It's a marvelous day to be a hero
Brought to you by Marvel? EA decided that it would only be appropriate to make heroes of the game a collaboration with the comic book giant. I don’t hate it. There are a lot of ways that the announcement could have gone wrong, but throwing in Marvel isn’t one of them. This is safe and smart marketing, and I fully expect to see TIFOs & stadium items based on this Marvel deal in 23.
21 new(ish) heroes join as FIFA World Cup FUT Hero items.
Heroes I’m high on:
Lucio should have all the right stats and all the right links plus he’s a Bayern legend. When you compare his stats to those of icons, I’m getting major mid Maldini vibes and that is not a bad thing.
Forlan should have one of those cards that gets overlooked early because it’s flat 90 pace and flat 90 dribbling, but there is no way EA doesn’t give him a 5* WF. I’m leaning to a La Liga team already and he looks perfect *heart eyes emoji*.
Völler had better have the flowing blonde hair. Any player nicknamed the flying German should be a menace in the air and I’ve grown very fond of crossing over the years.
Heroes I’m meh on:
Mascherano & Marquez. Don’t get me wrong, they are all worthy of hero cards, but the associated stats don’t do it for me. Mascherano and Marquez look a lot like Gattuso, and with an added emphasis on passing in 22 paired with a lack of pace, I’m feeling like they might be clunkers
Crouch…he’s big, he’s red, his feet stick off the bed…and he won’t be coming anywhere near my starting 11. All jokes aside, I can’t see how he ends up being meta, but I will absolutely take this card for a spin in 23. There is just no way to sign off on the stats.
Demoted from Icons to heroes:
Okocha, Nakata, and I’ll include Donovan in this. These former Icons now take up new spots as heroes. Let’s be real…they are more hero than icon. If you believe otherwise, let me know. I’m happy to include any hot takes next week.
Hero chemistry is A LOT easier with the new chemistry system. Heroes get two points towards league chemistry and one point towards nation chemistry. TLDR, heroes will always have at least 2 chem when played in position. That makes some new off-league heroes like Al-Owairan and Smolarek far more interesting.
That’s all for this week. Once FIFA 23 is available, I’ll share my weekly progress, rewards & WL. Think of it as a miniature weekly Path to Power snapshot. Where am I leaning? La Liga. Will I continue leaning that direction? Who knows. As we get closer to 23, feel free to share your starter teams and hidden gems with me on Discord. I’ll gladly share the best ones and answer any questions that tickle my fancy.
-Japes