You just started Uma Musume Pretty Derby. Maybe you’re coming from the anime, or maybe you finally succumbed to the fan art on your feed. Either way, you’re staring at a gift box containing a trainee scout ticket uma musume provides to new players, and you have no idea who to pick. It’s paralyzing. Honestly, the fear of "bricking" an account by choosing the wrong 3-star girl is real. You don't want to waste a high-value selector on someone you'll pull randomly next week.
Stop. Breathe.
The trainee ticket isn't a trap, but it is a test of patience. Most veterans will tell you to hold onto that thing like it’s a bar of gold. Why? Because the gacha is cruel. If you use your ticket to grab Silence Suzuka today, I guarantee you’ll pull her on a random daily single tomorrow. That’s just how the universe works in Cygames titles.
What is the Trainee Scout Ticket Anyway?
Basically, the trainee scout ticket uma musume offers is a "Select-a-Character" voucher. Unlike the rainbows that fall from the sky during gacha pulls, this one lets you bypass the RNG. You get to look at a list of 3-star Horse Girls and just… take one. No gambles. No salt.
It usually covers the "launch" roster or the early-game 3-star units. If you’re looking for the absolute newest, meta-breaking girl who was released ten minutes ago, she probably isn’t on here. The ticket is a legacy tool. It’s designed to help you round out your roster so you can actually compete in the various distance tracks like Short, Mile, Medium, and Long.
Most people get it after completing the "Start Dash" missions. It’s a reward for proving you actually know how to tap the screen and train a girl to the finish line without her failing every single training session.
The Biggest Mistake New Trainers Make
The biggest blunder? Using it immediately.
I know, you want your favorite. You want Gold Ship (though she's low rarity and easy to get anyway) or Oguri Cap right now. But the smart play is to do your initial free pulls first. Use every bit of currency you get from the early-game milestones. Pull on the banners you like. Only once the dust settles and you realize you have a massive hole in your roster—like, say, you have zero "Dirt" track specialists—should you reach for that trainee scout ticket uma musume gave you.
Think of it as a gap-filler.
If you pull three different Long-distance specialists but you can't win a Mile race to save your life, you use the ticket to grab someone like Vodka (if you didn't get her) or a 3-star Mile powerhouse. It’s about balance.
Who are the Heavy Hitters?
If we're talking pure utility, Oguri Cap is basically the goddess of this ticket.
Why? Because she can run on almost anything. Grass? Yes. Dirt? Yes. She’s one of the few girls who can handle Dirt tracks effectively in the early game. If you don't have a Dirt runner, your team is going to get slaughtered in specific Arena matchups. Oguri is the "Old Reliable" of Uma Musume. Her unique skill is also relatively easy to trigger, making her great for beginners who haven't mastered the art of building perfect support decks yet.
Then there's Maruzensky.
She’s a Mile specialist with a "Runner" (Escape) style. In the early meta, and even in many later scenarios, Escape is just easier to manage. You get out in front, you stay in front, and you pray nobody catches up. Maruzensky is fast. She’s flashy. She’s also a "Parent" unit that people love to use for inheritance because her skills are so transferable.
The Case for Waifu Over Meta
Let's be real for a second. This is a character-driven game. If you are playing this purely for the spreadsheet numbers, you might burn out in a month. If there is a specific girl—let’s say Rice Shower—who you absolutely adore because her story made you cry, then just use the trainee scout ticket uma musume on her.
Is Rice Shower notoriously difficult to train for a beginner? Yes. Will her Long-distance requirements make you want to throw your phone against a wall? Probably. But you’ll be more motivated to learn the game’s complex mechanics if you’re training a character you actually like. Just know that choosing a "difficult" girl means you'll have to put in twice the work on your Support Cards.
Managing Your Support Deck (The Real Power)
Here is a truth that hurts: A 3-star girl from a trainee ticket is only as good as the Support Cards you give her.
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You could have the best unit in the game, but if your Support Deck is a mess of mismatched types, she’s going to finish 15th. When you pick your character from the ticket, look at her "Growth Rates." Some girls get a 20% bonus to Speed training, others to Stamina. You want to pick a girl that matches the high-level Support Cards you’ve already pulled.
If you happened to pull a top-tier SSR Kitasan Black (Speed) or Super Creek (Stamina), you want a girl who can capitalize on those. Synergy is everything. The trainee scout ticket uma musume provides is just one piece of a much larger puzzle involving inheritance, factors, and RNG.
Why Dirt Runners are a Tier Above
I mentioned this briefly, but it deserves its own section. Most of the girls in this game are Grass runners. That's the standard. However, the game requires you to field a team for the "Team Stadium." This mode has a Dirt track.
If you don't have a Dirt specialist, you have to force a Grass girl to run on Dirt. She will get a massive penalty to her stats. She will lose.
Agnes Digital or Oguri Cap are often the targets for these tickets because they save you from that headache. Having a "natural" Dirt runner is a massive quality-of-life upgrade. It lets you farm winning rewards much earlier than players who ignored the Dirt niche.
Understanding the "Start Dash" Context
Cygames is actually pretty generous with these. Sometimes they refresh these tickets during anniversaries. But the one you get at the start? That's your foundation.
You’ll notice the roster is limited. You won't see the "Alt" versions of characters (like the Wedding Dress or Summer versions) on the basic trainee ticket. You’re getting the "Base" version. Don't go looking for specialized seasonal units; they aren't there. This ticket is about the fundamentals.
The "Safe" Choices
If you want to play it safe and never regret your choice, here is a quick breakdown of the reliable picks:
- Oguri Cap: The Dirt/Grass hybrid queen. Best value.
- Maruzensky: The Mile/Short Escape goddess.
- Mejiro McQueen: A staple for Long-distance races. Her inheritance is legendary.
- Symboli Rudolf: The "President." Her unique skill is one of the best "Inherited" skills in the entire game because it triggers so reliably for other characters.
Honestly, Symboli Rudolf is a "pro" pick. Even if you don't use her as your main runner every day, her DNA (her "Factors") will be used to breed almost every other champion you ever create. She is the literal foundation of many winning builds.
Strategy: The "Wait and See" Approach
The most disciplined way to use your trainee scout ticket uma musume gift is to wait until you have at least 10-15 other 3-star units.
I know, that sounds like forever. But by then, you will know exactly who you are missing. You’ll look at your roster and say, "I have plenty of Leaders and Betweeners, but I have no one who can win an Escape race in the Medium distance." That's when you open the ticket. You aren't guessing anymore. You’re solving a problem.
Actionable Next Steps for Trainers
So, you have the ticket. Here is what you do:
- Complete your initial 10-pulls. Use all the free gems the game throws at you in the first hour.
- Check your Dirt roster. If you didn't pull a 3-star Dirt runner, Oguri Cap just became your #1 priority for that ticket.
- Look at your Support Cards. If you have amazing Stamina cards, look for a Long-distance girl like Mejiro McQueen or Rice Shower.
- Don't ignore inheritance. Think about whose "Unique" skill you want to pass down to future generations. Symboli Rudolf and Maruzensky are the gold standard here.
- Just play the game. If you’re truly torn, just leave the ticket in your inventory. It doesn't expire. It’s okay to sit on it for a month while you learn how the racing mechanics actually work.
The trainee scout ticket uma musume isn't about getting the "strongest" unit. There is no single "best" because the game changes based on the track and the distance. It’s about getting the right unit for your specific collection. Go with your heart if you have a favorite, but if you want to win, look at the Dirt tracks and the inheritance potential.
Everything else is just noise. Luck will eventually give you most of the roster, but this ticket gives you control. Use it wisely.