Wolborg 2

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Wolborg 2
Wolborg2.jpg
Number: A-39
System: 5-Layer System
Type: Defense/Survival

Attack Ring (AR): Upper Wolf

  • Weight: 4.9g (Mold 1), 5.2g (Mold 2)

The AR of Wolborg 2 consists of three wolf heads, with sloped projections which are spaced similarly to those of Triple Wing (Trygle). In right spin, despite the name implying Upper Attack, the slopes of these projections are too short to exhibit this to any useful degree. Thus, Upper Wolf relies more on its Smash Attack, however even here, and despite being shaped similarly to the famed Triple Wing, Upper Wolf is rather ineffective. This is due to the fact its contact points are angled slightly more outward than those of Triple Wing, reducing their ability to land solid hits and greatly increasing the Recoil they produce. As such, Upper Wolf is outclassed by even second-tier Smash Attack ARs such as Triple Attacker and Dark Wing.

In left spin, the triangular protrusions at the front of each wolf head and on the outer edge of each slope provide some Smash Attack, but due to their small size and the fact their leading edges are merely flat faces, Upper Wolf is ineffective in this spin direction.

Mold Differences

Hasbro's release of Upper Wolf is reinforced; with additional plastic between the wolf heads and the protrusions which tail them, as well as between those protrusions and the centre of the AR. While this adds some additional weight, it has no measurable effect on the performance of the AR, and as such is considered negligible.

Weight Disk (WD): Eight Balance

  • Weight: 14.3g

See Eight Balance.

Spin Gear (SG): Right SG (Bearing Version 2)

  • Weight: 5.5g

SG (Bearing Version 2) is the successor to Wolborg's SG (Bearing Version). Both use a bearing supported shaft to improve their Survival, however SG (Bearing Version 2) comes with a rubber tip, which produces very different performance to the plastic tip of its predecessor. The unique combination of a rubber tip and bearing support is what makes this part so important in the plastic generation, as due to the relatively light weight of Plastic combinations, the use of a rubber tip for anything other than Attack is considered suicidal, due to the extremely poor Survival that results. However, by using bearings, a Beyblade can still have excellent Survival as well as the extraordinary Defense provided by a rubber tip, as the Beyblade spins around the Shaft, while the Shaft itself can remain largely stationary, with the rubber tip anchoring the Beyblade in place. This makes the Shaft of SG (Bearing Version 2) invaluable to Defense customizations. Of course, this comes at one notable cost: height. The tall height of the shaft, and the fact that a rubber tip only provides Defense if it is in contact with the stadium surface means that Beyblades using this shaft are quite susceptible to Upper Attack. Good customization can compensate for this to a degree, but it is still something to be mindful of. In addition to this, like all rubber tips, the tip of SG (Bearing Version 2) wears down over time, producing slightly more grip, but also lower Survival, as well as increased aggression, which may or may not be desirable.

Mold Differences

The tip of SG (Bearing Version 2) comes in two varieties: the original, lighter colored, softer tip, and a later, darker colored, harder version. While the distribution of each is not completely clear, it is known that the softer tip comes with Takara Wolborg 2 Boosters, and the harder tip comes with the Ito Yokado Dark Blue Recolor. Because the Survival of combinations using the tip generally relies on the bearings used, rather than the tip itself, the slightly better grip of the lighter version is generally preferred for most purposes, though the difference is generally considered negligible.

Ruling Clarification

Although the rubber tip may come off, the Shaft cannot be used without it.

Cross Compatibility

Shaft

The shaft of SG (Bearing Version 2) is able to fit into all Bearing-Supported casings, however, due to the relatively tall height of the tip, and friction issues in most casings, only two are competitively notable:

  • Compatibility with Neo SG (Double Bearing Core) casings

The shaft can be used with the casings of Burning Kerberous' Neo SG (Double Bearing Core). This produces slightly shorter combination, giving a slight increase in Defense against Upper Attack, while the use of two bearings increases the balance and Spin-Stealing ability of the resulting combination.

