The Black Spot

Endless flight is the whole draw, and you can have it before a single mechanical boss falls. Nothing else offers that this early. The price is the Flying Dutchman on Master Mode during an early hardmode Pirate Invasion, which at that stage hits hard enough that plenty of players write it off and come back for it later, when it is a convenience rather than a leap forward.

Quick in a straight line, sluggish at everything else. It takes time to wind up, longer to turn around, and it keeps drifting after you let go. For crossing a world that is fine. For dodging a boss it is not, and a Witch's Broom or the UFO will keep you alive more often despite looking slower on paper. Take your movement accessories off while riding, since none of them do anything for a mount.

• It rams enemies for damage once you are moving fast enough to trail gold particles, though the slow acceleration makes lining that up more trouble than it is worth.
• It is a tile taller than most mounts, so tunnels you dug at normal height will not fit it.
• It is the one mount that holds a Shield of Cthulhu dash in storage. The dash stays live even after you stop or get off, which nothing else does.
• It was much faster before the 1.4.1 pass and was widely treated as the best mount in the game at the time.