Picking the best Umamusume support cards feels like an overwhelming task, thanks in no small part to just how little information Cygames gives you to work with. With so many cards to choose from and so much detail associated with each, it’s tough to know where to start. We’ve demystified it all for you with our Umamusume support cards tier list, though. Our rankings of the best support cards includes detailed breakdowns of what you want to look for in a support card and what the categorizations mean, along with some tips about when to look beyond tier lists and rarity to make your support deck decisions.
What makes a good support card in Umamusume?
Relevance is the most important factor that decides how useful an Umamusume support card is. If you’re training for power and choose a deck full of guts and speed cards, you won’t get much benefit from them even if they are the best of the best. That might sound obvious, but just remember to check the basic type of your card before finalizing a deck.
You also want to pay attention to the card’s support events. The best ones include events that have a chance of restoring your trainee’s energy or providing them with a bonus attribute boost, which pushes you closer to your training goals without having to spend turns to get there. Sure, the attribute bonuses are comparatively small, but every bit helps. Make sure to check the card’s skills as well. Ideally, you’re looking for skills that suit your Uma’s preferences, such as bonuses on their favored terrain type or a boost that complements their inherent abilities.
Take the difference between Special Week’s SSR card and Super Creek’s Peace of Mind. Special Week’s card has some excellent skills, including one that restores stamina at the mid-way point of a race and one that helps your Uma potentially regain her position after another competitor passes her. However, it also has two skills completely reliant on rainy weather and soft ground. Rain and soft turf aren’t that rare, but they also aren’t as common as your standard firm turf. Peace of Mind buffs performance on firm turf and has other skills that offer more general benefits, like recovering stamina on corners or moving faster when you pass an opponent.
You’ll still have to unlock and spend skill points on them, so don’t forget to do that before a race.
Support effects are less important, though still worth keeping track of. Some cards come with effects that make it easier to raise friendship between your Uma and her supporter, which is always a good thing. These effects improve as you level up your card, so if you’re looking at it and thinking a five percent boost to friendship isn’t much, well, you’re right. It’ll increase as the card’s level does, though.
Are SSR cards worth it in Umamusume?
There’s a lot of chatter among Umamusume players about aiming for SSR cards in general and favorites such as Kitasan Black and Super Creek in particular. It’s true that SSR are generally more useful, with better skills and support effects, though it’s also worth keeping a couple of additional points in mind.
One is that even though Umamusume requires careful planning and strategy, you can win – at least in career mode and non-PvP races – without the best cards. You just need to pick ones that suit your training goals and level them up as much as you can.
The other is that SR cards, if they suit your needs, can be just as good or better than SSR cards, plus you have a higher chance of getting duplicates to increase their effectiveness. Some SSR cards are just too niche to be worth recommending, too.
TL;DR: Don’t get hung up on rarity and the fervor of others, but do experiment with the cards you have.
Umamusume support card tier list
We’ve organized Umamusume’s support cards into four tiers. SS cards are the best, followed by S, then A, and finally B. It’s worth repeating again that a card’s value really depends on the other cards you’re using and the trainee you’re working with, though.
Take one very specialized instance as an example. Daiwa Scarlet is a Mostly Okay trainee, and Special Week’s SSR card isn’t in the top of our tier list. However, the card does have the Gourmand skill, which pairs perfectly with Daiwa Scarlet’s racing style. So treat this as a general guide, but look closely at what your card offers before deciding whether it belongs in a support deck.
Umamusume SS-rank support cards
These are the best of the best, the support cards with the most to offer. We’re deviating slightly from the norm by including Tracen Reception in this category. Its skills are specific, and one relies exclusively on enough other skills activating to work. However, it has some of the best increased energy restoration from events of any card, and that alone makes it a must-use, if you have it.
- Kitasan Black – Fire at My Heels (SSR)
- Tazuna Hayakawa – Tracen Reception (SSR)
- Super Creek – Peace of Mind (SSR)
- Fine Motion – Wave of Gratitude (SSR)
Umamusume S-rank support cards
S-rank cards have a lot to offer, either from skills, events, stats, or a combination of those, though they might have a few more niche traits than our picks for the SS tier. For example, El Condor Pasa would be in the SS tier, were it not for the complete lack of energy events and fairly middling stat bonuses. The card’s skills are excellent, though.
