Flame Byxis 230 WD

Flame Byxis 230WD is a Balance Type Beyblade released as part of the Hybrid Wheel System. It was released in Japan in November 2010 for 787円.

Face: Byxis
The Face depicts Pyxis, one of the 88 constellations in space. Pyxis represents the mariner’s compass.

Clear Wheel: Byxis

 * Weight: 2.7 grams

Byxis was originally released in a turquoise green color. It is overall round in shape, and has four arrows. There are two large arrows, on which stickers can be placed with the remaining two arrows having a dark blue color. The Clear Wheel represents a compass, with four circular symbols to represent North, South, East, and West. Byxis’s unique shape meanwhile allows it to be used in conjunction with certain Metal Wheels to expose their contact points more prominently, thus resulting in higher attack power.

Use in Attack Customization
Byxis exposes Vulcan’s contact points to maximize its Smash Attack capabilities in the customization MF Vulcan Byxis 85RF.

Metal Wheel: Flame

 * Weight: 32.5 grams

Flame is predominantly circular, with two small spikes and two additional smaller gaps on its circumference. The Wheel is relatively thin throughout, with the very edge of the Wheel being slightly thicker. Due to the design of Flame where the Wheel’s perimeter is raised slightly, more of the Track below is exposed compared to other Wheels, hence making it easier for other Beyblades to strike its Track. This significantly reduces its Defense capabilities. However, the raised perimeter allows slightly more wobbling time, as the raised Track reduces floor scraping. Flame is however too light to serve any purpose even though it used to be top-tier in Stamina.

Track: 230
230 is the tallest Track released thus far. 230 is part of the Maximum Series, and is labeled as the Maximum Height for Tracks. 230 has six indents near the top of the Track that sharpen downwards to about the half of the Track. 230 is rounder and thicker than regular Tracks with no gimmicks in order to protect it structurally as it comes into regular contact with opposing Wheels. Its round and smooth shape results in significantly less recoil than if it were based on the traditional hexagonal Track shape. Since 230 is so tall, it can wobble or precess at great lengths for extra Stamina, defeating various Stamina customizations with lower Tracks. From a defensive viewpoint, it uses its height as an advantage to protect itself from low incoming Attacks, by protecting the Metal Wheel from major contact while using the reinforced plastic to absorb most of the shock. As a result of this, 230 can defeat most low Attack customizations under the 120 height when paired with other top-tier Defense parts.
 * Weight: 4.1 grams

230 also has some notable weaknesses, however. As a Defense Track, 230 is extremely susceptible to tall Track Attack types in the opposite spin direction such as MF Lightning L Drago BD145LRF and MF Gravity Perseus BD145RF. Additionally, TH170 at 220 height is successful against 230-based customizations, while also offering height-based versatility at the same time.

This play of good Defense against low Beyblades and weakness against high Attackers is highly due to the fact that low tops hit it exactly in its center of gravity. Most of the weight is obviously at the top of the Beyblade using 230, however the Track itself also possesses a considerable mass, and the sum of those weights brings the center of gravity exactly around where 120-based Beyblades attack. Usually, the lower the center of gravity, the better, but as long as it is targeted, the object retains a certain balance. If it gets hit away from that center of gravity vertically, then the object will lose its stability, which is what happens with 230.

Due to the release of many gimmick Tracks at 220 and 230 heights however, 230 has become generally outclassed, especially in comparison to wider, rounder and heavier Tracks like SA165 and SP230. TH170 also offers more weight and a versatility in its height-changing gimmick that surpasses 230 in almost all fields. It can still serve purpose in niche combinations however.

Use in Stamina customization
230 can be put to use in the Stamina customization Scythe Bull 230D. D is a superior choice for 230 because it retains balance more easily than WD.

Use in Defense customization
230 is used in the staple Defense customization MF-H Basalt Bull 230CS: its height combined with its weight make this a difficult opponent for low height Attack customizations to defeat, as they cannot make significant contact to deliver knockout blows.

