In Ultimate Team mode of FIFA 21, one can regularly acquire strong special cards through tasks and SBCs. However, MeinMMO author Maik Schneider feels neglected. Especially for his league, the Italian Serie A, things are looking rather bleak.
I spent a lot of time with FIFA 17 after being away for many years. However, through a friend, I got back into the football simulation and am now also involved with the new FIFA 21. The only game mode I consider is Ultimate Team. Here, I get something for my playtime and can work on my team for months.
What is out of the question for me: Spending more money on the game than I already did at release. EA can claim as often as it wants that FUT is actually just an add-on to the other modes. As long as the mode does not come as a standalone title, FIFA will not get another cent from me in FUT.
The development of recent years in Ultimate Team looks very positive to me. While I could barely assemble a mediocre team in FIFA 17 despite high playtime, with FIFA 19 I even surpassed a 90 overall rating. And due to the relatively low prices this year, my current team already looks quite strong.
Serie A just doesn’t get special cards through tasks & SBCs
So what’s the problem? I fully focused on a league at the start, with which I also built my 90-rated team: the Italian Serie A.
It may not offer as much selection as the strong Premier League. But the prices of the best players are usually significantly lower than in the English top division. Except for the standout Cristiano Ronaldo, for whom I would have to lay down a six-figure coin amount.
But apparently, FIFA 21 thinks my decision for Serie A is wrong. So far, one has not been able to unlock strong players for the Italian first league through tasks or Squad-Building Challenges.
Currently, there is even a task for a player from the US Major League Soccer online. And not just any MLS card. According to the futbin database, it is simply the card with the highest overall ranking of all MLS cards. If something similar existed for Serie A, I would gladly spend many hours trying to get that card.
Chemistry mechanic leaves little room for maneuver
Why does this annoy you? To build a strong team in Ultimate Team, there’s no way around having full chemistry values. Through the chemistry mechanic, players get a significant boost to their actual skill values. Through “Chemistry Styles,” the extra values can even be focused on specific areas.
To improve my team without spending six-figure coin amounts on special cards, I have to look to other leagues while not disrupting my chemistry values in the team.
The chemistry depends on the league, nationality, and club. If at least one of those (yellow connection) matches for all teammates that a player is connected to, one always reaches the maximum value of 10 (as long as the position and manager are correct). If 2 (green connection) match, I can also compensate for red, inappropriate connections.
This means I could integrate players from other leagues. They must either have the same nationality as my core players around them (yellow) or I have to insert several professionals with a green connection who can support each other in the system. And all this without affecting the chemistry of my “Serie A” players.
However, since my entire back 4 and my goalkeeper come from countries that do not exactly produce strong players on a mass scale, my only option is to bring in several players who have a green connection among themselves. In most cases, this means I need players who all come from the same club. Because they always have a green connection.
Additionally, the red connections to the new players must be balanced by green ones. This severely limits my options. Especially when it comes to finding the right substitutes.
Give me my special cards!
What would I prefer? If I could bolster my team with cards from Serie A, which I could unlock through challenges.
One of my greatest motivations in Ultimate Team is the opportunity to acquire special players / special cards through Squad Building Challenges (SBCs). Here, whole teams are exchanged for rewards, such as FIFA packs or players. The players may be “untradeable,” meaning worthless on the transfer market. But the boost for the team usually makes up for it.
The challenges involve the conditions for the SBC team. Right now, I could get the LaLiga Player of the Month for October and would need to assemble the following team:
- LaLiga player: At least 1 player
- Team overall rating: At least 85
- Team chemistry: At least 50
- Number of players in the team: 11
For that, there would be POTM Mikel Oyarzabal, a left winger with an overall rating of 88, four strong stats above 85, and high stamina. His values look fun – but only if you can get him in a high-chemistry team.
For me as a “Serie A” player, it looks really bleak. While the Spanish LaLiga and the English Premier League regularly celebrate the Player of the Month with an SBC, there hasn’t been a strong special card for Serie A from tasks or SBCs yet. The Bundesliga and the French Ligue 1 have already had quite a few opportunities to improve their teams. For the German first league, there was even the best right back in the Bundesliga for gameplay challenges.
This means that all the major European leagues have received really cool cards that didn’t have to be bought off the transfer market for over 100,000 coins. For my current team, I am looking at Rulebreaker Cuadrado. However, he costs a hefty 150,000 coins on the transfer market.
For this amount, along with my saved player cards, I can complete several expensive SBCs, which might bring me real top players and real reinforcements to the team. But so far, FIFA 21 has unfortunately not given me the opportunity to do that and I continue to look on with disappointment until the forgotten Serie A finally gets some attention.
If you still want to check out Serie A, here’s a budget starter team. Personally, I can only say that Ronaldo’s league has a lot to offer. Just unfortunately, no SBCs.
