A perfect derby pet takes many hatches, failures, and tears to become a reality. Luckily, new players just starting to breach the derby surface don’t need a perfect derby pet to succeed. In fact, many first generation pets offer great options for a blossoming racer. Here are my top 5 pets that I would recommend newcomer derby players to start out with.
5. Fierce Hound
Strength: 200
Intellect: 215
Agility: 250
Will: 240
Power: 200
Where to get one:
- Epic Bundle (Now Retired)
- Simon the Sayer
Why it’s a good starting pet: Although the Fierce Hound has no selfish talents in its first gen gene pool, it does have some very impactful derby abilities. Notable abilities include sap, supercharge, spiffy-pop, immunity, super hurry, and big hurry. In addition, the Fierce Hound’s starting stats are pretty good for a first generation. Agility and will are the two highest stats, giving racers an edge on two key surfaces – grass and dirt.
4. Snowball
Strength: 225
Intellect: 240
Agility: 250
Will: 225
Power: 200
Where to get one:
- Crown Shop (3,400 Crowns During Yuletide)
- Yuletide Pack
- Winterland Pack
- Bosses in Polaris
Why it’s a good starting pet: Like the Fierce Hound, the Snowball doesn’t have any stat boosts. The Snowball does however have some great derby abilities in its pool like super hurry, big hurry, sap, supercharge, spiffy-pop, and immunity. The two highest starting stats on the Snowball are agility and will – giving an impressive starting cheer cost on grass and clay. The Snowball has higher starting stats for the other two surfaces than the Fierce Hound does, which is why it’s ranked higher.
3. Sea Dragon
Strength: 240
Intellect: 250
Agility: 250
Will: 225
Power: 250
Where to get one:
- Crown Shop (12,500 Crowns)
- Various bosses within the Trial of the Spheres instance
- Kestrel Blackstorm from the Lost Pages event
- Fishing Chests
Why it’s a good starting pet: Like the two previous pets on this list, the Sea Dragon doesn’t have any stat boosts, but it does have some great derby abilities like supercharge, spiffy-pop, immunity, super hurry, big hurry, and sap. The big difference between this pet and the others however, is that the Sea Dragon has stunning starting stats. Every stat except will starts at or above 240 (which is EXCELLENT in derby!). With this pet, prepare to get a head start on cheer cost on water, clay, and grass.
2. Silverback Wildclaw
Strength: 240
Intellect: 200
Agility: 250
Will: 225
Power: 200
Where to get one:
- Kellen ForestTail (10,000 Gold in the Silent Market, Khrysalis)
- Skyvern’s Hoard Pack
- The Coven
- Jokul (Winterbane Hall)
- Piper StormTree (Spiral Cup Gauntlet)
Why it’s a good starting pet: Even though the Silverback Wildclaw doesn’t possess as impressive stats as the Sea Dragon, the Silverback Wildclaw can easily get there – and go beyond. This pet has 7 possible selfish talents in its first gen gene pool. What does that mean? That means that you can boost your starting stats to give your pet a better cheer cost on the derby track … something that is absolutely essential and more important than derby abilities in my opinion. I can win a ranked race with just my cheer cost most of the time, which proves just how valuable stat boosts and starting stats are. However, useful derby abilities certainly don’t hurt. The Silverback Wildclaw has super hurry and supercharge in its pool, along with some other abilities that can be helpful if used wisely.
1. Crimson Spectre
Strength: 240
Intellect: 225
Agility: 240
Will: 225
Power: 200
Where to get one:
- Sir Nigel Higgenbottom (1,250 Arena Tickets in the Pet Pavillion, Wizard City)
Why it’s a good starting pet: This pet may be a stretch unless you have some tickets lying around, but it’s certainly worth the price. The Crimson Spectre ONLY has stat boosts on the red side of its pool. For a derby racer, that’s a dream come true! Like the Silverback Wildclaw, the Crimson Spectre’s stats can be greatly improved upon and reap wonderful rewards for both you and your pet. In addition to the Crimson Spectre’s amazing stat boost potential, it also has a handful of beneficial derby abilities such as mega-leech, supercharge, spiffy-pop, immunity, super hurry, and shh!
None of the pets on this list are perfect derby pets by themselves, but they will definitely give new racers an idea of what to look for in a successful derby pet. The best thing about starting with any of these pets is that if you do start derby and want to make an even better pet, these pets will make that much easier for you. Most of the sought after derby abilities will already be in your gene pool and it may lessen the number of hatches you have to go through.
So what are you waiting for? Grab a pet and race! If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!