Discover the Vanish Blade mold variation that will give you an edge in battle at Beyblade Burst tournaments

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While testing the red Vanish Blade for the B-196 Random Booster Vol. 27 review, we discovered a surprising mold variation in a specific subset of Vanish Blades. This difference produced an observable change in performance, giving it a slight edge in most battles on average.

Given this and the prevalence of the Vanish Blade in stamina combinations within the Beyblade Burst metagame, a mold variation such as this one has the potential to be among the factors that determine winners and losers at high levels of play.

Up until now, this mold variation has gone more or less completely unaddressed, at least in the western Beyblade scene.

In this article, you can expect to learn about:

1. What a “mold variation” is in Beyblade
2. What makes some Vanish Blades different
3. Which Vanish Blade mold is best

In order to come to these conclusions, we purchased and tested a wider range of Vanish Blades so that we could come closer to accurately quantifying the performance differences between them.

Additional Notes:

• All tests conducted in the Burst BeyStadium Standard Type.
• This article was written in collaboration with WBO user Dan. Thank you, Dan. Intro, editing, photos, and formatting by Blader Kei. Testing by 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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What does a “mold variation” mean in Beyblade? 

While a common understanding in the Beyblade community, something rarely talked about here on BeyBase is the term “mold variation”.

When we say Vanish Blade has a “mold variation”, we are actually referring to the specific group-code found on the underside of every Vanish Blade. If you have one on hand, you’ll notice a code ranging from A1 to A4 on the underside of the center dragon head.

In the early generations, mold variations tended to be distinct, as the manufacturing process for Plastic and HMS Beyblades did not use the same technology as was used today. In the current age, these processes are slightly more refined. 

With that said, no process is infallible, and quirks like HMS’ Random Booster 2 heavier-than-normal Customize Weight Disk are analogous to present day painted disks providing a tighter fit on certain layers, or in some cases outright weighing more or less than average. 

In the modern era we tend to look out for differences between releases, normally we are looking for differences in composition rather than molding. Think of things like B-00 Shadow Amaterios’ Xtreme Dash Driver and B-173 Random Booster 22 Super Satan’s Xtreme Dash.

These are technically the same part, with the same mold used to form the Driver, yet the texture and composition of the rubber varies greatly. Some would say they feel like completely different parts to use – a matter for another time.

Mold variation is a step above easily observed compositional changes to the same design, it is actually referring to a completely different mold used in the manufacturing process. So, while a part may look the same, the specific mold model used when being created can sometimes impact the way it can work! These models all have their own group-code.

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Analyzing the Vanish Blade

What makes Vanish Blades different?

The A4 Vanish Blades, regardless of version, tend to have an observable and positive change in balance at low RPM compared to other molds. Essentially, they tend to precess a touch less and bit later on than non-A4 molds.

In terms of their physical makeup, we identified the following potential contributors:

Mold Group Codes

The marking at the bottom of the Vanish Blade tells us something that is immutable about that particular Blade.

These mold group-codes seem to be a lot less innocent than previously thought. As it turns out, the A4 mold seems to perform consistently better than A1 or A2 variations in certain matchups, with A3 technically being a bit up in the air at this point.

Total Weight & Weight Distribution Differences

The weights of the blades do not seem to deviate much based on molding, with the red Vanish Blades from Random Booster Vol. 27 still tending to be lighter by a gram.

It is possible the key difference is the distribution of weight in a given mold, and A4 may simply be the best-balanced.

Here are the weights of the ones we tested, from heaviest to lightest:

Blade	Mold Group Code	Colour	Weight
Vanish	A1	Blue	12.84g
Vanish	A4	Blue	12.80g
Vanish	A1	Blue	12.60g
Vanish	A4	Red	11.73g
Vanish	A4	Red	11.72g
Vanish	A2	Red	11.69g

Material Differences (Rubber Softness)

Another noticeable difference is that the A4 Blue Vanish Blades do tend to feel softer than their A1 or A2 counterparts, being nearly comparable to the B-196 Random Booster Vol. 27 red Vanish Blade which is known for its increased softness. The A4 Red Vanish Blades do not seem to be significantly softer than the A2 Red Vanish Blade.

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Testing the Vanish Blade

Testing Method

“Mirror” Matches

To illustrate how the different Vanish Blades can perform, we are using an opposite spin “mirror” matchup to highlight that not all the molds were made equal. Opposite spin matches are generally all about driver wear, Blade matchup, and height.

On the exact same setups it is generally agreed that the Vanish Blade and the Dynamite/Devil Blade (with F Gear) are neck and neck with each other. Both have a good shot of winning, and if they’re both using the same parts, it really may come down to part wear or a bit of luck.

With that as our premise, our results (with parts swapped at halfway points) led to an interesting conclusion.

