Death Quetzalcoatl 125 RDF

Death Quetzalcoatl 125RDF is a Balance Type Beyblade that appears in the Beyblade: Metal Fury anime and manga series. It is the 4D variation of Quetzalcoatl 90WF and was released on October 22, 2011 in Japan. It represents the planet Venus and is owned by Tithi. Death Quetzalcoatl's main feature is its Performance Tip, Rubber Defense Flat (RDF). RDF is unique in that it combines Attack power with Defense and Stamina aptitude, somewhat similar to CS and RSF. With this, it gives Quetzalcoatl a balance between the three main types in Beyblade. Hasbro released Quezalcoatl with SF and re-release it in its Hyperblades version in the Beyblade Legends toyline in May 2014.

Face: Quetzalcoatl
The Face depicts Quetzalcoatl, the Mesoamerican feathered serpent deity. This Face mark differs from both Metal System Quetzalcoatl Face designs, however. Though more closely resembling its first Face mark, this version has more colours, exaggerated traits, a more fierce design, as well as patterns in the sticker's background, inspired by the artwork of Mesoamerican civilizations.

4D Clear Wheel: Quetzalcoatl

 * Weight: 2.6 grams

The Quetzalcoatl Clear Wheel is of a pale golden colour and illustrates two winged serpents with a head more like that of a cobra. Competitively, Quetzalcoatl has niche uses in Clear Wheel attack, which it does effectively to thwart opposing Beyblades of greater height thanks to the cobra heads that curve upwards, but overall, it is not necessary. It has some attack potential when paired with Flash.

4D Metal Wheel: Death

 * Weight: 43.6 grams

The gimmick introduced in this 4D Metal Wheel is that one of the two metal parts, the Metal Frame, can be flipped to form another mode. Death has no PC Frame, only metal pieces, which makes it one of the heaviest 4D Metal Wheels available.

Metal Frame

 * Weight:

The Metal Frame of this 4D Metal Wheel is the piece that acts as the primary mechanism behind its Mode Change. It has four small indents which act as a locking mechanism when placed on the Core. On the Defense side it has eight shallow slopes with a reptile-like texture and the large slopes of the Attack mode connect perfectly with the Core's. On the Attack side, as previously mentioned, there are eight significantly larger slopes each with the face of a serpent sculpted in.

Core

 * Weight:

As with any other Core in 4D, this part connects the Wheel with the Track. Its design is based on wings, so the combination of the Metal Frame and the Core indeed illustrate a winged serpent, which is the representation of Quetzalcoatl.

Like all 4D Metal Wheels, Death features a mode changing gimmick. It works by flipping the Metal Frame on the opposite side while the Beyblade is disassembled. The two Modes are:


 * Attack Mode

If Death is set in Attack Mode, the Metal Frame shows details of several serpent heads with fangs, enhancing the term "Attack". This mode is in no way more useful than Defense Mode as it does not provide sufficient Smash Attack to be of any use in Attack Type customs, and its Recoil renders it useless when compared to Defense Mode for other areas.


 * Defense Mode

If the Metal Frame is completely flipped to be in Defense Mode, this other side reveals a design of serpent scales, which relates to the term "Defense" and how animals defend themselves with their back, their scales, etc. Defense Mode's top half is also sloped, which reduces Recoil and is also an uncommon trait among Metal Wheels. Defense Mode is preferred over Attack Mode in every aspect due its much smoother design, which provides much less Recoil. Death, in Defense Mode, was arguably the first to dethrone Basalt in terms of Defensive prowess: it may not have had the weight that Basalt did, but the fact that it had much, much less Recoil made it the better Metal Wheel. Without this Recoil, Death is much harder for any Attack Type to KO or for many Stamina Types to outspin, defeating most top-tier combinations in the latter category.

If the unbalanced Basalt wins because it can wobble and smash away the opponent’s spin while conserving its own rather than simply absorbing shocks, the balanced Death wins by shaving, or grinding, away the opponent’s spin instead using the relief created by the Metal Wheel's designs on the sides. While Death has not necessarily outclassed Basalt, it does earn a position as a top-tier Defense Metal Wheel. However, with the release of much heavier Attack parts such as Wyvang, Balro and Gryph, as well as defense parts like Revizer and Genbull, Death became outclassed. It can still be used to a certain extent of effectiveness in Defense, but it's nowhere near as sturdy as it once was.

Use in Defense Customizations
Death, in Defense Mode, can be put to great use in the following Defense combo: MF-H Death Aquario BD145RDF. Death’s low Recoil in tandem with the sturdy weight of BD145 and the exceptional grip of RDF form a remarkably resilient Defense customization with the ability to withstand ferocious attacks from the best Attack type customizations of its time.

Track: 125

 * Weight: 1.0 gram

The 125 Track is a midway between the 105 and the 145 Tracks. Utilized in mid-height stamina combos, it is more difficult to destablize compared to 145 height stamina combos. It has declined in popularity as the choice mid-height track due to the release of gimmicked tracks of the same height, such as T125 and D125.

