Salamander S4 12 Operate

Crimson Lotus Blaze

Heat Crash

Enigmatic Whip

Ancient Shatter

Tachyon Boost

**Salamander S4 12 Operate**, known as **Hell Salamander 12 Operate** (ヘルサラマンダー・トウェルブ・オペレート, *Heru Saramandā Touerubu Operēto*) in Japan, is a Balance Type Beyblade released as part of the Burst System as well as the Cho-Z Layer System. It was released as a Booster in Japan on May 26th, 2018 for 993円.

## Energy Layer - Salamander S4

*Main article: Energy Layer - Salamander S4*

**Salamander S4** is a Balance Type Energy Layer with ten blades. The top of the Layer features a dragon's head meant to be representing the anime's rendition of this Layer's Beast, a dragon, and the Layer's Japanese namesake; the mythical Salamander which feeds on and lives in fire. As part of the Maxy Layer System, **Hell Salamander** features metal in its design; in this case, five of the ten blades are lined with metal. The inclusion of metal makes **Hell Salamander** heavier than most SwitchStrike/God Layers.

**Salamander S4** also features gimmicks; the Layer is Left-Spin and the blades can move to create two modes, "Defense Mode" and "Attack Mode".

In Defense Mode, the metal and plastic blades are kept apart to create ten blades which reduces the gap in between the blades and creates a rounder, lower recoil design, akin to Wyvern. This, combined with the Left-Spin nature of **Salamander S4**, reduces recoil against Right-Spin opponents due to the Layers acting akin to gears which heavily reduces the rate of Bursts. Furthermore, the clockwise direction of the blades also reduce recoil, even against other Left-Spin opponents.

In Attack Mode, the metal and plastic blades become consolidated into five blades which increases the gap in between the blades and creates an aggressive, recoil heavy design against other Left-Spin opponents. However, due to **Salamander S4**'s Left-Spin nature, recoil potential is significantly reduced against Right-Spin opponents.

Finally, the placement of the metal grants higher inertia that increases both KO and Burst Attack in Attack Mode, increases the Layer's Burst resistance in both modes as the high inertia resists teeth skipping, a property that heavily compensates for the medium length teeth of the Takara Tomy release and increases Stamina in both modes, giving **Hell Salamander** equal or greater Stamina than Crash Ragnaruk.

Like many other Cho-Z Layers, **Hell Salamander** is unbalanced, though not to the same degree as others, which increases Burst risk and drains Stamina. However, these issues can be solved with the use of a Level Chip that fits underneath the Layer.

## Forge Disc - 12

*Main article: Forge Disc - 12*

**12**, like other even numbered Core Discs, is symmetrical and elliptical in shape in order to facilitate a Frame. Each side features three protrusions with the center protrusion in each set featuring molding in the shape of a "12" and four holes in the center, akin to 6. While the aggressive design of the Disc may imply high Burst potential from Disc-to-Layer contact, due to the fact that most Burst Performance Tips are of the same height, such contact is rare. Furthermore, **12**'s design is so aggressive that there have been numerous cases of the Disc severely damaging Layers that collide with it. Finally, **12** is the lightest Disc at the time of writing, lighter than even Armed which severely hinders Attack, Defense and Stamina potential. While the light weight would create high Burst resistance, the heavy weight of the SwitchStrike/God Layer System and the Cho-Z Layer System makes the use of lightweight Discs for Burst resistance obsolete.

## Performance Tip - Operate

*Main article: Performance Tip - Operate*

**Operate** features an adjustable wide ball tip with two settings, Defense and Attack, which are switched by sliding the bottom portion of the tip, akin to a mix of the M145 Spin Track of Metal Fight Beyblade and Massive.

The Defense Setting has the ball tip center with the rest of the Beyblade, meant to create a steady spin in the center of the stadium. In theory, the wide ball tip would increase a Beyblade's Defense by having greater surface area and friction, however in practice, **Operate**'s Defense Setting lags behind Defense and even Massive in almost every aspect. On prior ball Performance Tips such as Defense, tabs surrounded the ball to act as brakes by striking against the stadium floor at the cost of Stamina. Due to the lack of tabs, the Defense Setting's KO resistance lags behind Massive which also had poor KO resistance. This issue is exacerbated by the surface area of the the Defense Setting as it will create a semi-aggressive movement pattern early in battle, bringing a Beyblade closer to the Tornado Ridge. Due to the aforementioned poor KO resistance, this will make a Beyblade using **Operate**'s Defense Setting highly susceptible to KOs.

The Attack Setting has the ball tip off-center with the rest of the Beyblade, meant to create erratic and aggressive movements and even make the Beyblade hop, akin to Quake. The hopping gimmick is meant to create Layer to Disc contact and Burst the opponent, but while the effect is more prominent than in Quake, it is still inconsistent. Furthermore, the offset tip means that **Operate**'s Attack Setting is incapable of maintaining a Banking Pattern and will instead move near the Tornado Ridge or stay in the center with very poor Stamina.

## Trivia

* Salamander's Japanese name, Hell Salamander, is derived from the word "hell", a place or state of torment and punishment in an afterlife, and the mythical interpretation of the salamander, as a typical salamander silhouette, with a lizard-like form, but is usually ascribed an affinity with fire, which is represented by Hell Salamander's magenta covered flames running from the head down through the tail and the flaming wings.
	+ Its English name, Heat Salamander, further nods to its fire element typing.
* Despite being based off of its namesake, Hell Salamander's avatar seems to have more draconic features.
* In the *Turbo* anime, Salamander has a blue Level Chip.
* In the anime, Suoh created Salamander using a family heirloom called the Dragon's Fang.
* Did you know that Hell Salamander has a spring?