Attack Ring - Cross Griffon

Attack Ring - Cross Griffon is a Attack Ring released as part of the Spin Gear System. It debuted with the release of Griffolyon on July 2001.

Description
The Attack Ring of Griffolyon, Cross Griffon, takes the form of four sets of griffon heads and wings, and is somewhat thick compared to other commonly used Attack Rings.

While it was long overlooked, largely due to the ban on competitive use of Hidden Spirit Parts, recent testing has shown it to have Smash Attack to be on par with that of the famed Triple Wing (Trygle), and the legalisation of the Hidden Spirit Attack Rings for competitive play has resulted in Cross Griffon finally seeing tournament usage.

The main contact points, the four wing tips, are sharp and well spaced, producing an incredible amount of Smash Attack in right spin. The shape of these contact points helps focus the pressure from their attacks, dealing more damage to the opponent, and the overall size of the Attack Ring means it has excellent attack range. Lastly, while it lacks the slopes that a number of Smash Attack ARs are able to use to destabilise opponents and score outspins, it compensates for this with some of the most effective stopping power of any Attack Ring; Cross Griffon is able to deliver powerful hits that interrupt the rotation of opposing Beyblades, severely reducing their stamina, if not bringing them to a halt entirely.

While Cross Griffon has slightly more Recoil than Triple Wing, this is naturally controlled by most standard Smash Attack setups; Wide Defense alone is enough to control Recoil on rubber tipped bases, including the extremely fast, extremely light Grip Base, and either Wide Defense and an MG Core, or a Heavy Metal Core and 10 Wide are enough to negate any Recoil on SG Metal Flat 2.

A further advantage Cross Griffon has over Triple Wing is its thickness. Along with the greater availability and lower price of Griffolyon compared to Trygle, the thickness of Cross Griffon means that despite the incredibly forceful impacts it produces, it is very unlikely to break, even on extremely fast bases such as Grip Base, making it a more economical choice. That said, the sharp wing tips can cause damage to Stadium walls and more fragile opponents, and this may counteract savings from the lower price.

While the additional Recoil should be accounted for, Cross Griffon may be used in any standard Smash Attack customization with outstanding results.

Use in Smash Attack Customization
Arguably the best use of Cross Griffon's properties is:

This combination is designed to capitalize on Cross Griffon’s most notable advantages. Wide Defense bolsters the already excellent stopping power of Cross Griffon, the externalised weight distribution making its movement and hits harder to interrupt, and also increasing speed and Survival. A Magnecore is used to reduce the Recoil to a point of irrelevancy, while having a small enough impact on Stamina to allow the combination to effectively outspin a wide range of opponents, even without its signature stamina-destroying ability.
 * AR: Cross Griffon
 * WD: Wide Defense
 * SG: Neo Right SG (Magnecore)
 * BB: SG Metal Flat Base (Gaia Dragoon V)

As always, SG Metal Flat Base provides excellent speed and power for knock-outs, but its solid survival ability is what really makes this customisation so deadly. Cross Griffon’s powerful Smash Attack produces excellent stopping power; even if it fails to knock the opponent out of the stadium, the extremely heavy hits it delivers often disrupt opponents’ spin, heavily reducing their survival ability, sometimes even stopping them outright. The Survival ability of SG Metal Flat Base capitalises on this, resulting in a combination that can defeat an opponent through both knock out and outspin.

A Heavy Metal Core may be used for extra controllability, but due to the negative impact it has on Survival ability, it is generally a better idea to practice launching until you can control the combination.

Mold Difference
Hasbro versions of this AR have attachment points for the figurine located on the top of the AR rather than the base. These only add Recoil, especially against taller opponents, and as such a Takara Cross Griffon is greatly preferred.

Takara Tomy

 * A-128 - Bakutenryu Etanzel Dragon (Red)
 * Griffolyon - Black Ver. (Takara)

Hasbro

 * Griffolyon 2 (Hasbro) (Dark Purple, Hasbro Mold)