Sandbagging

Learn the sandbagging tactic in Mario Kart 7 to get better items by falling back in placement. Understand when and where to use this risky strategy.

Sandbagging is a widely popular tactic in Mario Kart 7 regarding item management. The general idea is to purposely fall back in placement to get better items from the item blocks, and then, with these better items, get back up to a better position than you originally started. Sandbagging is pretty risky if you get an undesirable item, or just fail to catch up; however, it can also yield huge rewards: you can shockdodge (use a Lightning item to avoid another item), take large shortcuts, or hit a large field of opponents.

When to Sandbag

Sandbagging is entirely situational; you should never commit yourself to doing it just because it's a certain course or because of a certain shortcut. If you have this mentality, you can end up sandbagging when you don't need to. However, there are certain courses where you should think about sandbagging as you go along.

Some players prefer to sandbag at the beginning of races to get a large lead in the beginning; a notable example is Wii Maple Treeway, where players may take the shortcut to get a star so they can get up to 1st place relatively easily. Other players prefer to sandbag on the last lap of a race; a good example is N64 Luigi Raceway where players may stop on the second to last set of item blocks to take all the offroad shortcuts ahead.

However, both of these methods only work when there is a large pack of opponents. If the race isn't confined to about a two or three second difference between the front of the pack (which may be 1st, 2nd, or 3rd) and the back of the pack (which may be 6th, 7th, or 8th), then sandbagging won't work. You'll either wait too long trying to get an item block in a suitable position, or you'll get a sub-par item for sandbagging. This is the main "situational" part; some courses are prone to having large packs of opponents, while other courses have more solitary races.

Sandbagging Courses

Here is a chart detailing courses where sandbagging opportunities can be found, where you'd want to sandbag, and how well (and often) sandbagging works on that course (rated F- to S):

• Toad Circuit: 3rd Lap--Before the Tunnel (B+)
• Shy Guy Bazaar: 3rd Lap--Before the Gliding (D)
• Wuhu Loop: 3rd Section--Last Item Blocks (D-)
• Rock Rock Mountain: 3rd Lap--Before the Gliding (A+)
• Piranha Plant Slide: 3rd Lap--Before the Gliding (D-)
• Maka Wuhu: Glitch: 1st Section--First Item Blocks (A-)
• Rosalina's Ice World: 1st Lap--First Item Blocks (C-)
• Rainbow Road: 1st Section--First Item Blocks (B)
• N64 Luigi Raceway: 3rd Lap--2nd to Last Item Blocks (C+)
• Wii Mushroom Gorge: 3rd Lap--Before the Mushrooms (F+)
• N64 Kalimari Desert: 3rd Lap--1st or 2nd Item Blocks (A-)
• GCN Dino Dino Jungle: 1st Lap--1st Item Blocks (B)

Sandbagging Items

The holy grail of sandbagging is the star; it gives invincibility, and allows you to take most shortcuts. With a star, you can usually mow down opponents by the finish line. You can also shockdodge with a star, which makes your sandbagging even better.

The Lucky 7 is probably the next best item as it has a star and all those other items. However, it can take a while to activate your star (unless you spam), and that's what makes this item slightly sub-par to the individual star. There's also the problem that the bomb can go off in crowded areas, which destroys the rest of your items.

Next in line is probably the golden shroom; with this item you can cut through multiple shortcuts and boost past other racers. The only thing you want to be careful of is opponents with triple red shells (or single reds), triple green shells, and various trapping items. Just be wary, and attempt to catch up.

Bullet Bills are practically useless when sandbagging in Mario Kart 7; they don't help you catch up (they're much slower in this game), and they don't always take the best path. Triple Mushrooms are mediocre, given that you have a set amount of boosts. Shocks are situational; if there is a large gliding section at the end, you can knock a lot of opponents off, and catch up relatively easily. Otherwise, shocks really aren't that useful while sandbagging.