Discover Why Xiphoid Is Now the Best Right-Spin Attack Blade in Beyblade Burst (B-200 Xiphoid Xcalibur Review)

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Following the pattern of the previous two releases, Chain Kerbeus and Gatling Dragon, Beyblade Burst BU has brought back another fan-favourite lineage: Xcalibur!

The last Xcalibur released was B-120 Buster Xcalibur 1 Dash Sword all the way back in the Cho-Z era. Xiphoid Xcalibur Xanthus Sword’-1 is meant to be in every way the direct upgrade to the last Xcalibur release, Cho-Z’s Buster Xcalibur, bringing the line into the BU era.

This release also comes packed with the Power Custom Sword Launcher LR, which features the previously released Power Gear Unit and Spin Units alongside the brand new Sword Core Unit. It’s the third sword launcher released in the Beyblade Burst series by Takara-Tomy.

In this article we will be doing a part-by-part analysis of Xiphoid Xcalibur, with many potential combos and uses being tested and presented. Expect to find a combo you can count on to make the most use out of each competitively viable part available from this release.

The Xcalibur evolution line has traditionally been a Attack-heavy one, usually finding itself in the upper echelons of Attack-based combos in eras it is present in. Our article on the Beyblade Burst Limited Format for example emphasized the popularity of both the Sieg Xcalibur Layer and Buster Xcalibur Layer in that format, and among that era’s metagame.

Will Xiphoid Xcalibur Xanthus Sword’-1 live up to that legacy and champion right-spin Attack in the BU era? Read on to find out.

Product Details

• Brand: TAKARA-TOMY
• Product Code: B-200
• Product Contents:
  • Xiphoid Xcalibur Xanthus Sword’-1
  • Power Custom Sword Launcher LR
• System: Dynamite Battle Layer System
• Series: Beyblade Burst – Burst Ultimate

Part Weights

• Xiphoid BU Blade: 13.06g
• Xcalibur DB Core: 10.64g
• Xanthus Disc (2 Stars): 32.49g
• Sword Dash Driver: 9.34g
• 1 Armor: 13.10g

Additional Notes:

• All matches in this article were done in the B-09 Burst Standard Stadium using one Blader.
• The results of each match that ended with an outspin were ruled based on the WBO’s June 2022 spinning definition update.
• Stamina matches saw both combos switch out Discs and Drivers at the half-way point to account for Star discrepancy and Driver wear.
• This article was written in collaboration with WBO user Dan. 
• Finally, if you buy something through some of the links on this post, you won’t pay any extra, but I’ll get a small commission. This helps me keep things running. Thanks for your support!

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Xiphoid BU Blade Review

With the Xiphoid BU Blade‘s design Takara-Tomy took a similar route this time as they did with Ultimate Valkyrie. Many visual callbacks were incorporated into the design of Ultimate Valkyrie, emphasizing it as the literal “ultimate” version of the Layer. The same has been done here with the Xiphoid BU Blade.

Unlike Ultimate Valkyrie though, these cues are not as on the nose (written on the packaging), so for those unaware, we will highlight where inspiration and design elements were drawn from. 

From the very first Xcalibur and Xeno Xcalibur it gets fiery bird heads on either side along with the iconic cross of two swords at its center. 

From Sieg Xcalibur it gets the overarching design, similar primary points of contact, and a rugged frame to dig into its opponents. 

Finally from Buster Xcalibur it inherits a very sizable moving sword at the center and similar angling at the perimeter to complement its design.

Is the Xiphoid BU Blade Good for Attack Type Beyblade Combos? 

The Xiphoid BU Blade design has a very potent singular contact point in the form of the blade tip that extends beyond the diamond shape.

This is not to say the rough edges of the Xiphoid BU Blade aren’t without their own Smash Attack but that the most potent display comes from this relatively small and specific blade tip section.

This kind of Attack design is not a prevalent one throughout Beyblade but it can be highly effective. The Xcalibur line seems to consistently rely on a singular sword tip as a primary contact point, not dissimilar to the Beyblade Zero-G series’ Wyvang Chrome Wheel and its “hook” point, which was a top-tier Chrome Wheel choice for its era.

