Draciel Metal Ball Defenser
AKA: Metal Ball Defenser (Hasbro), MBD (Fan), Draciel M.B.D. (Spin Up Book 1), Draciel MBD (Fan), "Max Draciel" (Uncommon fan name presumably based on stickers, or from documentation-poor fakes).
Note: The Takara version of this Beyblade (or at least a subset thereof) seems to be fragile, similar to Gold Plastic Syndrome or even moreso the fragility of the black version of Gaia Dragoon, to the point it can crack or shatter during assembly. As such, care should be taken.
Weight: 3.5g
Right Spin Only.
Lightweight with very centre-focussed distribution.
Flat faces cause heavy recoil and tend to be somewhat fragile.
Recoil prevents any use for Defense or Survival.
No offensive ability due to lack of effective contact points.
No competitive use.
Weight: 15.3g
The most compact weight distribution of any weight disk.
It is worth noting that there is quite a broad range of weights for this Weight Disk, which one should be wary of.
The large corners of its shape result in some recoil when hit, though its compact weight distribution provides some protection against this.
Ten Heavy outclasses it slightly in all aspects of performance due to heavier weight, lower recoil, and Eight Heavy is marginally heavier, with a slightly less compact distribution making it a viable alternative.
Fairly competitive in Compacts and Traditional Upper Attack and a backup choice for Weight-Based Defense and Semi Flat Base Stamina Combos.
Weight: 8.4g plus up to six 1/4" Metal Balls (1.05g each)
4 Layer System base with built in Right SG
Tip is a somewhat shallow, slightly rounded off Sharp tip. This becomes more rounded with wear.
Generally a fresh tip is acceptable albeit with some issues regaining balance when destabilised.
With wear to a more rounded shape, stability of the tip, as well as defensive ability, tends to improve slightly, resulting in more suitable performance for the Compact customisations the Blade Base is used in.
Gimmick is slots for metal balls, it comes with two. These are intended to roll outwards due to centripetal motion when the Base is spinning quickly, increasing stability, and then rolling inwards as this reduces to retain RPM more effectively. However, the gimmick has little effect overall (in fact, it doesn't even function very well as the shallow slope of the pockets mean the balls only require very minimal rotational velocity to remain in the outward position), and usually it is better to trade it off for the additional weight of extra metal balls.
Unable to use a Heavy Metal Core, however the Metal Balls compensate for this deficiency,
Good stamina and balance.
Tip Shape allows it to avoid scraping even at sharp angles allowing good precession, more than compensating for the rather mediocre shape of the base, resulting in solid stamina for a compact Blade Base.
Metal Change tipped bases catch the tornado ridge better, so Customize Metal Change Base in particular tends to be more defensively capable, but Metal Ball Base has a significant advantage in being more passive thus less likely to collide at the tornado ridge (which gives less breathing room to survive hits).
Overall very good for compacts, generally being a reliable performer all-around.
Consistency of movement and performance and decent defense also makes it one of the more useful Blade Bases for testing against.
Ball Configurations:
Metal Ball Base has 6 Legal Slots for Balls, which may be used in a configuration of Zero, Two, Four or Six Balls.
Up to two balls may be placed in each pocket, and an additional two in the slots on the underside of the BB.
Generally, it is best to fill out the pockets first and lastly the two slots at the bottom - as the weight distribution is already compact, there is little to benefit by loading up the centre of the weight distribution first and it does have an impact on Stamina.
With 4 Balls, Metal Ball Base is 1g lighter than Metal Change Base with a Heavy Metal Core, with 6 Balls, it is 1g heavier.
While performance increases moving upwards from 0 to 4 Balls, a noticeable amount of stamina is traded off moving from 4 Balls to 6 Balls due to weight distribution, thus both 4 and 6 Balls are considered two separate but equal configurations.
Overall
An excellent purchase thanks to Metal Ball Base's solid, consistent performance and usefulness as an opponent for testing a wide range of customizations against. In addition to this, the Heavy Weight Disk is a nice touch. However, due to the fact an additional two metal balls are needed for it to be truly useful (as aside from this only one of many Compact ARs is needed), and because Metal Change Base tends to be a better overall Compact Blade Base, Draciel Metal Ball Defenser is not a must have.