  • Compatibility with SG (Free Shaft Version) casings

Although it is usually used as a Defense part, the shallow angles of the tip, combined with its width, allow it to produce highly aggressive movement if launched correction, and this may be enhanced by fixing the tip in place to prevent it spinning freely. The main casings used for this are those of Dranzer S' SG (Free Shaft Version) which produces friction with the tip, as well as being at a short enough height that when used in Customize Bearing Base, the tip is held firmly in place, allowing for consistent aggression with an appropriate launch.

Casings

The casings of SG (Bearing Version 2) can only fit two other shafts, those of Dranzer S' SG (Free Shaft Version) and Driger F's SG (Full Auto Clutch Version) neither of which has no competitive use. However they are the only casings which can fit the tip of SG Grip Change Base.

  • Compatibility with SG Grip Change Base Tip

Perhaps the most notable use of these casings is their unique ability to hold the tip of Ariel 2, the fastest rubber tip of the Plastic Generation. The inside of the Casings is perfectly shaped to hold the tip, allowing its use without its own Base, which is extremely fragile due to the phenomenon known as Gold Plastic Syndrome, a factor which combined with its rarity had seen it fade from use. By using these casings, the extremely fast tip may be used in far more reliable setups, allowing the creation of a number of extremely powerful Smash Attack customizations.

The tip can also be used in Defense mode, however this mode is basically a taller, more awkward version of the already unpopular Defense Grip Base, with the same Stamina problems and greater susceptibility to Upper Attack, and as such is largely negligible.

Use in Defense Customization

The most popular use of SG (Bearing Version 2) is in Defensive Zombie customizations such as the following:

As mentioned previously, Defensive Zombies, the most competitive variety of Grip-Based Defense customizations, are perhaps the most famous use of Wolborg 2's Shaft. The above combination is one of the strongest possible Defensive Zombies, with an Attack Ring setup that offers great Survival and incredible Defense, Wide Defense providing good weight and Survival, and the second lowest Recoil of any legal Weight Disk, the Neo SG (Double Bearing Version) Casings not only allowing the use of two Bearings with the Shaft, but also lowering the overall height of the customization to help address its relative weakness to Upper Attack, Defense Ring's excellent Life After Death (though Cross Survivor may be chosen for additional Defense, this is rarely worth the Stamina tradeoff), and Customize Grip Base increasing the Defense of the customization against low Attack types. Overall, this combination is highly versatile, especially in the hands of a skilled blader, and is a deadly opponent in almost any competitive situation.

Use in Attack Customization

By fixing the tip in place, it can be used for Attack Customizations. This is most effectively done with a worn tip, however with some practice, even relatively fresh tips can be consistently launched for highly aggressive movement (though this is generally not recommended).

An example of this setup would be:

In this combination, Driger V2's AR and SP provide a long and low-reaching slope, which, combined with the relatively low height of the SG setup, allows this combination to reach under even the lowest opponents and execute powerful Upper Attack. Ten Heavy is used to increase the combination's ability to maintain a high RPM. This setup is notable as it is less disadvantaged by the tip's less consistent aggression than Smash Attack combinations, as it is still able to execute Upper Attacks efficiently even whilst spinning in the centre of the arena.

Use in Smash Attack Customization

Using the Casings with Ariel 2's tip, a number of excellent Smash Attack combinations can be made. One of the most powerful is as follows:

  • AR: Triple Tiger (Driger G)
  • WD: Wide Survivor
  • SG: Right SG
  • SG Casings: SG (Bearing Version 2) Casings (Wolborg 2)
  • SG Tip: SG Grip Change Base Tip (Attack Mode) (Ariel 2)
  • BB: Defense Grip Base 2 (Wolborg 2)

Making great use of the speed and control offered by Ariel 2's tip, Triple Tiger offers solid Upper Attack in addition to excellent Smash Attack, both of which are useful in a mid-height Attacker such as this. Wide Survivor is chosen as it allows this combination to move faster than Wide Defense, which is extremely useful to Triple Tiger, though other AR setups may benefit more from the additional weight of the latter. Lastly, Defense Grip Base 2 is chosen for its light weight and excellent Life After Death, the former maximising the speed of the combination, and the latter being of occasional use against left spin opponents.

The result is an extremely fast, extremely powerful Attack combination, which given a good Sliding Shoot, is capable of knocking out all but the most powerful defensive combinations with relatively little trouble.

