Dragoon V2 (Fire Blood Version)
AKA: Dragoon Victory 2 (Fire Blood Version) (Full Name), Dragoon V2 (Fire Brad Version) (Mistranslation), Dragoon V2 (Fire Blade Version) (Mistranslation)
Japan Toys 'R' Us exclusive red recolour of Dragoon V2 with an additional South Magnecore as well as the stock Normal Core.
Picture provided by @vintagebeyblade
Weight: 4.9g
Left Spin:
Flat contact points with vertical lines (intended for Spike Attack, however they do little to help).
Creates relatively powerful Smash but has horrendous recoil, especially rotational recoil.
Overall somewhat usable for Smash Attack but the rotational recoil significantly reduces its power.
Right Spin:
Some Smash from the rearmost protrusions but suffers from terrible rotational recoil here as well, and is not worth using.
Not a competitive part, there are more powerful alternatives with far less recoil.
No Defensive or Survival use either.
AKA: MG WD, MGWD, Magne WD, Magneweight Disk, Magnetic Weight Disk, MagnaWD, MagneWD, Magna Weight Disk, MG Weight Disk.
Note on Legality: (Provisional - Check with your Judge) Magne Weight Disk may not be used without the soft plastic outer shell parts. Magne Weight Disks lacking these are considered to have been modified/damaged to the extent that they no longer perform as intended and as a result are illegal.
Weight (Mold 1): 14.3g
Weight (Mold 2): 14.8g
Relatively light, with an even weight distribution over a large area, making for rather unspecialised performance.
Gimmick serves little use in battle but can interfere with bearings of the combo it is used with, slightly reducing survival ability.
Soft plastic shells/outer part provide a slight ability to take hits but shape means it still has more recoil than Wide Defense and Wide Survivor.
Light weight and unspecialised weight distribution further reduce usefulness for any type
Ten Wide works better for all purposes except defensive zombies, though Magne Weight Disk doesn't work particularly well there either, due to its light weight.
Nonetheless, a somewhat usable alternative for Zombie and Defensive Zombie customizations.
Mold Differences:
There are two versions, a later one with a continuous outer plastic shell, and an earlier one where it is split into two halves. The latter are very prone to flying off Beyblades at launch due to the weak adhesive with which the plastic parts are attached. As such, the non-split version is always preferred, and the Split Version is best not used for competitive play. It is also worth noting that Mold 2 tends to be slightly heavier.
Spin Gear: Neo Left Spin Gear (Normal Version)/(South Magne Version)
Note: Dragoon V2 (Fire Blood Ver.) includes both a Normal Core and a South Magnecore. As such, both are listed here.
Weight: 1.2g ea (total 2.4g)
Generally preferred to regular Left Spin Gear Shells due to being compatible with all SG-Compatible bases, in particular for being compatible with Neo SG Cores and the Heavy Metal Core as well as being required to use Double Bearing Core in a left-spin Zombie or Defensive Zombie combination.
As such, generally entirely outclass their regular counterparts and are a crucial competitive part.
AKA: When used in an SG, Normal Core is listed as "Normal Version"
Weight: 1.2g
Only compatible with Neo Shells.
Entirely plastic with a hollow cylinder in place of the Metal Weight or Magnet of other Cores.
Lightest Core that can be used with all bases which don't specifically require a gimmicked SG, though not as light as a Regular SG Core Part.
Useful for attack, but generally Metal Weight - and North/South Magne- Cores are preferred for control of regular and rotational recoil, as the slowdown from using them is quite minimal and because a Regular SG Core Part is lighter.
Best core for Customize Metal Sharp Base zombies as niche as they are, as Regular SG Core parts are incompatible. These are not highly competitive, however.
Note: When used in an SG, any Magnecore is listed as "Magne Version" with no specification of the polarity or variety. These are listed in PlasticsDB part section names for clarity.
Weight: 3.3g
Only compatible with Neo Right Spin Gear Shells and Neo Left Spin Gear Shells.
Main attribute is its specific weight, resulting in a distribution not as centrally-focused as a Heavy Metal Core, yet with enough weight to help a little with recoil, Magnecores tend to be a decent choice if trying to control recoil on Attack types which care about stamina such as those using SG Metal Flat Base (Gaia Dragoon V Version). They usually tend to be a slightly better balance here than Metal Weight Core as the extra weight does not cause losses against any notable opponents but does provide slightly better rotational recoil control, while providing better stamina and faster movement than a Heavy Metal Core.
Only noticeable effect of the magnetic gimmick for regular play is when using a magnetized tip (Customize Grip Base Tip, Magne Flat Base Tip), which are attracted to South Magnecores, or Magne Weight Disk (which can be flipped over as needed anyway), and even here the effect on performance is negligible - the only actual impact is in terms of assembly difficulty.