With that out of the way we tested it to see if this design is as potent as it would lead one to believe, featuring benchmark test results from our review of Ultimate Valkyrie Legacy Variable’-9.

Here we see that against the Vanish Blade the new Xiphoid Xcalibur seems to hold its own noticeably better than the Ultimate Blade. 

In general right-spin attack types tend to struggle with the Vanish Blade due to its soft circular design, this struggle only being exacerbated by weak launching. Xiphoid Blade, surprisingly, can do quite well though.

There are some caveats to note when it comes to Xiphoid BU Blade, though, namely the fact that it needs to be launched quite hard and the use of a mint Xtreme Dash Driver (or any rubber driver) is highly important.

Unlike the Guilty Blade, Xiphoid BU Blade needs added power coming from the Blader to produce mighty hits.

Here the story was much the same, Xiphoid BU Blade once again seems to perform noticeably better than the Ultimate Blade from our testing. 

While the Ultimate Blade is far from a bad attack Blade, the Xiphoid BU Blade seems to have a particularly good matchup against Devil/Dynamite Blade. 

Unlike the previous testing against Vanish Blade you don’t actually have to launch Xiphoid BU Blade all that hard to produce some spectacular hits against Devil/Dynamite Blade. Xiphoid BU Blade simply does well, and it reminds us of how well the Guilty Blade does against its own same-spin Defense opponents. 

Based on these two tests alone it is clear that the Xiphoid BU Blade is not just a cut above the Ultimate Blade, but a legitimately top tier right spin Blade that may even rival the Guilty Blade (especially against same-spin opponents).

Just to make sure we tested Xiphoid against another right-spin Blade option, the Prominence Blade. While the Prominence Blade has struggled in the past, it seems to do marginally better against Xiphoid BU Blade.

What we noticed was that Xiphoid BU Blade would almost immediately remove Prominence Blade’s Armor without fail, making a follow up hit (and subsequent knockout) a lot trickier. In our testing before, oddly enough we found much less of an issue with Prominence Blade using either Savior Blade or Ultimate Blade.

With that said, though, Xiphoid BU Blade still managed to score quite well and considering just how much better it is against other similarly meta options compared to either Savior Blade or Ultimate Blade, there is no doubt it is favoured at this point.

The last point we have to make regarding the Xiphoid BU Blade is its propensity to wear at the sword tip. Even with just essential testing out of the way we noticed that the tip that extends out most was worn in the direction Xiphoid BU Blade spins. This has been an issue with several past Layers in the Xcalibur line as well.

Over time and continued use this blade point will continue to smooth out, very likely to make it less potent. If left without a further, harder plastic revision, the Xiphoid BU Blade may be best bought in multiples, unfortunately.

The Verdict

Xiphoid BU Blade is a top tier attack type BU Blade, but its primary contact point wears down over time.

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Xcalibur DB Core Review

The all-new Xcalibur DB Core features an iconic cross of two swords in the center along with an entirely new gimmick for the DB/BU era: a metal ‘sword’. 

One of the more notable aspects of the Xcalibur DB Core is its impressive weight, coming in at well above 10 grams. This is, in large part, due to the aforementioned gimmick piece that alone weighs 2g.

How Is B-200’s Xcalibur DB Core Different From Others?

Normal Mode & Ichigeki Mode

The Xcalibur line wouldn’t be true to itself if it didn’t have an obvious sword motif, but the Xcalibur DB Core kicks it up a notch by making the sword sheath/unsheath aspect an entire gimmick. 

When a DB/BU Disc has slid far enough out, exactly 2 clicks, the Xcalibur DB Core puts its gimmick on full display going from a regular looking BU Core to having an actual sword unsheath itself and protrude out of the centre of the core.

When sheathed the Xcalibur DB Core is in “normal mode” and when enough clicks have been met and the sword is unsheathed it is called Ichigeki Mode, meaning “one strike/blow” likely referring to the potential power boost of having the blade line up with Xiphoid BU Blade’s primary contact point.