Tip: RDF (Rubber Defense Flat)

 * Weight: 1.1 grams

RDF is an odd combination of shapes to hypothetically form a tip with both Defense and Attack abilities. This Bottom consists of a very wide plastic encasing which holds a rubber tip with a large, flat surface and a small protuberance in the middle which ends in another flat point. The rubber, which constitutes the actual tip, comes very flush with the plastic structure that contains it. In actual performance, it is similar to CS in the sense that it can have an aggressive pattern and a Defensive pattern.

The release of RDF essentially made RS irrelevant, since it is just as effective, if not more, but also because of certain key differences. First, its superior height and better balance allows RDF to be used with the best defensive Track available at the time, BD145, without being hindered by floor scraping. Secondly, RDF has much more Stamina than RS, which was always an obstacle to the latter.

When shot in a standard manner, it is stationary, much like the S tip. When weak launched, it is similar to a worn RS' movement patterns which is usually a light circling around the center of the stadium. When banked, the outer plastic part of RDF comes into contact with the stadium causing instability and erratic behavior, much like an aggressive CS, but with more grip as it has a much larger surface area of flat rubber and plastic. When contact is made with the opposing Beyblade, RDF may tilt and fall onto its outer ring and begin an aggressive movement again, before regaining balance relatively quickly. Stamina-wise, it is a tad inferior to CS and should therefore not be used for Stamina purposes.

Wearing does occur with RDF, like any other rubber-based tip, and it is recommended you buy a mint one for optimum Defensive performance.

Use in Defense/Balance Customization
RDF can be utilized in the Defense/Balance customization MSF-H Wyvang Dragooon BD145RDF. RDF's grip, together with the heavy weight of BD145 negates Wyvang's recoil, and provides Dragooon the balance and precession it needs to outspin opponents in the opposite direction. The result is an incredibly powerful Defense customization which can easily weather down the fiercest of attack types.

Anime
Death Quetzalcoatl has amazing defense in the upper part of its Fusion Wheel but the wings on the lower part of its Fusion Wheel can give a powerful attack. Plus, with its rubber Defense flat Performance Tip, it can increase the friction around it in the stadium, increasing its Stamina and Defense abilities. When Death Quetzalcoatl is in a sandy stadium, it cannot remain stable. But when it is buried until its Fusion Wheel, its defenses are impenetrable. When Quetzalcoatl is in Defense mode, the upper and lower parts of the Fusion Wheel join together to increase defense and stamina.

In Combat
It will be released either in Wave 8. It Is a Balance Type Beyblade.

Notable versions

 * Quetzalcoatl 4D Clear Wheel - WBBA Exclusive, Ito Yokado Event 3rd place prize (Purple)
 * Death Quetzalcoatl 125SF - Hasbro Metal Fury Spark FX Ver. (Green, reduced Metal Wheel)

Overall
Death Quetzalcoatl 125RDF was a welcomed release in the competitive community. While Quetzalcoatl and 125 are not overly useful, Death brought a potent alternative to an otherwise Basalt-dominated Metagame, and RDF offered a great Bottom for pure Defensive customs. Duo is generally better than Death for both Stamina and Defense, however it's considerably harder to acquire in comparison, and RDF is a staple. Every Blader should own at least one of this Beyblade.

Trivia

 * Death has resemblances to Venus' surface, in that they are both quite thick and rock-like.
 * This is the first Beyblade that has a Fusion Wheel that seems to have the distinct appearance of "layers", the second was Duo Uranus.


 * Death Quetzalcoatl is the only Beyblade who's Type is different from its predecessor, as Death Quetzalcoatl 125RDF is a Balance-Type, while Quetzalcoatl 90WF is an Attack-Type. Death in Attack Mode also resembles a crown, as Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity in the ancient religion.
 * As a whole, Death Quetzalcoatl 125 RDF has a height of 25 millimeters.
 * The rubber on RDF is not Flat but slightly rounded, the reason for RDF's great stamina compared to other rubber tips.
 * The Hasbro version is released as Death Quetzalcoatl 125 SF, substituting RDF with SF, probably due to the fact that Hasbro does not release most tips that are new to Hasbro.
 * The Hasbro version has a green and orange energy ring instead of a yellow one.
 * Similar to L-Drago Destroy F:S, Death Quetzalcoatl has been shown to defeat Diablo Nemesis X:D at times, by making it lose stamina.
 * Most times, however, it wins against Diablo Nemesis by using the traction it gets from RDF to counter Diablo’s Smash attack.
 * Tithi uses Quetzalcoatl in Defense Mode when he doesn't want to fight an opponent. In the opposite case, when he wants to fight an opponent, Quetzalcoatl is in Attack Mode.
 * It is possible to put the Death Metal Frame on the Scythe Metal Core, but this is illegal.
 * Quetzalcoatl's Attack Mode has a strong defense, being able to resist to Libra's attacks without visible damage.

Gallery
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