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  • Icon (91) Torres review

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    Overall

    Rating: 9.5/10

    Pace Rating: 9.5/10

    Dribbling Rating: 9/10

    Shooting Rating: 9.5/10

    Passing Rating: 9/10

    Physical Rating: 8.5/10

    Defending Rating: N/A

    Everything about this card is powerful… Powerful running. Powerful possession on the ball.  Powerful finishing … you get the point.  If you take the time to watch the video I am curious though if you can tell what I mean?  For me, I remember what those goals felt like at the moment… the way that Torres drove with the ball compared to other members in my squad and then the way that he hit the ball with venom beyond the keeper's grasp.  While not my normal style in terms of body type and movement, there was definitely something special about this card.   

    Main Statistic - Shooting

    Shooting Rating: 9.5/10

    Weak Foot: ★★★★

    Traits: Outside Foot, Finesse Shot

    Given the 186cm | 6’1 frame, there was really no escaping the need for an ENGINE chemistry style here.  While this card looks absolutely insane with a HAWK applied, it was certainly a good choice to go the ENGINE route and added a shifty feel that you wouldn’t really expect.  Regardless of the lacking shooting boost, this card still has zero issues finding the back of goal and 15 goals in 15 matches is up there with some of my best returns.  The 95 FINISHING was spot on and with the 4 STAR WEAK FOOT Torres performed as would be expected for a card with those qualities.  However, where I was really impressed was the 82 LONG SHOTS.  Maybe it has more to do with the FINESSE SHOT trait, but the way Torres cracks them from distance is extremely satisfying.  Even the 87 SHOT POWER performed above what the numbers suggest and really this category makes this card so special.  The ability to apply the ENGINE chemistry style and not give up anything in the finishing department really allowed this review to stand out overall.  

    Main Attribute - 4 STAR SKILLS

    Dribbling Rating: 9/10

    Physical Rating: 8.5/10

    Height: 186cm | 6’1

    Skills: ★★★★

    93 AGILITY and 93 BALANCE still didn’t seem like it would be enough to get Torres maneuvering around the pitch as I would normally like… but I was just about wrong in my fears.  There were certainly moments where a little more guile would have come in handy, but I can’t complain overall when considering the size of the card adds so much to the 78 STRENGTH (which should be 99 if you have seen the pictures of him lately) as well.  The 95 REACTIONS, 87 BALL CONTROL, 99 DRIBBLING and 4 STAR SKILLS are all working in tandem wonderfully to get the most out of the 99 ACCELERATION & 96 SPRINT SPEED.  All and all what I thought might be the undoing of Torres at the outset of this review, turned into another nice surprise on the way to a successful weekend.     

    Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad

    Value/Coins Rating: 3/5

    Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

    1.3 million for this card is still too much.  The review was good, the returns were nice, the card was fun and overall outperformed a lot of the already quality looking statistics.  However, there are simply too many cards that can do the same and produce the same for only a fraction of the price.  While a card like Morales in the 55k range is nowhere close… There are cards that stand in the 500k-800k range that would easily climb to the 9.5/10 overall rating and production numbers that Torres achieved. 

    Certainly overpriced… but one of the key areas that goes a small way in justifying the body parts you will have to sell in order to afford Torres is the lack of real weaknesses in the Spaniards' game.  The 9 assists that Torres raked up in the 15 matches are again up there with some of my best reviews and combined with the goals just added to the enjoyment with the review.   

    Summary

    There is simply no way I can justify this card for the 1.3 million coins you have to pay to get him into your squad.  The only case I could make, and it is a stretch, would be for those of you who like a bigger striker leading the line.  I can not remember a card that was this big and powerful, yet felt so smooth when left stick dribbling.  But even then, 1.3 million is just so many coins.  So in the end this multi-review experiment yielded some interesting results.  The massive price difference definitely brought a massive difference in performance but actually left me with two polarizing issues.  Morales proved too lacking in quality to lead the line even for the insanely low price… while Torres had all the ability to lead a squad into solid Weekend League and Division Rivals finishes, but costs the price of some FUT Managers entire squads.  For me, the answer lies somewhere in the middle with the likes of POTM Vinicius Jr. and Signature Signings Ben Yedder who can produce like Torres and not break financial fair play rules.  The obvious ease in which you can link ICONs is certainly worth something… but not 500k. 