BU Lock

The last difference between the Xcalibur DB Core and most others (other than the red Belial 2 DB Core released with B-197 Divine Belial Nexus Adventure-3) is that it features one half of the new BU Lock system. On the underside of this DB Core are two small stoppers that, when combined with special BU Discs, serve as a mini burst-stopper!

Is the Xcalibur DB Core Good for Right Spin Attack Types?

While is should be apparent that the Xcalibur DB Core is great for the Xiphoid BU Blade, complimenting its primary contact point with some extra weight and making it so there is not another BU Blade vying for Belial 2 or Kerbeus DB/BU Core, is it still usable on other right-spin attack Blades?

We tested Xcalibur DB Core on Ultimate DB Blade to find out:

As it turns out, it is perfectly fine on the Ultimate DB Blade. Previously this was a kind of combo, and Ultimate was a kind of Blade that required a heavy or burst-resistant Core. Xcalibur DB Core fits the bill in weight, matching Perseus DB Core and has decent burst resistance in its final click.

It does become apparent though that the Xcalibur DB Core is really mostly meant to function fully with the Xiphoid BU Blade, though, as multiple times the blade in Ichigeki Mode tended to get stuck by one of Ultimate Blade’s wings. 

Xcalibur DB Core is certainly an option for right-spin Attack types, but considering that at this point Xiphoid seems to stand at the top of them all, there may be little reason to switch its Core onto something else.

Is the Xcalibur DB Core Good for Right Spin Stamina Types?

Knowing that the Xcalibur DB Core will always have a place among Xiphoid-based attack combos, if not Ultimate-based combos too, we decided to see if by some chance the Xcalibur DB Core had some other hidden talents.

In general heavy DB Cores do not always mean better, and what comes down to making a top-tier Stamina or Defense-oriented Core is less often extra grams than it is really great weight distribution and balance. 

Given the entire gimmick of the Xcalibur DB Core focuses on the shifting of weight, it didn’t seem like Stamina usage would be very promising, but nevertheless we gave it a shot against the top-tier Dragon DB Core:

Though not entirely unexpected, despite Xcalibur DB Core’s increased weight over the Dragon BU Core, it lacked a lot of balance comparatively, especially if the sword extends into Ichigeki Mode.

For completeness, and to see where Xcalibur DB Core stands relative to other near-top Cores, we tested it in the same scenario against the Valkyrie and Belial 2 DB Cores.

It should be noted that when Xcalibur met the 2-click condition to extend into Ichigeki Mode that the entire combo began to shake/hop a bit on the stadium, likely due to the shift in weight. In those matches the combo performed noticeably worse.

Because of this innate imbalance along with the fact that other heavyset DB Cores exist (Perseus DB Core, for example), there is little reason to go out of your way to use Xcalibur DB Core in Stamina-oriented combos.

How Burst Resistant is the Xcalibur DB Core?

In the tests we did to determine the burst resistance of Xcalibur DB Core we also tried to determine just how effective the BU Lock is by putting Xanthus on the opposing combo with another BU Lock-equipped Core. The results are certainly surprising:

What this information isn’t fully telling you is that the most clicks lost on the part of Xcalibur DB Core at any one time was 2, meaning just enough to enter Ichigeki Mode, with zero clicks beyond that. 

The last clicks on the Xcalibur DB Core tend to be significantly thicker and most pronounced with the first two being a bit less sturdy to promote the blade release to begin with.

In the case of improved red Belial 2 BU Core and its synergy with the Xanthus BU Disc’s new BU Lock mechanism, the results were very impressive: it never lost more than one full click. Although the test conditions were different, this demonstrates a significant improvement over the Belial 2 DB Core burst resistance testing we did in our Prominence Phoenix review along with several other DB Cores.

In two cases there were “half clicks” where the Disc had moved but not beyond the BU Lock, and in many others it simply didn’t budge at all, hence the incredible lack of clicks experienced despite sometimes taking very meaningful hits from Xiphoid.