Defining “Victory”

Before we get into the tests themselves, it must be mentioned that Individual judging can have a huge impact on what is considered a draw or victory. 

In general we accept victory to mean a Beyblade has continued to spin longer than the opponent, no matter how minute, but it is up to the judge’s discretion at the end of the day. 

If a Beyblade could be argued to have won, as in it could be seen as a very, very small victory instead of a clear draw or definitive win/lose, we included those potential results in brackets when listing the win percentage for each matchup. 

This is what you can consider to be a ceiling/floor for each. Not every judge will rule one way or the other, but it actually provides a more complete picture for each mold and their potential.

Testing Versus the Devil Blade

Testing Summary – Vanish Blade Ranking

The following is a summary and overall ranking of the various copies of the Vanish Blade that were tested against the Devil Blade. The full test results can be found below.

Blade	Mold Group Code	Colour	Win Percentage
Vanish	A4	Blue	100% (75% Floor)
Second Vanish	A4	Red	67% (71% Ceiling)
First Vanish	A4	Red	67% (60% Floor)
First Vanish	A1	Blue	50% (67% Ceiling)
Vanish	A2	Blue	50% (25% Floor)
Second Vanish	A1	Blue	0% (17% Ceiling)

The difference between the other molds and the A4s are like night and day.

While the A4 marking doesn’t automatically make it unbeatable in an opposite-spin scenario, all of a sudden Vanish Blade is much more consistent and capable of pulling off decisive victories in a matchup that should technically be as close as it can get in the DB series.

If the other molds can go even with some consistency, A4 molds take it up a notch by being victorious with some consistency. Unlike the other molds, A4s tested here did not go negative at all against Devil (F Gear).

It isn’t impossible for the A4 Vanish Blade mold to lose in the opposite-spin pseudo-mirror match tested here, but in general they all tend to hover around a 70% win percentage. Compared to every other mold tested, this result blows them out of the water. 

It cannot be ignored that there is some kind of innate difference between molds of the Vanish Blade that make it slightly more likely to win instead of draw or lose. 

All that said, this is a single matchup where the mold variation seriously comes into play. The A4 Vanish Blade mold does not make it so every opposite spin matchup is winnable, though. 

A1 Vanish Blade Full Test Results

A2 Vanish Blade Full Test Results

With these as benchmarks you can see that A1 and A2 Vanish Blade molds can generally go even, but depending on the judge, things can go in favour of one Blade over the other and it may not be Vanish-sided.

A4 Vanish Blade Full Test Results

Testing Versus the Prominence Blade

For example against the Prominence Blade there appears to be little difference among A4 and other options:

In this instance the difference between an A2 and A4 was not noticeable at all.

As first discussed in our review of Prominence Phoenix, the Prominence Blade typically has the edge against the Vanish Blade. In these tests, the result was the same; Prominence is simply far too dominant to allow minute differences to shine, and in fact the A2 testing had an additional draw to its name despite both molds getting the same number of wins.

In this matchup it seems to be that whether you use A4 or not, Vanish Blade will rarely ever come out on top.

Vanish vs. Vanish: how does A4 do?

Matchup spread and the viability of combos means more than just opposite spin matchups, though. A lot has to be accounted for here in particular, and even the smallest of differences in either skill or Beyblade composition can mean defeat. 

Because of this, we wanted to figure out if A4 Vanish Blade also had a noticeably easier time with its non-A4 counterparts directly. 

First starting out with Bearing, but then turning to Revolve as a more steady Driver example that may leave less up to chance. 

For these sets of tests, two players were used, parts were completely switched half-way, and for the sake of accounting for individual skill, combos were swapped too.

As one can tell, the A4 Vanish Blade mold seems to have varying degrees of success when all things are equal among each combo. The sample size is small, but each set seems to consistently point towards the A4 molds having a slight edge over at least A1 and A2.

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Verdict: The A4 Vanish Blade is generally better than A1 and A2

While the A4 superiority certainly isn’t set in stone, it is a phenomenon we noticed through testing and stumbled upon mostly by accident when testing the red Vanish Blade from B-194 Random Booster Vol. 27.

If you’re a competitively minded blader you should definitely be checking the undersides of your Vanish Blades to determine which mold you have, and attempting similar testing to the ones above. 

Having a mold of Vanish Blade other than A4 isn’t the end of the world, as one of our A1s did actually hold up at times, but in general if you’d like a more consistent shot at victory, it makes most sense to secure an A4 Vanish Blade. 

It seems to be noticeably more stable in opposite spin matchups and even in the head-to-heads. 

If you have a set of different Vanish Blade molds, including the A4, it is highly recommended you consider testing it out for yourself, and perhaps posting the in the appropriate Vanish Blade testing thread on the WBO.