Demystifying Fodder – Your Complete Guide to FIFA‘s Most Valuable Resource
Hey friend! As a fellow FIFA enthusiast, I know you‘re always looking to enhance your Ultimate Team. So let‘s talk about an often misunderstood but extremely valuable asset – fodder.
Many players overlook fodder cards, but utilizing them properly can save you hundreds of thousands of coins over the course of FUT. Intrigued? Then buckle up for this comprehensive fodder deep dive!
What Exactly is Fodder in FIFA Ultimate Team?
Simply put, fodder refers to cards with a high overall rating but a low coin value. They tend to be big names past their prime whose real-life decline isn‘t fully reflected in-game. Some examples:
- 89 Cavani – Discard price of 13k despite 89 rating
- 88 Busquets – Goes for 18k because of 54 pace
- 87 Bonucci – Just 25k thanks to his sluggish 68 pace
While not great for your starting XI, fodder is extremely useful for completing SBCs affordably. Their high ratings let you meet squad requirements for 100k‘s less than using meta cards.
But not all fodder is created equal. Let‘s analyze the different types and their pros and cons:
Promo Fodder
Examples: Rulebreakers, RTTK, Winter Wildcards
Pros: Very high ratings, often good links
Cons: Still pricey compared to gold fodder
Promo cards make fantastic fodder once out of packs and their hype dies down. But they can still cost 50k+ even with poor stats, so seek out only the best deals.
Icon Fodder
Examples: Base Schmeichel, Puyol, Inzaghi
Pros: Perfect links, huge rating boosts
Cons: Low supply means high cost
Base icon fodder is elite thanks to their guaranteed perfect links. But with icons only available via SBCs, their supply is restricted. Make sure to buy during crashes.
OTW/TOTS Fodder
Examples: Underwhelming TOTS like Da Costa, Otavio etc
Pros: Sky-high ratings even on bad cards
Cons: Overpriced initially until hype dies
These juiced cards make amazing fodder – but only once their league TOTS ends and demand plummets. Swoop in a few weeks after their SBC expires.
Position Change Fodder
Examples: CDM Kessie, ST Werner, CF Salah
Pros: Boosts ratings in specific SBC roles
Cons: Links can be lacking
Position changes are fantastic for meeting rating requirements in tricky SBCs. But beware chemistry issues.
Perfect Link Fodder
Examples: Man Utd Matic, Spurs Lloris, Liverpool Fabinho
Pros: Easy to link across clubs/nations
Cons: Ratings rarely above 86 or 87
Same club/nation cards are great chemistry boosts. But few perfect link fodder cards have elite ratings.
Meta Fodder
Examples: Gabriel Jesus, Leroy Sane, Timo Werner
Pros: Still very usable in-game if needed
Cons: Expensive for pure SBC fodder
Meta golds are too valuable for gameplay to be considered true fodder. But they can fill SBC gaps in a pinch.
True Fodder: Big Names, Low Stats
Examples: Lewandowski, Muller, Suarez, Busquets
Pros: High ratings, max chemistry, discard value
Cons: Terrible in-game so useless for anything else
These are the purest fodder cards – huge names with coveted ratings, but pace, skills and agility that make them totally unviable for competitive play. Scoop them up for 10-20k!
Why Investing in Fodder is Essential in FUT
As you can see, certain fodder cards clearly provide better value than others. But there‘s no denying that maintaining a steady supply of high rated fodder is absolutely crucial for long term FUT success. Here‘s why:
1. It saves you an absolute fortune on SBCs
Top tier SBCs require multiple 85+ rated squads. Here is a breakdown of how much fodder can save you on an SBC with an 86, 87 and 88 rated requirement compared to using meta cards:
| Fodder Squad | Cost | Meta Squad | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
|
75k |
|
800k |
That‘s a 725k saving just by using fodder! Even mid-tier SBCs will save you 150k+. It adds up big time over the course of FUT.
2. It lets you complete SBCs you couldn‘t otherwise afford
Top tier Icons like Gullit, Eusebio and R9 require multiple 88+ rated segments. Those would cost millions using meta cards.