Blade Base (BB): Defense Grip Base 2

  • Weight: 5.7g

A relatively round, externally distributed Base, Defense Grip Base 2 was considered an upgrade to Wolborg's SG Bearing Base, but fell from use with the release of Customize Grip Base and Customize Bearing Base, due to their ability to hold Support Parts. However, this fall from use was entirely unjustified - while the Customize Bases do provide better Defense, even the best Support Parts cannot match the Life After Death of Defense Grip Base 2, which is second only to the unwieldy Spiral Change Base for Life After Death. In addition to this, Defense Grip Base 2's short Shaft section means it can use any compatible SG setup without suffering from scraping issues. These factors, combined with the large number of compatible Shafts and Casings make it a highly competitive, versatile Blade Base, which is an excellent choice for any customization which is compatible with it.

Use in Defense Customization

While not as Defensive as the more popular Customize Grip Base, Defense Grip Base 2's excellent Life After Death makes it a solid choice for Defensive Zombies where additional Defense isn't required, such as the following:

Due to the excellent Defense provided by the Shaft and the free-spinning Sub Ring, this combination doesn't benefit greatly from the use of Customize Grip Base, as while it does offer more protection against Upper Attack, the customization itself already has more than enough defense without that, and Defense Grip Base 2 also provides the ability to retain grip at more severe angles (which often occur against Upper Attack customs due to the Destabilization they induce), helping protect against Upper Attack in its own way. However, the main reason to use Defense Grip Base 2 is its Survival, its use making the customization much safer against right spin Survival types. As such, this customization is a somewhat more Balance-focussed approach to the Defensive Zombie, while still providing the excellent Defense they are famous for.

Use in Upper Attack/Spin Stealing Customization

The good weight distribution and lack of scraping Defense Grip Base 2 presents allow for its use in a rather unorthodox Upper Attack/Spin Stealing combination:

Despite being in the opposite spin direction to most opponents, this combination exhibits powerful Upper Attack against them (in fact somewhat more so than it does against same-spin opponents), focusing less on creating large amounts of lift and instead on using smaller amounts of lift more efficiently, to score easier Knock Outs. This is coupled with the strong Spin-Stealing ability provided by the bearing supported shaft, round shape, and good Life After Death (thanks to Defense Grip Base 2), to create a combination that can outspin almost any opponent it cannot KO, making it one of the most deadly and versatile Upper Attack combinations in the game.

Use in Zombie Customization

Perhaps the best use of Defense Grip Base 2 is Zombie customizations, such as the following:

This combination provides near-unparalleled performance amongst Zombie types, the AR and WD provide excellent Survival and Spin Stealing ability, the Blade Base provides impressive Life After Death and good weight distribution, and the Spin Gear provides incredible Stamina and amazing stability. In addition, the use of two bearings also makes it somewhat harder to KO than other plastic-tipped Bearing SGs, and coupled with the round shape this provides a small measure of KO resistance, which can be a saving grace against certain opponents. Furthermore, the aggression that can be coaxed out of the tip allows for destabilisation against right spin opponents, as well as a chance of KOing defensively weak opponents. Being nearly impossible to outspin without a specialized Zombie-Killing combination (assuming the opponent is in the opposite spin direction) - which are inherently risky, and having some small resistance to KO, this combination is extremely deadly, especially given the relative rarity of strong Attack types.

Other Versions

  • Wolborg 2 - Hyperblades Version (Red and Purple)
  • Wolborg 2 - Random Booster 6 Version (Gold)
  • Wolborg 2 - Ito-Yokado Tournament Exclusive Recolor (Dark Blue)

Gallery

  • Wolborg 2 (front view)

  • Blade Base - Defense Grip Base 2

  • Wolborg 2 parts

  • Right SG (Bearing Version 2)

  • Inside of Right SG (Bearing Version 2)

Overall

Wolborg 2 is an extremely useful Beyblade. While its Attack Ring and Weight Disk are lacklustre, its Casings, Shaft, and Base are either useful to or staples of almost every major type of customization. Due to the huge number of uses for its parts, and the fact its tip wears down with use, all serious Bladers should own multiple copies of this Beyblade.

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