Guardian Driger
Coro-Coro exclusive release, later released in a Bronze colour by Hasbro in G-Revolution. The Sub-Ring is shown oriented different ways in different releases, interestingly.
Weight: 5.3g (Core AR 3.7g | Sub AR 1.6g)
Confusingly given its name, Great Tiger is in fact a Regular War Lion Core AR with a unique Sub AR - this leads some questions about two-part AR naming conventions.
Nonetheless, with a much worse Sub Ring, it is literally War Lion but bad.
Weight: 3.7g
Small AR with relatively low recoil in either direction.
However, the general oval shape formed by the small size of the wings of the AR means it is somewhat easier to land hard hits on than Tiger Defenser, for example, which acts against the low recoil of its contact points to a small extent. However, it is still an excellent defensive choice and takes hits very well.
Generally the best Right-Spin Core AR for use with any defensive SAR due to its low recoil, and a fantastic option in Left Spin though there it faces competition from Hasbro's version of Twin Horn and War Monkey.
With War Lion SAR:
A slightly less aggressive alternative to Tiger Defenser, with marginally more defense when used with WDs other than Wide Defense or Wide Survivor (which obstruct access to Tiger Defenser's contact points, and in Right Spin this means Tiger Defenser's better weight distribution gives it an edge over War Lion).
The lack of Upper Attack slopes or any effective Smash Attack means compacts using it are generally less versatile than their Tiger Defenser-sporting counterparts.
A notable advantage over Tiger Defenser is that War Lion doesn't have much recoil in Left Spin, whereas Tiger Defenser, while by no means high recoil, does perform noticeably worse in this direction. However, alternatives such as Hasbro's and Takara's Twin Horn ARs and Scissor Attacker are also available, and often perform slightly better.
In general, very useful for Compacts, Zombies and all types of Defense Customs.
With Dragon Saucer SAR:
War Lion also sees use with Dragon Saucer's SAR, where its well balanced weight distribution and small size works well with the general properties of the Sub Ring to make an Attack Ring suitable for Defense and Stamina types. Such setups do suffer more from vertical interference, but it is nonetheless a good choice, and the best choice for the SAR in Right Spin as well as an excellent one in Left.
With War Monkey SAR:
War Monkey SAR performs similarly to War Lion SAR here, mostly being useful if one breaks their SAR. It provides a larger free spinning area, but slightly more recoil in Right Spin.
Overall this is an effective setup, and again the best Right-Spin choice for the SAR.
With Screw Zeus:
War Lion can also be used to fix Screw Zeus in place in either spin direction, however the SAR can come loose, and the aggressive nature of Screw Zeus can present a breakage risk.
For pure smash, it adds nothing to Screw Zeus's Attack ability and thus is outclassed by more aggressive Core ARs such as Great Dragon and Dragon Breaker,
For Traditional Upper Attack, it is one of two ARs which effectively expose Screw Zeus' slopes for this, though the slightly less effective but less risky War Monkey is likely a better choice.
Weight: 1.6g
Visually similar to the "Wing" Sub-Ring but thicker, with a narrower central ring, and slightly different angles overall.
Thickness means it can be fixed in place with certain Attack Ring and Weight Disk setups, but such setups result in severe recoil and disappointing Smash Attack, and are not worthwhile, especially as War Bear SAR directly outclasses it for this use.
Also fits under Dual Dragon, however this is illegal as Dual Dragon is considered a single part. As a reference however, the resulting AR has significant power in Left Spin but is crippled by horrendous recoil, with rotational recoil enough to stop it spinning even when having a reasonable amount of power left, and able to push the Sub AR under the main AR, bending it and potentially breaking it. Nonetheless, were it legal, it would be usable.
Even while free spinning creates recoil issues due to its size and most importantly the fact its width means that when hit from above or below it doesn't spin away, instead acting like a lever, causing the Beyblade using it massive destabilization (if it doesn't fly out of the arena first).
Overall, completely useless.
Weight (Regular Mold): 15.3g
Weight (Indent Mold): 15.5g
Generally outclassed by Ten Heavy for all purposes, being suited to the exact same combinations but being lighter. Heavy Attack is also superior on combinations which protect it from contact.
Eight Heavy can successfully be used in Compact Customizations, being slightly heavier on average than Heavy, with slightly lower WD recoil, however Ten Heavy is still a superior choice.
Takara and Sono Kong Eight Heavy Weight Disks have a shallow indentation on one side around the centre of the Weight Disk, as well as sharper edges. There is only a minor weight difference between the Takara and Hasbro molds and as such they perform practically identically, though SonoKong WD's are lighter due to smaller size (which also means they don't fit well on standard SGs). Takara may have used the Hasbro mold in later production, particularly once production moved to China.
Fairly competitive in Compacts and Traditional Upper Attack and a backup choice for Weight Defense, Semi Flat Base Stamina Combos and Force Smash. Usable for Driger V2 Combos but aside from the Driger V2 (Hasbro Magnacore Version) the stock Weight Disk is outright superior.
Spin Gear: Neo Right Spin Gear (South Magne Version)
Weight: 1.15g ea (total 2.3g)
Generally preferred to regular Right shells due to being compatible with all SG-Compatible bases, in particular for being compatible with Neo SG Cores and the Heavy Metal Core.
This means they are a necessity for Compacts, Weight Based Defense, Force Smash, Traditional Upper Attack and Driger V2 Combinations, at least aside from the rare occasions Left Spin is desired for one of these types, in which case Neo Left Shells are preferred.
Overall a crucial competitive part, but thankfully exceedingly common.
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: 4.4g
SG version of Flat Base
Shortest base in plastics, which can make it an okay choice for Traditional Upper Attack.
Tip shape and material reduce effectiveness as it struggles to flower pattern effectively as well as having limited recoil control and average stamina.
Acceptable LAD which can be useful.
Outclassed by rubber and metal attack tips, but could be a fallback option for Attack.
Can be used for Compacts, but again is heavily outclassed.
Last use is similar to Flat Base in setups similar to Semi-Flat Base Stamina, primarily using Wide Defense and a Compact or smaller-sized Defensive AR, with SG choice depending on the desired effect. This can allow outspins or KOs against less competitive opponents.
In these setups, SG Flat Base has slightly poorer LAD than Flat Base, but has the ability to customize the SG, including use of Left Spin, though the lack of Left Spin Compact ARs with any real offensive ability does cause some issues here.
Overall
While an alternative method of obtaining the popular War Lion Core AR is appreciated, the fact this beyblade does not come with the Sub AR - instead coming with a useless if aesthetically pleasing variation of "Wing", combined with the fact it is usually more expensive than Galeon means this rarely justifies purchasing this Beyblade. Overall, this Beyblade is strictly a collector's piece unless one is desperate for a War Lion Core AR.