But if you‘ve stacked up fodder from rewards and buying during crashes, you can knock those SBCs out without paying real money or draining your club of Liquid coins.
3. It protects you from market crashes
When the market crashes during big promos, everyone panics about their team values decreasing.
But with a bench full of fodder bought at discard prices, you can ride out the wave knowing your club asset value remains stable.
4. It diversifies your trading portfolio
Trading is volatile – investing solely in meta cards carries risk. But combining it with discount fodder bought at guaranteed low prices provides balance.
5. It converts useless dupes into valuable assets
Untradeable dupes would normally rot away unwanted. But turning them into fodder gives them huge purpose.
6. It makes every card potentially useful
Got an untradeable 84 stinker in your red picks? Toss him into the club – he could come in handy someday as SBC fodder!
As you can see, neglecting fodder means neglecting one of FUT‘s most valuable resources. Now let‘s get into the best practices for using it effectively:
The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Fodder in FUT
Here are my pro tips for maximizing the value of your fodder and utilizing it like a FUT pro:
1. Always keep at least 50 open club slots
You need room to snap up fodder bargains as they arise. Consistently clearing 50+ slots keeps capacity open.
2. Create a designated fodder club tab
Keeping them organized in a single tab avoids the headache of digging through your entire club.
3. Rinse all duplicate untradeables into upgrade SBCs
This churns unwanted dupes into random fodder cards – doubling their value.
4. Only buy fodder at discard or near-discard prices
Buying fodder for more than 10-15k defeats the purpose of saving coins on SBCs. Patience pays off.
5. Target fodder from minor leagues and nations
Ligue 1, Eredivisie, MLS and Eastern European fodder is much cheaper than Premier League.
6. Buy 86+ fodder from weekly preview packs
When preview packs hit, panic sellers unload fodder at crazy discounts.
7. Invest heavily during market crashes
Fodder becomes absurdly cheap when people panic sell during huge promo market crashes. Don‘t be shy!
8. Sell fodder slightly above discard value
List batch sells overnight to lazy buyers completing Marquee Matchups. This allows rebuying on dips.
9. Prepare upgrade fodder before icon SBCs
Stack 83s and 84s, then churn them into icon segments once the SBCs hit.
10. Follow content creators for investing tips
YouTubers like NickRunTheFutMarket provide fodder investing advice to capitalize on trends.
Mastering these tips will have you building elite squads for minimal expense. Let‘s wrap up with a case study proving the incredible value of investing in fodder:
Case Study: How I Completed POTM Mbappe for 200k
Here is a real example from my own experience of how leveraging fodder paid massive dividends:
The Mbappe POTM SBC dropped requiring an 86, two 87s and an 88 squad. Using meta cards, it would have cost about 2 million coins. But I had prepared by:
- Stockpiling fodder during Black Friday market crash
- Rinsing upgrade SBCs with duplicate untradeables
- Saving packs for TOTY and recycling poor pack pull fodder
This left me with untradeable squads like:
86 squad
- GK: 86 Donnarumma
- CB: 86 Koulibaly
- CB: 86 Skriniar
- CM: 86 Parejo
87 squads
- ST: 87 Immobile
- CAM: 87 Kroos
- CB: 87 Bonucci
88 squad
- ST: 88 Suarez
- CAM: 88 Özil
- CM: 88 Busquets
I had to buy just ONE 89 fodder card to complete the 88 squad. Total cost? Around 200k.
As you can see, investing seriously in fodder allowed me to get an incredible 2 million coin+ player for only about 10% of his normal cost.
So hopefully this gives you motivation to start leveraging fodder like the pros!
Final Thoughts
There you have it my friend – everything you could possibly need to know about exploiting fodder to master FIFA Ultimate Team.
While it can be tempting to focus solely on the flashy attacking superstars, remembering that elite fodder cards are equally as valuable is the key to long term success.
Make sure to favorite this guide and refer back to it throughout FUT. Wishing you the best pack luck this year! But with smart fodder investment, you won‘t even need it.