The fourth generation Beyblade, Beyblade X, just launched (or ripped) in July, and it’s already causing some controversy. Its marquee feature - a gear-shaped bit that threads into a track on the edge of the stadium, propelling the Bey back into the center at ludicrous speeds - is both remarkable and terrifying to behold.
Unfortunately, it can also give players an unfair advantage based on their positioning around the stadium - a problem competitive Beyblade has never had to face before. And while the World Beyblade Organization has taken some measures to maintain fairness, competitive Beyblade could be in for some dramatically one-sided matches until a redesign comes.
I’ve been obsessed with the new Beyblade Xever since I learned about it earlier this year. When a Bey’s threaded tip grabs onto the rail surrounding the stadium, it uses some of the Bey’s spin to accelerate faster than I ever thought possible. It’s almost like getting a second launch once the match has already started, so you’re able to imagine how effective it is to utilize that mechanic whenever you can. Unfortunately, because of the ways Beyblades spin, both players will not have equal access to the outside track.
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TikToker @mcfaboy10explains the problem in a recent video. The longer your Bey rides the rail, the faster it’ll fire off the end and back into the center,, and the harder it will hit your opponent’s Beyblade. Currently, all Beyblade X, and its launchers, are designed to spin to the right, meaning you want your Bey to hit the track from the left and spin all the way around the outside for maximum acceleration. This means that the player on the left side of the stadium has a much better chance of seeing their Beyblade run the full length of the track, while the player on the right is more likely to see their just catch the end of if for less of a boost. As you might expect, this could give the player on the left a huge advantage.
For competitive Beyblade, the WBO assigns player positions randomly, either by a judge’s coinflip or by having the player’s play rock-paper-scissors for position. The winner gets to choose what side they want to be on, and it seems likely that Beyblade X players will always want to be on the left in order to utilize the track, or zone out their opponent from using it themselves.
This is a unique problem competitive Beyblade is facing. In all previous generations, the stadium has been symmetrical, and positioning has not afforded any advantage to either player. Giving the stadium a directional mechanic introduces an almost TCG-like problem, but instead of player one having the advantage, it’s the player on the left. Unfortunately, the player on the right can’t just draw an extra card to compensate for that advantage, so something else will need to be done.
There’s an obvious solution, which mcfaboy10 briefly points out at the end of his video: left-spin Beyblades. These already exist in previous generations, but they’ll surely have a huge impact once they’re introduced to Beyblade X. It’s interesting, given the situation, that the new generation didn’t begin with both right and left-spinning Beys. It seems like Takara Tomy has created a problem with a clear solution, something that already exists in Beyblade, and decided not to address it.
There haven’t been any major Beyblade X competitions yet, so it’s unclear what the meta will be, or how players will deal with the problem. There are plenty of other factors that come into play, and it’s possible a strong defense type could end up countering attackers that want to slam into opponents off the rails. It’s hard to imagine anything countering that kind of force though. Beyblade has always been a deeply strategic game where players try to outsmart each other and stay unpredictable, but for the time being, it looks like left is just best.
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