From what we can gather here the Xcalibur DB Core is decent for what it is – a heavy gimmick-reliant BU Core essentially made to complement the Xiphoid Blade. We can also see the potential power in BU Locks in action, and what may be to come in future releases.

The Verdict

Xcalibur DB Core is best suited for the Xiphoid BU Blade, where the most can be made out of its extending blade gimmick.

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1 Armor Review

The Xiphoid Xcalibur release has also provided us with a completely new Armor to investigate – the 1 Armor! This armor, much like the last attack-related armor we received (9 Armor), is asymmetrical.

The 1 Armor features pointed ended (playing into the sword design) that has three points of concentrated weight. On the opposite end it features a few cut-in lines and is slightly hollowed on the underside. 

This is likely done to further play into the design of Xiphoid, weight is centralized on the pointed sword end rather than completely even across the entire Armor to focus weight on the primary contact point, in theory.

Does the 1 Armor have good stamina?

While it is clear the 1 Armor works well with the Xiphoid BU Blade, we decided to test it for use on Stamina combos just in case there were surprising results. Our picks were to put it up against the 3 Armor and the 9 Armor. 

The 3 Armor was chosen because it has a highly effective design alongside 2 Armor, and the 9 Armor was chosen because it was designed with a similar premise in mind and actually performs decently well, making it a middle-of-the-pack choice!

We previously tested which Armor has the best stamina in our review of Ultimate Valkyrie, so you can consider the below results in context with what we found in that article. Although, these results were performed with a different set of parts, so results may vary.

Here we saw that the 3 Armor was very much able to outlast the 1 Armor, with the exception of a single match that was really down to the hair. While it may be a bit of an outlier outcome in our opinion, it is technically possible for the 1 Armor to clinch a lucky victory. 

Perhaps this is more a testament to how unpredictable Beyblade Burst matches can be, even with certain outcomes we come to expect!

This set of matches had many less surprises to it, and give credence to the idea that the 1 Armor is quite close to the 9 Armor in more than just asymmetrical attack-mindedness alone. The two were neck and neck with one another, and many draws occurred, matches were really too close to call one way or another so we felt it most logical to call them dead-even.

The Verdict

The 1 Armor is a middling Stamina Armor at best, and is likely best suited for its intended purpose: providing weight to Xiphoid DB Blade’s primary contact point. Because this Armor isn’t necessarily excelling in Stamina combos and there are a slew of other options (2 Armor, 3 Armor, 0 Armor) it makes most sense to leave the 1 Armor to Attack type combos and Xiphoid DB Blade in particular.

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Xanthus Disc Review

Next we have the Xanthus Disc, a low-hanging and moderately heavy BU Disc featuring a plastic covering that encircles the entirety of the inner metal portion of the Disc. It is reminiscent of Xeno Xcalibur’s Magnum Disc.

Unlike other DB Discs, the Xanthus Disc features a unique gimmick that interacts with new BU Cores’ “BU Lock”, catching the protrusions on certain BU Cores with its raised design at either end (such as the red Belial 2 and the Xcalibur DB Cores). 

By snagging itself on these raised points on the underside of certain BU Cores, Xanthus is a bit harder to move and therefore more difficult to burst!

Is the Xanthus Disc Good for Right Spin Attack Types?

The Xanthus Disc is one that hangs quite low compared to any current DB/BU Disc, going further down than even Nexus with the S Gear accessory. Because of this it is ill-advised to use Xanthus Disc with even mint Xtreme Dash Drivers. 

Not all hope is lost though, since it can work decently well with the Quick Dash Driver to give us an idea of how it performs when it isn’t being its own worst enemy. First we did a benchmark test with the Over Disc:

Here results were nearly identical, and while Xanthus BU Disc scraped marginally more towards the end compared to the likes of Giga or Over, it wasn’t the end of the world, it could still help Xiphoid produce the required hits to knock around Vanish Blade.

While Xanthus is decently viable on Quick Dash (where on Xtreme or Jolt it would be riskier), the extra speed may make a difference. Especially as Xiphoid’s sword contact point begins to wear down.