Defensively, and for rotational recoil control, it is outclassed by the significantly heavier Heavy Metal Core, however it is the next best thing, and still works okay for Defense/Compacts, albeit not nearly as well as an HMC due to the significant difference in weight. It has some use on Driger V2 combos for certain outspins, but generally an HMC is superior, and always preferred when using Wide Defense.
In Magne Stadia, South Magnecores are intended to be offensive (by being repelled by magnets, thus moving around erratically).
Weight: 0.88g
Two part SP with two fins per part.
Best of the regular two-part SP (barring Upper Attack situationally), not as recoil-laden as the others in Attack mode, but still not as useful as one-part SP.
In Defense mode, very much outclassed but still better than the other two-part SP, having marginally less-terrible LAD and only moderate recoil.
Overall an outclassed part, but not completely horrible for what they are.
AKA: CGB
Weight: 5.1g
SP-Compatible Blade Base with a huge range of compatible Shafts and Tips which make it a staple competitive part, especially due to its good weight and solid LAD.
Must be used with a tip or shaft installed.
With smaller diameter tips, the lower rim of the Blade Base usually provides remarkably good LAD (similar to MFB's RDF tip)
One of the most versatile parts of the generation, and a must-have for the competitive Blader, especially as it comes with a good tip in its own right.
With Customize Grip Base Tip:
The standard setup for the Base as well as the Tip.
Customize Grip Base mostly acts as a holder with access to Support Parts as well as good weight properties.
The tip provides remarkably decent Stamina for a rubber Attack tip, and combined with the height and LAD provided by CGB this allows for use in Force Smash Customizations as well as regular Attack customizations that may be able to bludgeon certain opponents into an outspin.
The tip is also a rather effective standard Attack Tip, while it skips the ridge somewhat easily due to rounded edges, its width provides excellent speed and solid recoil control.
Overall, a great setup, albeit overshadowed by Defense Grip Base and SG Grip Change Base Tip.
With SG Grip Base Tip:
Very similar to Customize Grip Base Tip, however with the magnet replaced with a metal weight and pole resulting in a heavier part, bringing the Base setup towards the level of Weight Based Defense combinations when using heavier SP (primarily Defense Ring), though the poor stamina compared to metal tips such as Customize Metal Change Base makes it outclassed for such a purpose.
Slightly narrower tip provides very marginally less aggression, but slightly better stamina.
More conventional shape still skips the ridge somewhat, but the tip is overall more controllable than Customize Grip Base Tip.
Does wear quite unpleasantly and slow down with age.
Nonetheless, the better survival and greater weight means it is arguably a better choice than Customize Grip Base Tip for Force Smash, and a viable alternative for Attack type Customizations.
With Neo SG (Double Bearing Version) Shaft:
CGB provides an additional level of precession and stability which assists against opponents which prey on this, as well as against more traditional Zombies in opposite spin.
This maximises the LAD of the setup, and as such Customize Grip Base is generally considered the top choice for Zombie Blade Bases because of this.
With SG (Bearing Version 2) Shaft:
Customize Grip Base can be used with SG (Bearing Version 2) Shaft by installing it in SG (Bearing Version 2) or Double Bearing Core.
The tip can catch in the shaft due to size variation and bearing wobble, which can lead to some aggression. This can be useful for Defensive Zombies, giving them a chance to KO difficult to Outspin opponents, but is inconsistent and the stamina tradeoff is rather severe.
Nonetheless, due to its weight and support for SP with good LAD as well as some defensive ability against lower Attack Types, Customize Grip Base is generally considered the premier Blade Base for Defensive Zombies, and this is a highly competitive combination.
Double Bearing Core tends to provide marginally more defense at the cost of a small amount of stability. This tradeoff is generally not noticeable unless using a Metal Bit Chip where Circle Survivor can give Double Bearing Core issues whereas SG (Bearing Version 2) generally holds up fine. Aside from this rare situation, Double Bearing Core is generally the better choice.
With SG (Full Auto Clutch Version) Shaft:
CGB once again provides excellent LAD as well as improved stability to this shaft, and combined with the stability of the flat tip, this actually results in one of the best LAD setups in the game.
Generally the only casings worth using for this are SG (Free Shaft Version), as they allow free spin with bearing support. Others which fix the shaft in place may be used but are generally not worthwhile, especially as the lack of free spin causes controllability issues.
The impressive LAD of this setup actually allows Spin Stealing Attack types out out-LAD conventional Zombies in opposite spin, making certain invocations (such as those using Gyro Defense, which gains so much stability from the setup that it does not suffer from its usual self-destabilising effects) more effective as Zombies than conventional Zombie shafts, with the ability to KO anything they cannot outspin.
