Beyblade

The next of the beyblades I would cover is EARTH AQUILA.

Face: Aquila

The Face on this Beyblade depicts Aquila, one of the 88 constellations in space. In mythology, Aquila is seen to represent an eagle, which is featured on this Beyblade's Face.

Clear Wheel: Aquila

• Weight: 2.9 grams

Aquila was first released in a transparent purple colour. Each side of this Clear Wheel represents an Eagle's pair of wings, with the notches on either side representing its head. It was clearly designed to fit with the aesthetic of the Earth Metal Wheel with its two spikes/notches fitting nicely over the small notches on the inner section of Earth.

Metal Wheel: Earth

• Weight: 30.8 grams

Earth has four thick, textured wings surrounding its perimeter, with each pair facing each other on a slight incline. The space created between the wings is quite small, and the resulting effect is the same of any Wheel that has no spaces, such as Libra; zero recoil. Though it is on the lighter side of Metal Wheels, its almost unperturbed circular design, and zero recoil make it one of the best, if not the best, Defense-oriented Wheel currently available for competitive play.

IMPORTANT: Mold Variations

Earth has two different molds. The first mold was released in BB-47 Starter Earth Aquila 145WD, and the second in both the purple WBBA "Event Special" MF Earth Aquila 105HF/S, and SonoKong manufactured Earth Metal Wheels. However, TAKARA-TOMY has since ceased production on the first mold, thus making it a difficult part to obtain. The second mold addressed breaking problems that the original mold faced by modifying the inside of each of Earth's wings. The new mold is up to three grams heavier than the old mold (30-31 grams versus 33 grams on the new mold), which makes it significantly more effective for Defense customizations. Therefore, the new mold is the preferred choice for Defense customs using Earth, while the original mold would be the best for Stamina.

Use in Defense Customization

Earth is best utilized in the staple Defense customization, MF Earth Aquario C145WB. The heavy weight of the Metal Face, and C145 make it difficult to knock around, and C145 provides exceptional Defense against low Attackers such as Quetzalcoatl 90RF with its three movable wings. And to top it off, WB is able to withstand powerful Attacks due to its wide surface area.

Use in Stamina Customization

Earth also has exceptional Stamina capabilities because of its attributes. Earth can be utilized in the top-tier Stamina custom, Earth Bull DF145SD. Bull is chosen due to it being one of the heaviest Clear Wheels with with a great distribution of weight.

Track: 145

• Weight: 1.5 grams

145 is the highest Track available, along with the various other 145-variants (C145, DF145, etc.). It can be used in Stamina customs to great effect due to its tall height, which allows for more wobbling as the Beyblade loses its spin velocity, but that being said, DF145 has this same effect but also the added bonus of its “Down Force” which while negligible, stabilizes the Beyblade it is being used on slightly. 145, being as tall as makes it easily susceptible to low Attackers; however, this should not be seen as a drawback because normally Stamina types are not used against Attack types.

Use in Stamina Customization

If DF145 is unavailable, 145 can be put to good use in the custom, Earth Bull 145SD.

Bottom: Wide Defense

• Weight: 0.7 grams

Wide Defense, as its name implies is the widest of the “Defense” series of Bottoms (D, SD, and now WD). This brings numerous advantages, but also some disadvantages when compared to the other “Defense” Bottoms. Because of its massive width that reaches the edge of the Bottom's perimeter, it is able to wobble at a significantly larger angle for a longer period of time than D or SD, and at a much lower spin rate. This can be advantageous in many battles, particularly those between two Stamina types when they are about to topple over; however, if you happen to have a weaker shot than your opponent who is using something such as Virgo DF145SD, WDs low spin rate towards the end of the battle will make it extremely easy for the opponent to knock it completely over. This low spin rate towards the end of the battle is created because in the process of wobbling at such a large angle, more friction is made with the stadium floor, thus decreasing its Stamina. This is all avoidable however if your shot is at least as powerful as your opponent, as the extra time it is able to spin on an angle will allow you to narrowly outspin your D or SD based opponent.
WD has significant defensive capabilities as well, but because it still uses a form of sharp tip, its friction with the stadium floor is decreased, which as a result makes it easier to knock around than something like WB which has much more friction with the stadium floor. WD does of course offer superior Stamina to WB which in rare cases would be an advantage, but WB more often than not has enough Stamina to outlast Attack types.

