You remember how it used to be. For the longest time in the Uma Musume: Pretty Derby meta, Guts (根性) was the "meme stat." It was that annoying number that took up space on your training screen while you desperately pumped Speed and Stamina to survive the long haul at Tenno Sho Spring. If you capped your Guts at 400, nobody cared. You'd still win. But then Cygames decided to flip the table.
The Uma Musume Guts rework fundamentally changed how we build girls for Champions Meeting and League of Heroes. It wasn't just a tiny nudge to the numbers. They added entirely new mechanics—specifically the Guts Dash and the Final Spurt bonus—that turned a "dump stat" into the literal difference between a podium finish and rotting in the back of the pack.
Honestly, it’s a lot to wrap your head around if you’re just coming back to the game or trying to optimize your Grand Masters or Project L'Arc runs. The math is dense. But the vibe is simple: if you ignore Guts now, you lose.
The Death of the "Speed is Everything" Mono-Meta
Back in the early days, Speed was king because it dictated your top velocity. It still does, obviously. But the problem was that once everyone figured out how to hit 1200 (and later 1500+) Speed, every race became a coin flip of who propped their skills at the right time. There was no "push."
That’s where the rework stepped in. Cygames introduced Guts Dash (Positioning Fight).
When your Uma Musume is running side-by-side with a rival in the early to mid-game, they now engage in a "battle." This isn't just flavor text. The game checks your Guts stat against the opponent’s. If yours is higher, your girl consumes less stamina while maintaining a better position. It’s like a psychological war on the track. If you’ve ever wondered why your Gold Ship is getting bullied into 8th place and stays there, check her Guts. She's likely being out-muscled by a high-Guts rival who’s literally shoving her out of the way without breaking a sweat.
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The Final Spurt: Where the Math Gets Scary
The biggest impact of the Uma Musume Guts rework is felt in the final 200 meters. This is where "Guts Correction" kicks in.
Basically, your top speed during the final spurt is no longer just a function of your Speed stat. It now gets a scaling bonus based on how much Guts you have. Think of it as a secondary Speed cap. If you have 1500 Speed but only 400 Guts, your "actual" top speed is lower than a girl with 1300 Speed and 1200 Guts in those closing moments.
It’s brutal.
There's also the Lustre/Spurt Pressure mechanic. When you are sprinting for the finish, high Guts reduces the "slow down" penalty that happens when you're being pressured by other runners. It keeps your stride long. It keeps your speed consistent.
- 1200+ Guts: You become a monster in the final straight.
- 600 Guts: You’re basically standing still compared to the whales.
- Why it matters for Miles: In shorter races, Stamina isn't as scarce, so people pour those extra points into Guts to create a "bullet train" effect.
A Quick Reality Check on Stamina Consumption
Wait. Don't just go and ignore Stamina.
The rework made Guts better, but it also made it "hungrier." High Guts training often goes hand-in-hand with high power, but remember that the Final Spurt bonus consumes stamina. If you build a 1200 Guts runner but forget to give her enough blue recovery skills or base Stamina, she’ll trigger that massive speed boost, run out of gas 50 meters before the line, and do the "tired sway" walk of shame. It’s a balancing act. You’ve gotta be careful.
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How the Training Meta Shifted
Before the rework, Guts training cards were almost fodder. You’d maybe use a Kitasan Black (Speed) and some Intelligence cards and call it a day. Now? Cards like SSR Ikuno Dictus or SSR Rice Shower (the Guts version) became staples in specific builds.
In the current meta, especially in scenarios like Project L'Arc, the goal is often to hit what we call the "Thresholds."
For most competitive Miles or Medium distance builds, you're looking for a minimum of 800-1000 Guts. For "Short" distance (Sprint) races, people are unironically hitting 1300+ Guts because they don't need to waste points on Stamina. It has turned the Sprint meta into a pure Guts-Speed brawl. It’s chaotic and I love it.
The "Must-Have" Skills After the Rework
It’s not just about the raw stats. Certain skills now scale or interact with the Guts rework mechanics.
- Adrenaline Rush: Helps with that mid-race positioning battle.
- Determination: Literally requires a Guts check to be effective.
- Winning Bolt: On certain characters, the Guts scaling makes this feel twice as powerful as it was in Year 1.
Is Guts Training Still "Hard"?
Kinda. The problem with Guts training is that it traditionally gives you Guts, Power, and Speed. It’s efficient, but it doesn't give you Stamina. This is why you see top players using "Guts-stacking" methods only when the race distance allows for it.
If you're training for the Arima Kinen (2500m), you still can't afford to go all-in on Guts. You'll die. But for anything under 2000m? The Guts meta is king. You use 2 or 3 Guts cards, hit the rainbow training procs, and watch your Power and Guts soar together. It’s the most stat-efficient way to play the game right now.
What Most People Get Wrong
The biggest misconception is that Guts is a "Power" replacement. It isn't. Power handles your acceleration—how fast you get to top speed. Guts handles your sustained top speed during the spurt and your ability to hold your lane. You need both.
If you have 1200 Guts but 600 Power, you’ll have a high top speed, but it’ll take you the entire final straight to actually reach it. By then, the race is over. You're aiming for that "Golden Ratio" where Power and Guts stay within 200 points of each other.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Training Run
Stop treating Guts as an afterthought. If you want to actually win in the 2026 meta, you need to adjust your deck composition immediately.
- Audit your Guts Cards: Look for cards with high "Training Effectiveness" and "Inspiration Level." You need cards that boost your Power sub-stat while you’re hitting Guts buttons.
- Distance Checks: If the race is 1600m or less, aim for 1200 Guts. If it’s 2000m-2400m, aim for 800-900 Guts. If it's a Long distance marathon, 600 Guts is your "survival" minimum, but don't sacrifice Stamina for it.
- Watch the Replays: Don't just skip. Look at the mid-race "Positioning Fight" (the little fire icons/clashing effects). If your girl is consistently losing those exchanges, your Guts is too low for that bracket of competition.
- Prioritize Multi-Stat Procs: In scenarios like Grand Masters, use the "God Wisdom" boosts to force Guts training when you have 3+ characters on the tile. The explosive growth is the only way to cap multiple stats.
The Uma Musume Guts rework took a broken, useless stat and made it the heart of the competitive scene. It made the game harder, sure, but it also made the builds way more interesting than just "Speed-Int" spam. Get back into the training center and start focusing on that flame icon. Your win rate will thank you.