FIFA 22 is just a few weeks away, and FIFA 21 is suddenly distributing a ton of Super Cards to players. The teams are now packed with intense footballers. But are these Super Cards actually cool?
FIFA 21 releases special cards: The majority of the “season” in Ultimate Team is over, the big events have passed. No wonder, as the FIFA 22 release is just around the corner.
This also means that FIFA 21 now has a lot of special cards that you could get throughout the year. In the current “season preparation,” there are even 100 of the best special cards available in packs.
At the same time, there is a quite simple Squad Building Challenge – the repeatable “85+-Upgrade x 10” SBC. Players are currently using it very successfully to win extremely strong cards in FUT.
98-rated de Bruyne, 96-rated Gómez, 94-rated Navas and many more cards with high ratings in one pack? Such content is currently the order of the day for the SBC. Accordingly, the teams are now filled with intense cards. Thus, the event also provides a good overview of how powerful the cards in FUT are now.
More than 700 cards with a value over 90
This is how strong the players were in FIFA 21: If you take a look at the current status in FIFA 21, you’ll find a total of 713 player cards that have a rating above 90 (via futbin).
Comparing this to FIFA 20, the number has actually slightly decreased: At the end, there were 771 cards that were above 90. In previous years, it looked like this:
- FIFA 15: 96 players with 90+
- FIFA 16: 168 players with 90+
- FIFA 17: 257 players with 90+
- FIFA 18: 461 players with 90+
- FIFA 19: 553 players with 90+
Looking at the absolute top values, the comparison between FIFA 20 and FIFA 21 looks similar as well.
- FIFA 20 had 11 cards with 99, 6 cards with 98, and 20 cards with 97
- FIFA 21, on the other hand, offered 8 cards with 99, 17 cards with 98, and 16 cards with 97
Overall, it shows: There were again a lot of special cards in FIFA 21. Here, the cards below 90 are not even included.
But it’s no wonder. After all, there was a new event (or a new event section) almost every week that could bring intense special cards, in addition to the usual TOTW on Wednesday. The question is: How cool are the special cards?
Here, there is a fundamental discussion among FIFA players.
Poll: How do you view special cards in FIFA – and how should FIFA 22 proceed?
In terms of realism, special cards in FIFA are not particularly helpful. After all, there are special cards that elevate completely incomparable players to the same level. For example, there are cards in FIFA 21 for players like Ben Chilwell (97), Vinicius Junior (97), or Samu Castillejo (97) that put them on a level with players like Ronaldo, Zidane, or even current players like de Bruyne. Compared to real football, this is (at least currently) pure fantasy.
A little different are performance-based cards like TOTW or Man of the Match. These cards have an anchor in real football and are therefore more realistic. At the same time, the TOTW also had the problem that it couldn’t keep up performance-wise with fantasy promos like “Freeze” or “What If” anymore.
On the other hand, the special cards provide the opportunity to elevate more players into the FIFA meta. Speed was crucial in FIFA 21 – if you didn’t have a good rating there, you were at a disadvantage. However, due to the special cards, it is possible for players who typically wouldn’t be competitive to rise into the meta. If it’s your favorite player, that’s certainly a nice thing.
However, there is also the criticism that special cards are often awarded to the same players. Just look at Joshua Kimmich, who had 8 different cards this year, or Lionel Messi, who ended up with 9. A player like Wout Weghorst, who scored 20 goals in the Bundesliga, had only three cards in total – and none of them were really meta-relevant.
We want to know: How do you see it? Should FIFA 22 follow suit and fully rely on special cards again? Or would you like to see a different approach? Participate in our poll and tell us in the comments how you see the situation.
In general, though, new events and cards can also be expected in FUT 22. Everything, that FIFA 22 otherwise does new in Ultimate Team can be found here.
