Energy Layer - Luinor L3

[Insert Hasbro Name], known as  in Japan, is a God Energy Layer released as part of the Burst System as well as the God Layer System. It debuted with the release of B-97 Starter Nightmare Longinus Destroy on November 11th, 2017.

Description
Nightmare Longinus is an wide and heavy Energy Layer designed for Left Spin Attack. The Layer features four dragon heads, akin to its predecessor's two, representing the anime's rendition of this Layer's Beast, a dragon; two of which surround the center and two of which follow the perimeter. The snouts of the dragons are molded into the shape of spear heads which are meant to represent this Layer's Japanese namesake, the Roman Soldier Longinus of Christian Mythology who stabbed Christ in the side with a lance during the crucifixion. The primary points of contact are two large wings that protrude from either side of the relatively round perimeter, creating high recoil akin to an elliptical design.

As part of the Switch-Strike/God Layer System, Nightmare Longinus features gimmicks; The dragon heads are made of metal making the Layer one of the heaviest in the game. The second is that the Layer has a built in Disc.

The heavy weight of the metal dragon heads generates high inertia which increases the Layer's Knock-Out and Burst potential, to prevent breaking the opponent's Layer however, contact with the dragon heads is prevented by the wide plastic base. While the left-spin nature of Nightmare Longinus may imply that Burst Attack is only prevalent against other left-spin opponents, this Layer still has strong Burst Attack against right-spin opponents when moderate launched. Against a right-spin Beyblade, the left-spinning nature of Nightmare Longinus means that it and the opponent's Layer will spin together like gears if they are of similar spin speed which heavily reduces recoil and rate of Bursts. However, if Nightmare Longinus is soft launched to give it a slower spin that the opponent, the slower spin speed with create recoil from the opponent's Layer catching into Nightmare Longinus ' wings, which grants this Layer Burst Attack and further improves Knock-Out Attack. Furthermore the opposite spin allows for some degree of Spin Equalization, however not to the degree of Drain Fafnir. The Takara Tomy release of Nightmare Longinus features only two teeth of average length, while this may imply poor Burst resistance, the heavy weight of the Layer compensates for this.

Nightmare Longinus ' second gimmick is the fact that the Layer has a built in Disc comprised of a plastic base and the perimeter dragon heads that moves independently from the rest of the Layer. This combination makes Nightmare Longinus heavier than most Layer and Disc combinations. Because of the built in Disc, Nightmare Longinus is incompatible with Discs as a whole, however the plastic base features notches that allows Disc Frames to be attached. The perimeter dragon heads function as the prongs of normal Discs so they move behind the wings as the combination grows closer to Bursting, creating an effect akin to the Xcalius line of Layers with their stock Discs; the closer to Bursting, the more weight is added to the points of contact creating stronger attacks.

Use in Attack/Spin Equalization Combinations
Nightmare Longinus can be put to use in the Attack/Spin Equalization Combination Nightmare Longinus Bump/Meteor/Star/Vortex Destroy/Hold. The heavy weight of Nightmare Longinus Bump/Meteor/Star/Vortex creates high Burst and Knock-Out potential while Destroy/Hold grants aggressive movement and speed even when moderate launched which further bolsters Burst Attack. The plastic tip of Destroy/Hold prevents high friction from overtaking the Burst mitigating factors and the free spinning dish of Destroy/Hold allows high procession and Life-After-Death which allows for Spin-Equalization and the potential to outspin the opponent if a Burst is not achieved.

Overall
Nightmare Longinus ' heavy weight, Burst potential and Spin-Equalization potential makes it a highly versatile Layer. While the weak teeth can create inconsistent results, practiced launch techniques and part combinations can compensate to create top-tier combinations.

With greater consistency in left-spin attack than Legend Spriggan and the ability to counter Drain Fafnir, Nightmare Longinus has become a must have part for competitive bladers.

Takara Tomy

 * B-97 Nightmare Longinus Destroy