, to the point where it was banned from the WBO’s Burst Limited format. One of the primary weaknesses of the Takara Tomy version was its shallow teeth, which had bad Burst Resistance. Hasbro solves this issue by giving Balkesh B3 the tightest possible slopes of any Hasbro Layer. This means that Balkesh B3 is very unlikely to Burst. Arc Balkesh B3 00Cross Atomic is a strong Defense/Stamina combo used against other left-spin combos. It can beat almost any left-spin combo in Stamina, and can tank hits against Attackers, thanks to the Atomic Driver. It also has excellent Burst Resistance, due to the aforementioned tight slopes of the Arc Balkesh B3 Layer. Best Hasbro Burst Combo #2: Nightmare Luinor L3 Expand Xtreme Delivering powerful Smash Attack since 2018. Parts Layer: Nightmare Luinor L3 Disc: “Expand” Frame (Alternatives: Turn) Driver: Xtreme (Alternatives: Hunter-S, Keep-S) If you’re familiar with Takara Tomy’s Guilty Longinus in the Burst Standard format, you’ll find that Hasbro’s Nightmare Luinor L3 is comparable in many aspects. As with other Longinus Beys, Nightmare Luinor L3 finds itself as a top-tier Attacker in its format as Hasbro’s strongest left-spin Attacker. The Expand Frame was chosen for its round perimeter and high LAD as well as its weight. The Xtreme Driver remains Hasbro’s best rubber Attack option, although it can be substituted for Hunter-S and Keep-S if Xtreme is not available. Like other Longinus Beys, a skilled Blader can easily win a tournament using only Nightmare Luinor L3. This format lacks any strong Defense Type counters that can reliably tank Nightmare Luinor L3. However, your main win conditions in against the dominant opposite spin Stamina Beys such as Whirl will be knock-outs (KOs), as Bursting is unlikely and Outspin is almost impossible. Therefore you’ll need a bit of luck to avoid having successive wall hits. Best Hasbro Burst Combo #1: Whirl Evo Belfyre B8 Tapered-Q Bearing-4’ Turn off your brain and let it rip. Parts Chip: Evo Belfyre B7/B8 (Alternatives: Perseus P7, Dragon D8,Pandemonium P8) Blade: Whirl Gravity Ring: 4’ (Four Dash) Disc: Tapered-Q Driver: Bearing Just as its Takara Tomy counterpart Wind had done in the Burst Standard format half a year earlier, the Whirl Layer quickly rose to the top of Hasbro’s Layers as a top-tier Stamina use Layer. It is the same diameter as the SwitchStrike Layer “Garuda G3”, but has the advantage of weight and High Mode. 4’ (Four Dash) is the heaviest Gravity Ring (Armor) available. Tapered-Q is the best QuadDrive/QuadStrike Disc to use with Whirl by a large margin, and Bearing has been a staple Hasbro Stamina Driver for years. In a 1on1 format, this combo is by far the safest pick, with excellent Same-Spin performance in Low Mode and excellent Opposite-Spin performance in High Mode (tie or win). It is further complemented by the high Burst Resistance of the Chip, making it difficult for Attackers to Burst it. Its primary weaknesses are being KO’d by Attackers such as Xiphoid or being outspun by specialized Same-Spin Stamina combos, such as Gambit on +Kick.