Tip: WD (Wide Defense)
Wide Defense, as its name implies is one of the widest of the “Defense” series of Bottoms (D, SD, WD, PD, EWD). This brings numerous advantages, but also some disadvantages when compared to the other “Defense” Bottoms, specifically D. The advantages include its ability for abnormally long precession times due to its massive width that reaches the edge of the Bottom's perimeter. This allows it to wobble at a significantly larger angle for a longer period of time than D, and at a much lower spin rate. However, depending on the position of the Beyblade using WD and the spin rate of the opponent, this can be disadvantageous because of how easy it becomes to knock over the precising WD custom. 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. Nevertheless, this more often an advantage than it is a disadvantage.
 * Weight: 0.7 grams

Newer parts such as CS, EDS and B:D have overshadowed WD to some degree: CS and EDS due to their ability to be paired with the popular BD145 Track without scraping, and B:D because of its height and even longer precession times, but WD is still one of the best pure Stamina Bottoms available. However, when selecting high Tracks such as TH170 and 230, WD's tendency to wobble at larger angles should be kept in mind, as its extreme precession can often become problematic.

Although the name suggests Defensive characteristics, WD does not possess any inherent defensive qualities. However, its proficiency can be increased significantly when facing left-spin Attackers through the utilization of the Weak Shooting technique.

Use in Stamina customization
WD is arguably the best of the “Defense” series of Bottoms, and its effectiveness can be utilized in the custom Phantom Bull AD145WD.

Anime
Zeo's primary Beyblade in Metal Masters. He obtained it at HD Academy. Zeo grants most of his success to Flame Byxis. He uses it until he cut his ties with the Academy, possibly leaving Flame Byxis to get destroyed in Hades City.

In Combat
Flame Byxis was released in Wave 5. It is a Balance Type.

Notable Versions

 * Inferno Byxis CH120RS - Face-Off: Gravity Demolition (Yellow)

Overall
Flame Byxis 230WD contains a few useful parts. When released, 230 silenced a great majority of previously dominant Stamina, Defense and Attack combos. While it is now outclassed by TH170 and a few other Tracks, 230 is a more easily found alternative that still retains one of the most important elements of TH170; its height. Flame Byxis also comes with WD, a top-tier Stamina Bottom, but it was released in countless more interesting products. Flame Byxis is a welcome addition to an already well-furnished competitive collection.

Trivia

 * Flame Byxis was the first Beyblade to have the 230 WD combo.
 * This is the third Beyblade in the anime with the Flame Fusion Wheel, the first being Flame Sagittario C145S and the second being Flame Libra T125ES.
 * It is unknown what happened to Flame Byxis at the end of Metal Masters, but it is likely that Zeo Abyss left it to be destroyed in the Spiral Core.
 * Prior to the release of Flame Byxis, Takara-Tomy originally started out with a modified D Performance Tip that had its height raised. This modified Performance Tip then inspired the idea for a super-high Spin Track. For testing purposes, they had created prototype Spin Tracks in a range of varying heights, ranging from 19.5mm (195) to 27.5mm (275). It was determined that 275 had a rather unfair advantage, as test battles with that Spin Track saw it gain a considerable winning streak. Because of that, a Spin Track that measured 23.0mm in height (230) was chosen for the final product of Flame Byxis.
 * 230 that comes with Flame Byxis is the highest track available and is part of the Maximum Series.
 * Flame Byxis is often called Flame Pyxis by mistake, since the original name of the Star sign is Pyxis.
 * Putting 230 and WD together raises this beyblades Defense since it will dart around at random at the center of the field so it will not be knocked out. When it loses most of its stamina, it will then charge at random around the field, making 230 and WD together a good choice for Balance-type beyblades.
 * According to Dr.Ziggurat, this bey is made for battles with Attack beys.