Use in Stamina Customization

WD is arguably the best of the “Defense” series of Bottoms, and its effectiveness can be utilized in the custom Earth Bull DF145WD.

Use in Defense Customization

If you want to add some more Stamina to your Defense customization, while still retaining much defensive capability, swap out WB or B for WD. MF Virgo ED145WD is a good example of this.

Other Versions

• Storm Aquila 145HF - Random Booster Vol.4 Mirage Virgo (Green)
• Flame Aquila 100ES - Random Booster Vol.4 Mirage Virgo (Red)
• MF Earth Aquila 105HF/S - WBBA Exclusive (Clear)
• Earth Eagle 145WD - Beyblade Metal Fusion
• Earth Eagle 145WD - Faceoff: Metal Wing Smash (painted parts, Grey)

Overall

Earth Aquila 145WD uncustomized is a quite strong Stamina type by itself, and taken separately, Earth and WD have uses in not only Stamina, but in top-tier Defense customizations as well. 145 is somewhat expendable, but is still useful in the absence of DF145. Every Blader should own at least one of this Beyblade.

The first of the beyblades I would cover is STORM PEGASUS.

Face: Pegasis

The face on this Beyblade depicts a Pegasus, one of the 88 constellations in space. The colors are different from its MF counterpart.

Clear Wheel: Pegasis

• Weight: 2.9 grams

The original release of Pegasis is a blue transparent plastic wheel. The edges of the Clear Wheel are shaped in a wing like pattern, each ending in a pointed ‘head’ shape, representing the body form of Pegasis, the symbol its design is influenced by.

Metal Wheel: Storm

• Weight: 30.4 grams

The main shape of Storm consists of three wing like forms, which are used for considerable Smash Attack. The wheel is a cheaper alternative for that of Quetzalcoatl, and is considered by many to be inferior to the Lightning Metal Wheel.
Storm Pegasis 100RF however is still a good Attack combo, due to a decent level of Smash Attack ability from the Storm Wheel. The slightly jagged end of each of the three wing like forms that Storm consists of are well suited for Smash. Quetzalcoatl, however, is still a far more consistent Attack wheel.

Use in Attack Customization

Storm used to be a top tier Attack Wheel, but it has since been outclassed. If other wheels are unavailable for use, Storm Pegasis 100RF would be an adequate replacement.

Track: 105

• Weight: 1.0 grams
• Height: 10.5 millemeters

Although 90 and 100 have been proven to be better options for most Attack types, 105 is still a decent option if the aforementioned Tracks are unavailable.

Bottom: Rubber Flat

• Weight: 0.8 grams

RF, as its name implies has a flat, hard rubber tip, with a small indentation on the base of the tip. Its tip has just about the same width as WF, and is the second highest Bottom next to HF/S, which makes the shortest Track, 90, particularly useful in combination with this part.
By using its wide surface area and rubber material, the Bottom has a large amount of traction against the stadium floor, resulting in a such a fast and powerful attack pattern that it often renders itself useless by self-KOing the Beyblade it is being used on. Part of the blame for this problem can be put on the poor Tornado Ridge of the Attack Stadium, but the fact remains that RF was designed long after the release of the Attack Stadium, and should be able to maintain itself within it. To alleviate this problem it is recommended that you never use a brand new RF in any sort of competitive situation, as its likelihood of self-KOing is much higher; wear it down a little with some practice battles first. When this is done, the rapid movement of RF may subside slightly, but it becomes more controllable, and thus, more useful.
The use of rubber and the friction it creates with the stadium floor does lower its Stamina in comparison to plastic flat tips such as F and WF, but this is usually not a problem as an Attack types goal is to KO the other Beyblade, and it also helps reduce the recoil of violent wheels such as Sagittario.