Because scraping is a legitimate fear on shorter drivers we would likely recommend Xanthus be kept off of Xiphoid BU Blade as it performs most optimally on a mint Xtreme Dash Driver rather than Quick Dash. 

Is the Xanthus Disc Good for Stamina Types?

Given the shape and overhang we thought it natural to test out how well Xanthus may do on a setup similar to the ones the Nexus Disc (with the S Gear or D Gear) tend to excel at. It does feature a BU Lock to synergize well with the red Belial 2 BU Core and add some added resistance to the likes of the Mobius Driver.

Before that we double-checked that the overhang would spell certain doom on shorter drivers, like the Bearing Driver:

It certainly does spell certain doom. Xanthus Disc is prone to scraping and scraping early compared to more staple Discs and as a result it should probably be avoided for use on something like the Bearing Driver where it is a net negative.

Here we compared it to Nexus Disc with the D Gear accessory in the same-spin. While this result is certainly telling us that Nexus is still the way to go, compared to Over or Giga Discs the Xanthus Disc makes for a great alternative to Nexus with either Gear in same-spin on the Mobius Driver.

These results were, unfortunately, much the same. While Xanthus BU Disc doesn’t produce terrible Life-After-Death (LAD) on the Mobius Driver, it still wasn’t quite enough to overcome Nexus Disc (D Gear). 

Compared to regular Discs that tend to do even worse, scoring a couple wins here and there is not something to downplay, but it simply won’t be replacing the Nexus Disc at this point.

The Verdict

The Xanthus Disc is a niche Disc that requires tall Drivers to have any chance of working decently well. At best, it serves as a decent alternative to the Nexus Disc on tall high-LAD drivers.

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Sword Dash Driver Review

Featuring a metal flat tip and two metal pieces protruding from each side evoking the hilt of a sword, the Sword Dash Driver is among the weakest links in this release, which is actually saying a lot considering much of this Beyblade is quite strong even just stock.

The Sword Dash Driver has nothing new to it compared to the old Sword Driver other than an increased burst resistance afforded to it by its golden spring. 

For the Sword Dash Driver in particular, this does nothing to combat its innate weaknesses or make it a viable Driver choice for Attack types. It doesn’t have enough speed or stamina to compete with the wide array of alternatives.

The Verdict

In the distant past it may have been a decent alternative to the likes of Jaggy Driver, Assault Driver and perhaps Iron Driver, but in the current day and age, the Sword Dash Driver has no competitive use.

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Should You Buy the B-200 Xiphoid Xcalibur Xanthus Sword’-1?

Xiphoid Xcalibur Xanthus Sword’-1 is a release that attack type enthusiasts are absolutely recommended to purchase because of the sheer power afforded to them by the Xiphoid BU Blade. 

What is probably most important about this release is that many of the parts complement each other well so you don’t have to go scouring the earth for multiple other releases to maximize Xiphoid BU Blade’s potential. 

It works very effectively even with just a simple Driver change. While we certainly do not recommend the use of something like Xtreme Dash on Xanthus BU Disc, Quick Dash makes a great alternative especially on a budget.

For those who seek to maximize every aspect of their combo, they may consider the use of something like the Kerbeus DB Core, or again a mint Xtreme Dash on a different Disc, but much of what is needed is self-contained in this release – even the Power Custom Sword Launcher LR! 

While Xiphoid Xcalibur isn’t perfect out of the box – mostly because of the Xanthus BU Disc and Sword Dash Driver – it has a lot going for it.

Because of how potent Xiphoid BU Blade is against meta picks in both directions it becomes impossible to not recommend, much like Guilty Longinus from later DB. 

If you are looking for a new right-spin attack threat, Xiphoid Xcalibur delivers in spades!

Final Score: 7.5/10

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What Do You Think of B-200 Xiphoid Xcalibur Xanthus Sword’-1? Comment Below!

If you’re thinking of picking up the B-200 Xiphoid Xcalibur Xanthus Sword’-1 or already have, comment below as we’d love to hear about your thoughts and testing experiences with it!