Casey 1988
Shun the frumious Bandersnatch!
That was my general take. The old mold Beast was right out there on the edge of how fast a disc I could actually throw, and it had a good fade/glide combination. It seemed to be a disc that a wide variety of players found a use for. Because it covered such a variety of skill levels, what worked best as a replacement varied.
Orcs faded earlier and harder on me, and since it was already questionable for me to be throwing a disc that fast I got the added bonus of some speed stability thrown in there. It was a disc I just could not throw. Starfires fell into the same range for me, just a bit too fast/overstable for me to work with. The Starfire L was a lot closer to the old mold Beast for my skill level. For players with more power, the SL flipped too easily and the added stability of the Starfire made it a better option. Some must have liked Orcs as well, although I don't know why. :|
So I think our experience with the old mold Beast line up, we just were at different ends of the "variety of skill levels" that could throw the disc. Where you moved on to Wraiths and Destroyers, I eventually just went back to throwing Valks.
Valkyrie was my fastest speed driver until 2014 when I got as well as discovered the Destroyers in Champion. I was always wishing a combo of the Orc top and wing shape would come about, Destroyer is just that. I never fully liked those discs Orc, Beast, or Wraith, settling for keeping the Valkyrie as my fastest disc for a long time. I know the Destroyer in lighter weight like my 167 gram Champion one is at my limit for no wind days. The heavier 170 gram is too much for me but is used in high wind situations.