Mold Variations

RF has two different molds. The original TAKARA-TOMY manufactured RF, and then the SonoKong manufactured RF variant. Some of the TAKARA-TOMY RFs tend to spin around freely when twisted between fingers, due to the circular nature of the rubber that held the tip itself into place. However this problem was rectified by the SonoKong mold which flattened two opposite sides of the rubber that holds the tip itself into the plastic section of the Bottom itself. The flattened sides make it impossible to spin the tip freely, thus solving the problem.
The performance difference between the two molds is negligible, but it is likely that the SonoKong mode would be more sturdy by not spinning around.

Use in Attack Customization

RF is considered by many to be the best Attack Bottom currently available, and is currently in use for all of the current top-tier Attack customs including: Quetzalcoatl 90RF, MF Lightning L Drago CH120RF, and MF Pegasis 145RF.

Use in Defense Customization

After heavy use, RFs tend to wear down, and their movement is reduced significantly. When this is the case, the traction created by the rubber can be useful to keep the blade from being knocked from the stadium. RF can be used effectively in the Defense customization MF Earth Bull C145RF.

Use in Balance Customization

NOTE: The Libra Wheel is now banned under WBO Organized Play Official Rules.
RF has found use in a very specific Balance customization; in fact, it is really the only competitively viable Balance customization at this point in time. The custom is Libra CH120RF. Here is how it performs against the current staple customs:

• Versus Virgo DF145D -- use 120 height

Even though Libra is the heaviest Wheel ever created, because its weight is focused around the outside, it is still quite agile with RF. On its own, Libra is not a very effective Smash Attack Wheel, but its weight distribution in combination with the fast moving RF allow it to achieve an astonishing 90% win rate against Virgo DF145D. 120 height must be used in order for the Metal Wheels to make contact or it won't work.

• Versus Quetzalcoatl 90RF -- use 145 height

By switching to 145 height, the Track will absorb all of the hits dealt by Quetzalcoatl. The weight of Libra combined with the grip of RF give it enough defense to withstand most attacks, and again, the win rate is 90%.

• Versus MF Libra C145WB -- use 120 height

The win ratio against the top tier Defense combo isn't that great -- only about 60% -- but this still isn't bad, considering how strong it is against the other two types. If you can avoid using this combo against Defense-types, you should, but if you're forced into that situation you can win with a perfect shot and a little luck.
To effectively use this custom, you absolutely must be able to perform Sliding Shoot because the window for landing a successful attack is much smaller than with other Storm or Quetzalcoatl-based Attackers. A skilled Blader can use this customization as an answer to almost anything that is thrown at them.

Other Versions

• Wind Pegasis DF145FS – Random Booster Light Vol.1 Mad Cancer CH120FS (Green)
• Heat Pegasis 100WB – Random Booster Light Vol.1 Mad Cancer CH120FS (Orange)
• Heat Pegasis DF145WB – Random Booster Light Vol.2 Wind Aquario 100HF/S (Black)
• Clay Pegasis 145S – Random Booster Light Vol.3 Clay Aries ED145B (Yellow)
• Storm Pegasis 100RF Stardust ver. – Random Booster Vol. 3 Stardust Pegasis (Blue)
• Storm Pegasis 105F - WBBA Exclusive (Clear, with either a gold, silver, or bronze face respectively for placing first, second, or third.)
• Rock Pegasis 105WB Faceoff: Sagittario Flame Claw (Painted parts,Orange)

Overall

Storm is a decent Attack type Wheel, and 105 does have its uses in the absence of 90 and 100, but RF is without a doubt what makes this an essential buy for every competitive Blader. The Bottom can be unstable and hard to control, but if it is worn down a little and the proper skill is applied, it can be deadly. Every Blader should own multiples of this Beyblade.