- Zenno Rob Roy – The Perfect Book for You (SSR)
- Special Week – The Setting Sun and Rising Stars (SSR)
- Vodka – Wild Rider (SSR)
- Nishino Flower – Even the Littlest Bud (SSR)
- Oguri Cap – Get Lots of Hugs for Me (SSR)
- Biko Pegasus – Double Carrot Punch! (SSR)
- Sweep Tosho – Lamplit Training of a Witch-to-be (SR)
- Narita Taishin – Poolside High Tides (SR)
- Manhattan Cafe – My Solo Drawn to Raindrop Drums (SR)
- King Halo – First-Rate Plan (SR)
- Silence Suzuka – Beyond This Shining Moment (SSR)
- Eishin Flash – 5:00 a.m., Right on Schedule (SR)
- Marvelous Sunday – A Marvelous Plan (SR)
- Seiun Sky – Foolproof Plan (SSR)
- Twin Turbo – Turbo Booooost! (SSR)
- El Condor Pasa – Champion’s Passion (SSR)
Umamusume A-rank support cards
A-rank support cards are still good, but you’ll have to think more carefully about who they’re for and what other cards will help make up for their weaknesses.
- [Fate’s Forecast] Matikane Fukukitaru (SR)
- Biwa Hayahide – Trial Initiation (SR)
- Nice Nature – It’s Just Water (SR)
- Aoi Kiryuin – Trainer’s Teamwork (SR)
- Yaeno Muteki – Fiery Discipline (SSR)
- Satono Diamond – The Will to Overtake (SSR)
- Matikane Tannhäuser – Just Keep Going (SSR)
- Sakura Bakushin O – Eat Fast! Yum Fast! (SSR)
- Special Week – The Brightest Star in Japan (SSR)
- Haru Urara – Urara’s Day Off (SSR)
- Nishino Flower – Lifting Your Spirits (SR)
- Daitaku Helios – Let’s Get This Party Lit! (SR)
- Mejiro Ryan – On and Off the Court (SR)
- Daiwa Scarlet – Nothing Hard Work Can’t Solve! (SR)
- Agnes Digital – Digital’s Recharge Station (SR)
- Mihono Bourbon – Pal-Assisted Training (SR)
- Hishi Amazon – Reach to the Top! (SR)
- Mayano Top Gun – Cute + Cute = ? (SR)
- Agnes Tachyon – Experimental Studies on Subject A (SR)
- Air Groove – Nothing Escapes the Vize Prez (SR)
- Tokai Teio – Dream Big! (SSR)
- Gold City – Run (My) Way (SSR)
- Yukino Bijin – City Girl 101 (SR)
- Meisho Doto – Fighting for Fortune (SR)
- Grass Wonder – Fairest Fleur (SSR)
- Smart Falcon – My Umadol Way (SSR)
- Ines Fujin – Watch My Star Fly (SSR)
- Mejiro Palmer – Go Ahead and Laugh (SSR)
Umamusume B-rank support cards
B-rank support cards aren’t necessarily bad, but they offer less than their better counterparts. Some have highly specific skills that make them tough to use in most situations. Others lack stats that make them easy to recommend, and a handful have both issues or no events that recover energy.
- Winning Ticket – Dreams Do Come True (SSR)
- Winning Ticket – BNWinner! (SSR)
- Mejiro McQueen – Your Team Ace (SSR)
- Yukino Bijin – Hometown Cheers (SSR)
- Fuji Kiseki – Well, Look Who’s Home (SR)
- Tamamo Cross – Split the Sky, White Lightning (SSR)
- Gold Ship – Breakaway Battleship (SSR)
- Rice Shower – Showered in Joy (SSR)
- Air Shakur – 7 More Centimeters (SSR)
- Ikuno Dictus – Never Skip Warm-Ups (SR)
- Mejiro Dober – Ignore the Stares (SR)
For more help, check out our Umamusume career mode guide with detailed tips for making it to the top.