From b4e6a34acaef537e5bb4d7b7f54361b00be3c65d Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Branden J Brown
The late race speed difference means that, in a competitive setting, the speed stat (and, correspondingly, distance aptitude) - aren't what make front runners win most of the time. + aren't what make front runners win most of the time. Capped speed with distance S is ideal, but 1100 speed with distance A + will likely lose only a couple races within the difference throughout a CM event.
+ Obviously, CM is run in teams of three. While spamming the highest stats you can manage is a valid strategy that will get + wins, building a team holistically will lead to higher win rates. +
++ Because solo fronts essentially don't have access to their running modes, they are unlikely to + build enough of a lead over paces to win, even with Angling. +
++ In particularly front-dominated metas, this is manageable, since you'll have opponent fronts to run against. When any other + style is viable, which is probably always now that Nishino Flower exists, you'll have matches where your team's solo front is + truly solo. +
++ For that reason, it is my belief that solo fronts should not be built as aces; they're better left to a support role. And, + generally, the best support front runners are runaways, to block other teams' front runners from Angling and to keep pace up + to mitigate PDM on your other horses. +
+
+ I say that they shouldn't be built as aces, but right now, building a runaway that can block MANT front runners requires all
+ the early and mid race skills you can manage.
+ Gate skills are especially important, because runaways have a tremendously higher early race target
+ speed. If there is a real difference between a correctly built runaway blocker and a runaway ace, it's that
+ Doubling up on front runners is a build that intends to win with them. Which is to say, they should both be built to win + mid race and proc Angling. +
++ There is still a difference between dual ace double front and double front with an ace and a backup. The ideal stat lines and + skill lists will be the same between the two styles, but character choice will be different. In particular, dual ace wants + both to have strong speed uniques – VBourbon, SMaru, Ines Fujin on Tokyo turf. +
++ With an ace and a backup, the ace is the one with the speed unique, and the other is a horse who gambles on winning mid race + and turns that into a first place finish. Seiun Sky is the strongest such option; as an own unique rather than inherited, + Angling gives so much perfectly timed accel that speed inherits give her more lengths than other accel skills. +
++ Since your two front runners are both meant to be winners, making your third horse a support type is likely to give the best + overall win rate. This usually means a speed debuffer of whatever type is appropriate for the track. Adding another gambler is + also effective. +
+ +
+ At long distances, double front has different implications.
+
+ Building for second place to bunny with NN does not mean manipulating stats and skills to force one of the front runners into
+ second. Both fronts need to be strong enough to be adjacent at late race start, and you have to beat other people's front
+ runners, too. (Especially since VC and
+ Given that NN is good, it's also worth considering the gold version,
+ Triple front is pretty similar to running double front; the difference is that your support is also using the correct running + style. That said, you don't really want a front debuffer. The support you want is not the same. +
+
+ One type of support that all front runners do automatically is helping to kill position-based pace chaser skills. Such skills
+ have conditions that translate into needing to be in 3rd or 4th, or sometimes 2nd through 4th, to activate. When you're
+ bringing three front runners, if anyone else brings a single other one, they're going to occupy 2-4 naturally. If there happen
+ to be three others, then even late/end win cons like
+ The fact that triple front tries to occupy positions 3-4 lets you do some very interesting team comps where you run pace + chasers as front runners. E.g., I ran Taiki Shuttle as front in dirt CM and Curren Chan as front in sprint CM. This is not + terribly consistent because they're readily equipped to get into first just as easily as third, but then they just get Angling + instead and follow the normal front runner game plan. +
++ A more mechanical type of support is to build for spot struggle and have her pull your less gutsy fronts + forward into mid race. GW + TTL is especially important for this type of horse, and otherwise equivalent early race to your other + fronts – everyone has lane combo if it's applicable, for example. Front S is also a major benefit, because it makes spot struggle + last 10% longer. +
+
+ An SS support doesn't strictly need as much in the way of mid race skills, since her main job is to give the others overtake
+ mode and then be passed. It's nonetheless a good idea to take those skills for less risk if your other fronts have a poor
+ showing. In addition to the normal front win cons, it's potentially strong to take unconditional gambles like
+ SS supports do best on medium and long tracks, because you want to be building everyone for spot struggle on miles and + sprints. However, spot struggle is the only mechanic in the game that scales superlinearly with stats, so even the difference + between 1200 and 1000 guts can matter. See the mechanical speed calculator for details. +
+ +
+ A front runner build that I have seen but not attempted is the chariot: a runaway with a strong mid race but insufficient HP
+ to spurt stays in front of one or two other front runners who have
+ If this build ever had an era, it was during Unity Cup, when NSM was essentially free. I saw a team using it in CM13 round 2 + day 2; that team had an overall eleven wins at the time. +
++ Maybe a stronger build would have worked better for them. My opinion is that this build gives up the consistency of front + runners to pursue a game plan that is hardly stronger when it does work. +
+