Umamusume newcomer Kitasan Black is about to dominate the anime horse girl meta

If you're playing Umamusume: Pretty Derby, you don't want to miss the new Spotlight Scout banner. Today's update marks the release of SSR support card Kitasan Black, widely considered to be one of the most powerful members of the anime horse girl gacha game's roster. Not only that, but she's accompanied by a selection of very strong SR cards, meaning that you could potentially round out a long-lasting support deck from this one banner alone. The horse girl meta is about to change forever, so don't fall foul of a late start.

While training your favorite horse girls is the name of the game, reaching the top of our Umamusume tier list only happens with good friends at your back, making support cards the most important part of any build. We've already got some big names at launch, such as the mighty Super Creek and Fine Motion, but you may have heard rumors of the incoming Kitasan Black from Japanese Umamusume: Pretty Derby players. Now, she's finally arrived, and there are lots of reasons to go for her even if you don't happen to land the big prize.

Umamusume has found itself a surprisingly large audience, and even I've been drawn in by the allure of one of the best gacha games this year. It can be difficult to know who is good when you're just starting out, but fortunately we have the benefit of four years of knowledge from Japanese-version players. The banner featuring Kitasan Black is widely regarded as one of the most valuable seen in the early years of Umamusume, offering a veritable bounty of strong supports.

Kitasan Black herself is what you'll want most. She's a powerful SSR speed support, with a selection of universally good skills and several mood-boosting events. Her ultimate potency, however, comes if you're able to earn limit breaks. Manage to get multiple copies to uncap her three times, and the frequency she'll appear as a speed training companion specifically dramatically increases. This makes her a best-in-slot pick for pretty much any horse girl on any build, as she'll flood you with constant, always-needed rainbow speed boosts.

Beyond that, however, the banner featuring Kitasan Black also includes a fantastic list of SR support cards, and you'll likely draw multiple copies to uncap many of them several times, enough to build an entire deck that you can use for the foreseeable future. Among the highlights are Sweep Tosho, Eishin Flash, Narita Taishi, Daiwa Scarlet, Marvelous Sunday, Matikanefukukitaru, Mayano Top Gun, and Manhattan Cafe. Level them up, and they can outperform even some of the SSR options.

To guarantee that you'll get Kitasan Black, you'd need to pull 200 times on the banner (that's a total of 30,000 Carats); on top of that, you're hoping to get at least three copies for the limit break. If you've not started playing yet or haven't earned much, you might even consider restarting your account to try and get lucky on her banner. However, the impressive roster means that the banner is well worth trying regardless of how many times you can use it.

If luck isn't on your side, don't worry too much. You'll likely be able to borrow Kitasan Black from other players, although it will lock up your one rental slot to do so. There will also be reruns and other ways to get your hands on her in the future, although later banners are likely to offer a slightly less-stacked lineup due to the increased pool of cards. More than that, remember that the game's about having fun, so embrace the spirit of Haru Urara and try to enjoy the spirit of competition even when you don't win.

The Kitasan Black support card Spotlight Scout is available from Wednesday July 16 at 3pm PT / 6pm ET / 11pm BST (Thursday July 17, midnight CEST) until Friday August 1 at 3pm PT / 6pm ET / 11pm BST (Saturday August 2, midnight CEST). Be sure to check in on the latest Umamusume codes in case Cygames rolls out any additional freebies.

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