Many fans have missed them and in FIFA 21 they are finally making a return, the Icon SBCs. Here you will learn everything you need to know.
In FIFA 20 Ultimate Team, the Icon Swaps replaced the Icon SBCs of previous years and many FUT players were not happy about it.
Why the desire for Icon SBCs? For many players, the Icon Swaps were not the ideal way to unlock icons in FUT. Instead of completing SBCs with coins, the Icon Swaps required fulfilling tasks that had to be mostly completed in Division Rivals.
Moreover, the swap selection did not include absolute top icons like Ronaldo or Pele.
What are Icon SBCs? Icon SBCs are Squad Building Challenges that allow players to unlock Icon cards in FUT. To obtain their favorite icons, a long and hard grind is required, which many players have gladly taken on. Now, even before the release of FIFA 21, it is clear: The Icon SBCs are back.
This is how the Icon SBCs return
This is how it works with the Icon SBCs in FIFA 21: EA Sports announced in the latest Pitch Notes that the popular Icon Squad Building Challenges are making a comeback and how the process will be:
- The first Icon SBCs will appear at the end of November.
- Icon SBCs will be available long-term, but not forever.
- Certain icon versions will only appear in SBCs after they have been in packs for a while.
- Once an Icon SBC expires, it may be released again later. The requirements and rewards may change.
- Icon cards may be required for certain SBCs.
What about the Icon Swaps?
This is how Icon Swaps work in FIFA 21: Those who liked the Icon Swaps in FIFA 20 need not fear the tasks they could use to earn icons. The swaps are also making a return in FIFA 21.
It generally works like this:
- You complete certain tasks to earn Icon Swap tokens.
- You exchange these tokens in designated Icon Swap SBCs.
- After that, you collect the reward in the form of icons or icon packs.
Depending on how strong an icon is, you need more tokens. For example: Prime-Philipp-Lahm, who belongs to the new icons, will be harder to unlock than a base Schmeichel. Last year there were three “rounds” of Icon Swaps – it is expected to be similar this year.
The first wave of swaps is announced for December, so it will come shortly after the first SBCs. Important: If an icon is released via Icon SBC, this version will not be included in Icon Swaps – and vice versa. So, if the base version of Eric Cantona is released as an SBC, it will not be part of the swaps.
Furthermore, EA Sports stated that there will be a larger mix of icons and icon packs. The packs that can contain random icons are also expected to require fewer tokens and be easier to obtain.
The reintroduction of Icon SBCs is likely to please many players – after all, many wanted exactly that. But swap fans will not be disappointed in FUT 21 either. If you are more interested in the career mode, you can find our review of it here.