Same spin stamina however is acceptable but not exceptional, and such setups must rely on KOing same-spin Survival Types.
Lastly, the defense is more in line with conventional Zombies than an offensive tip - including the same Shaft with Bases which expose the tip. As such, it can be risky to use such setups against more aggressive opponents, though in opposite spin, weak launching can help slightly (though not as effectively as more conventional tips).
Nonetheless, it is a shockingly effective setup and can often replace a conventional Zombie in a bladers lineup thanks to the added versatility.
With SG Grip Change Base Tip:
Customize Grip Base can be used with SG Grip Change Base Tip by installing it in SG (Bearing Version 2) Casings.
This can only be safely done with fresh tips, or the BB will scrape badly and spin out.
CGB provides a level of precession which allows some clutch outspins against opposite spin combinations which have only average LAD
However, CGB also skips the ridge very easily, and as such recoil control can be a concern. It also inhibits banking which can interfere with sliding shoots.
Nonetheless, the LAD is a very powerful attribute for an offensive Beyblade, so worth considering.
With SG (Free Shaft Version) Shaft:
Like other combinations, CGB provides LAD to SG (Free Shaft Version) Shaft, allowing it to survive its own instability and not topple as incredibly easily as it usually would.
Overall, the only practical way to use SG (Free Shaft Version) Shaft outside of Spiral Change Base (which is embarrassingly better without it), though it is still not particularly effective this is nonetheless notable.
With other parts:
A few other parts are notable for use with Customize Grip Base, primarily SGs.
The SG Core part of SG (Auto Change Version) and South Magnecore (Dranzer V Version) can be used to allow tips to sit loosely and more recessed in the base. While this has downsides to their traction within the Beyblade itself, it does allow for a slightly lower combo. This setup can scrape in Customize Grip Base however, causing erratic movement and overall being more of a novelty, while Magne Flat Base and SG Grip Base allow for normal function.
Magne Flat Base Tip can be used in general, but is also not terribly good at anything, having poor stamina and poor grip. It is best avoided.
Weight: 1.8g
Rather hard rubber tip containing a South-directed magnet, which adds to weight somewhat.
Weight in tip as well as hardness of rubber makes it a little slower than its width indicates, however this assists with the centred weight of Force Smash combinations.
Relatively wide tip produces fast movement (similar to Grip Base), but overall shape (especially round edges) and hardness (and therefore fairly average grip) of rubber makes it prone to skipping the tornado ridge, causing it to struggle a little with recoil.
As it is usually used with Customize Grip Base , the tall height of most setups with it (using South Magnecore (Dranzer V Version) or SG (Auto Change Version) and Magne Flat Base or SG Grip Base, a lower setup can be made, but poorer LAD is a trade-off) means using an overhanging AR like Triple Tiger helps significantly with consistency against lower opponents, though using non-overhanging AR's means that it can handle Circle Survivor Defense better because the height means easier contact with the upper part of those combinations - notable with Mirage Goddess and Mountain Hammer in particular. Overall, using a non-overhanging AR and banking deeper vs shorter opponents is generally more meta-relevant at this point.
Overall a good part, however Defense Grip Base in flat-tip configuration has better speed and recoil control at the same height, the same ability to use different SGs, and is also much cheaper, and the poorer LAD often isn't much of a concern to Attack types. In addition, while it does not have the same versatility of SG choice, SG Grip Change Base Tip can also take advantage of LAD to a degree, using Customize Grip Base itself.
Stamina isn't too terrible for a rubber tip due to the hardness, which is part of why it works for Force Smash. This is perhaps its defining feature versus other competitive Attack tips (aside from the similar SG Grip Base Tip), as it means it has no trouble outspinning the sharp tip of Defense Grip Base, which otherwise walls most Hyper Aggressive Smash Combinations.
This makes it a unique and very viable part, performing better against Circle Survivor Defense and Grip Defense, but worse against Defensive Zombies and Weight Based Defense, compared to the other two major Attack Blade Bases.
Overall
Dragoon V2 is very useful Beyblade thanks to the Base and Neo Left casings - it is the most useful source of the latter, and the former is one of the single most versatile parts of the Generation. As such, players should aim to have at least one, and preferably multiple copies of it. The Fire Blood Version include a South Magnecore makes it slightly more useful, but the added price it commands due to rarity means it is usually not worth the extra money, as Magnecores come with various cheap Beyblades.
Related Beyblades
Dragoon V2 - Original Release
Dragoon V2 (Hasbro BBA Championship Version) - Hasbro exclusive release using Ten Wide instead of Magne Weight Disk
RC Beyblade Dragoon V2 - Remote Control Version
RC Beyblade Guan Yu (Dragoon V2) - - Remote Control Version released as part of the Three Kingdoms line