First Impressions
Mythic Jackal definitely feels like one of the more responsive balls downlane we’ve seen from Motiv.

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Tamer Elbaga (Lefty)
Style: Tweener
RPM: 375 rpm
PAP: 5 & 3/8 up
Average Speed: 18.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: low
Axis rotation: medium/high
Test Equipment: 14 Pounds
Layout: 50x5x45

Bryan Hoffman (Righty)
Style: Stroker
RPM: 280 rpm
PAP: 4 1/2 & 1 1/2 up
Average Speed: 18.5 mph (at release)
Axis tilt: high
Axis rotation: medium
Test Equipment: 15 Pounds
Layout: 50x5x45

“Keep in mind that coverstock accounts for 70% of ball reaction, but the core creates the dynamic shape of the reaction. Your driller will alter the shape to suit your game.”

Pattern
THS: 40ft, 23ml
Sport: TBD

Specs
The Motiv Mythic Jackal uses the Predator V2 core inside the Infusion HV 2:1 Hybrid Reactive coverstock.

15 pound = RG of 2.47, diff of .054, mb of .015
14 pound = RG of 2.51, diff of .049, mb of .014
Coverstock finish: 5000 LSP

Overall
Alright, we get another Jackal ball with the venerable Predator V2 core. No denying what that thing does but mostly its stardom comes from the Jackal Ghost fame. The Mythic Jackal is the first hybrid coverstock technically but I don’t really worry about that. It’s always about where it fits in the bag. Logic will put it in mid defined but let’s see how it goes. First off, it is 5000 LSP but Motiv’s shine is a bit more like lane shine than the glass factory shine Storm does. I figured I would be comfortable with that but surprisingly, it turned out a bit over/under. I will still prefer some surface. What I can say is that I was surprised by the quicker response from the Mythic Jackal. This is a walled house shot and the Mythic seemed to shoot off of the friction pretty hard. I was kind of thinking the core would slow it down a bit and blend it but close to the friction it really went. I had to deal with a few 6 pins along the way. I really needed to get in a bit deeper and bounce to the friction. So you can see a relatively aggressive downlane reaction that’s a bit more hockey stick as opposed to banana. This ball replaces the Jackal Flash in the lineup but comes off a bit stronger while being in the same slot and that’s likely due to some solid in the coverstock. So while it is on the angular side, that comes with its limitations. It responds to the friction outside so you want to move in. But don’t miss in into the wall of oil or you will get a bit of a softer floating hit. It’s not over/under like a mid late type ball with the bigger core but still the cover has those characteristics that you’ll want to wait until there’s a bit of an opening up of the pattern.

Final Thoughts
Arsenal fit is fairly straightforward in the Mid defined. At the end of the day, I think the Mythic Jackal will fill the slot that the Jackal Flash left empty. Mythic is a bit stronger but overall I think serves the same purpose. I will likely come back and try this on both a sport shot as well as with some surface as the impression I got is the big ball responsiveness made me feel like this ball could finally be the OG Trident reincarnation.

2-Handed Style
Here are a few shots 2-handed with the Motiv Mythic Jackal. Obviously my rev dominant style shows off or exacerbates the ball reaction, depending on your perspective. The Mythic Jackal is long and strong for sure. Again, with this style, you can see that I do need to give it room and keep my speed up to avoid that sharp shape cutting in. It certainly has an asymmetric mid defined shape as when it turns over it has a bit of hook set, if not a pretty sharp one. This is probably the sharpest Motiv top line ball I can recall testing. Yes it’s a hybrid but I actually think that Motiv has a little trick up it’s sleeve finding strong response in shiny balls with some solid in the cover. Anyway, this is a pretty straightforward play in the mid defined part of the bag.

A 2-Handed Perspective Perspective
TBD

A Stroker’s Stance
It’s Bryan’s turn to test the Motiv Mythic Jackal. Probably a good idea to check out my initial review to get more details but at a high level the Mythic replaces the Jackal Flash spot in Motiv’s ball guide. This is a shiny asym and expected to fit in the Mid Defined slot. As you expect, the clean cover gets downlane without too much difficulty and as I saw it’s fairly angular. What Bryan saw was a bit of exacerbated over/under as the responsiveness meant too big a move downlane from direct but a little finicky to find not only the right amount of move to the left but also the right amount of head angle to give the ball. This is somewhat of a common challenge for Bryan with these type of balls. It happens where the ball is a little too big from direct since it’s a mid defined ball but it starts to struggle when moving in which is mostly due to the shape of the pattern downlane. The heavy wall means if you get it to the friction early, it jumps but if you stay in the oil it floats. Really the definition of over/under which unfortunately modern house shots seem infamous for creating. I think it will make sense to test this ball on a sport shot where the shape of the pattern is more conducive.

Sport Shot
TBD

Thanks for watching.