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  • Winter Wildcards Morales review

    Starting formation:

    In-game formation:

    Overall

    Rating: 8/10

    Pace Rating: 8.5/10

    Dribbling Rating: 7.5/10

    Shooting Rating: 9/10

    Passing Rating: 7.5/10

    Physical Rating: 8.5/10

    Defending Rating: N/A

    I have heard mixed reviews about this card while scrolling through Twitter comments and what everyone can agree on, myself included, is that this card has no business being 55k.  155k might be more appropriate and even then I would give this card a 5/5 in terms of Value/Coins… but at 55k this is simply a joke already.  Regardless of the price, there are certain areas where this card performs really well and others that I found wanting in key moments throughout the weekend.  

    Main Statistic - Shooting

    Shooting Rating: 9/10

    Weak Foot: ★★★★

    Traits: Outside Foot

    I went with the HAWK chemistry style for a few reasons… Shooting and Physical are the key interests and in the end, I felt they both complemented this card perfectly.  I was incredibly impressed with the 4 STAR WEAK FOOT on this card as the 97 FINISHING, 98 LONG SHOTS & 99 SHOT POWER all performed consistently and accurately.  “So why only 6 goals if the shooting was so good?”  The key issue with this card was the movement, or lack thereof, in and around the box.  The 97 POSITIONING didn’t translate into the chance creation that I would have hoped for and in many circumstances, Morales would hide behind defenders making it difficult to get the ball.  For me, I don’t classify this as a Shooting problem despite the obvious placement in this category… instead, it is more in the nature of the card and doesn’t take away from how Morales took his chances when they fell to him.

    Main Attribute - Size

    Dribbling Rating: 7.5/10

    Physical Rating: 8.5/10

    Height: 180cm | 5’11

    This is one of those sections where one intricacy about a card has both positive and adverse effects on the overall card performance.  The 88 AGILITY and 90 BALANCE that has been heavily boosted from the NIF Morales card is quite nice to operate in tight spaces and you will see in one or two of the goals how it is possible to bamboozle defenders lunging in. However, once you get the Spaniard moving at pace those statistics largely melted away with a more rigid result.  Overall, the few sparkling moments were outweighed by the more frustrating, “if only he turned that corner quicker” moments and what remains is a 7.5/10 rating.  On the other hand, the size of Morales mixed with the 79 STRENGTH was noteworthy and added an excellent dimension to my squad when holding up the ball and in the air with his 80 JUMPING.   

    Value

    Value/Coins Rating: 5/5

    Good vs Bad Rating: 4/5

    Too cheap.  While I have not jumped on the hype train that others are conducting with this card… there is an undeniable gulf between what this card should cost and how few coins he will set you back.

    In all honesty, this category is the best way to describe this card overall.  There are so many qualities in Morales’ arsenal that a 55k card has no business having.  The 97 ACCELERATION & 96 SPRINT SPEED to name two and both ensure that Morales can literally keep up with the rest of the pack and the direction that the game is moving.  Yet, there were moments, such as key breakdowns in scoring opportunities because of the 82 SHORT PASSING, 75 LONG PASSING & 82 CROSSING that all left me happy I had not wasted a pile of coins on the Levante man.  

    Summary

    As you can tell it was certainly a mixed bag with this card.  While I mentioned a 155k price tag would be more appropriate for how effective Morales is in-game… in the same breath, I think I would be telling you to steer clear for that price.  Overall, I think that is the key message here and part of what makes this card so special… for a starter squad you could do a lot lot worse than having Morales leading the line.  But for those of you with established squads, Morales is not an opportunity to replace your Flashback Benzema with a diamond in the rough.  But as a cheap super sub?  Absolutely.  In the end, I mentioned a small contest at the start of this review between two very contrasting cards in terms of price… and while Morales performed admirably… He couldn’t hold a candle to Torres and I am not tempted to keep him in my squad even for the ridiculously low price.

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