FIFA 19 ICONS

EA Sports released 10 cards for FIFA Ultimate Team, one-by-one, by the hour, and here is everything we know about it. Although these cards have been seen in the previous games, they are a brand new addition to FIFA 19 and we are very excited about it!

With FIFA 19 just around the corner, EA is concentrating on making the FIFA Ultimate Team mode more enjoyable and fun for the hard-core fans.

The FUT is a very popular mode in the FIFA franchise, EA has done some excellent improvements on it over the years. However, we really hope that EA will put the skill moves and weak foot rating on the card someday. Nevertheless, we have good expectations from FIFA 19 FUT mode. Each card has three variants- Base, Normal and Ultimate. Let’s kick it off with these FIFA 19 Icons!

Paul Scholes:

BASE CARD:

Paul Scholes’ base card is a decent card to start building your Ultimate Team. The pace is very low, so is the defence. Although the card makes up for it with amazing passing and kinda-sorta good shooting. Dribbling and Physical are average.

NORMAL CARD:

The pace is slightly higher, making him feel less bulky than the base card, but is still low. The defence dropped 2 ratings, but is still usable. The good thing is that is shooting, passing, physical and dribble are very much improved, all things considered. This card will definitely prove to be valuable to all of the England and Manchester United fans out there.

PRIME CARD:

This 91-prime card is a major improvement on Paul Scholes’ stats. His pace is higher, shooting is better, passing is amazing, and even the physical is above average. The dribbling has fallen by 1 point, but we hardly think that it’ll be a noticeable difference, basically because all the other stats have increased very well.

Personally, I feel this card in overall is an understatement to a legend like Paul Scholes. But then, it’s very difficult for EA Sports to translate the countless contributions of a player like him or Iniesta or Andrea Pirlo, into stats. That’s why this card is a little bit of a disappointment. Although if they in-game stats had been available, maybe we would get a better look on this card. Paul Scholes is one the best FIFA 19 Icons!

Ryan Giggs:

BASE CARD:

The base card is an LM positioned, 87 rated card, and frankly speaking, this card can do you very much help in the first few months. The pace will help you go a long way in the FUT mode. It’s absolutely unreal. The dribbling and passing are very good, this will help you a lot in making plays or runs in an attack. However, the shooting is pretty bad, but it kind of depends on what rating they give to his weak foot. Say, a 4-star rated weak foot would mean his shooting would somewhat make up for it’s low rating.

NORMAL CARD:

This is an 89 rated card which is decent enough to be used by top squads in FUT. The dribbling is slightly better, the passing is way better but the pace is noticeably less. You might feel this one to be a little heavier than the base card, but if used properly, this card can be used as a playmaker. The shooting is better than the base card although still quite average. This card is best used at CAM position, which in fact, was the position at which Ryan Giggs used to play in the later part of his career.

PRIME CARD:

The prime card of Ryan Giggs is pure destruction. With a 92 rating, this card has a superior combination of amazing passing, great pace and excellent dribbling. The shooting will be heavily defined on in-game stats, much like the base card and the normal card. To explain this, let’s say in the in-game stats, the low volley or the penalty is low, which is causing the overall shooting rating to drop, I find it okay. But in case the finishing or the shot power or the attack positioning is bad, I feel like it’s not accurate for a player like Ryan Giggs who was a legend.

Ryan Giggs is one the best FIFA 19 Icons!

Hristo Stoichkov:

BASE CARD:

This is a good meta card, rated 87, and while definitely get things rolling for your team. The thing about this card that is different is that it is not the best at something, but fantastic on many things. With a high pace, good shooting, amazing dribbling, average physical and good passing, it makes Hristo Stoichkov an unstoppable scoring machine.

NORMAL CARD:

The stats is this card are so amazing. And I’m not going to just say that, I’m going to prove it. Compare Hristo Stoichkov’s Normal Card to Cristiano Ronaldo’s Base Card and you will understand what I mean. Cristiano Ronaldo’s card has 90 Pace, 90 Dribbling, 93 Shooting (slightly higher than Stoichkov’s), 82 Passing, 80 Physical. The cards are almost at par with each other. This card will prove to be an amazing addition to your Ultimate Team.

PRIME CARD:

The 92-rated Legend card is absolutely unreal. If like FIFA 18 he has 4-star skill moves and weak foot, this card will make most lethal attacks. 92 pace, 92 dribble, 93 shooting, 86 passing and 86 physical; this is the definition of destruction.

Christian “Bobo” Vieri:

BASE CARD:

With an 86 rating, this might seem like a good card from the first glance, but I think that it is good overall (same goes for the normal and the ultimate card); mainly because in the previous versions of FIFA, even with a similar rating, his shooting was totally brilliant. Even on shooting from outside the box, he scored a goal almost every single time. The base card has decent shooting and physical, average pace and dribbling for a striker which is bound to feel heavy and muddy. This is definitely not a very usable card.

NORMAL CARD:

This card, although with an 88 rating, is only above average. The dribbling is okayish, passing is quite low, average pace, and still a not so good physical for a player like Bobo Vieri. I wouldn’t recommend this card the long run.

PRIME CARD:

The 90 rated ultimate card, like the other two is not so good. It’s stats are only average, including dribbling, pace and physical. These physical stats for a player like Vieri are very bad. A good physical to players like Vieri, Harry Kane, Lukaku etc. is what makes them extremely useful.In case FIFA 19 will also be highly pace dependent like the earlier games, this card will pretty much become cannon fodder when compared to other prime player cards.

George Best:

BASE CARD:

This is a much awaited card for the fans, and EA Sports have definitely not disappointed us at all. Even the base card has great stats. High pace, great dribbling, great shooting, an ideal striker. He will have fantastic positioning and will speed up the attack. However, he won’t have the best passing or physical.

NORMAL CARD:

The changes in this card, when compared to the base card are very slight. Although the pace dropped by 1 rating, the increase in dribbling, shooting and passing easily compensated for it. The physical remains the same and the defence dropped by 2 points, but it shouldn’t matter much since he is a right winger.

PRIME CARD:

The stats of all three variants are very similar. The 93 rating means higher pace, dribbling, shooting, passing and even physical. The defence is lower than the base card but higher than the normal card. Unless it’s a matter of in-game states, there is no major difference in all three cards. Nevertheless, the fans are glad to have George Best back in FIFA after so long. He is sure to be one of the best right winger cards out there. George Best Prime Card is one the best FIFA 19 Icons!

Jens Lehmann:

BASE CARD:

Lehmann was seen in the Arsenal team, and some critics have said that he didn’t really deserve an Icon card. The base card stands at a rating of 85 points, lower than anything we’ve seen so far but still, a very good player and Arsenal fans would love seeing him included in the game as an Icon card.

NORMAL CARD:

With a rating of 89, we see quite an improvement from the mere 85 we had before on the base. Handling has been improved quite significantly from 83 points to 87 and there are some other minor improvements in speed, positioning and kicking.

PRIME CARD:

The final rating is 90, and we’re seeing big improvements here again especially to the handling, which is increased from 87 to 91. Kicking has also improved by 3 points along with positioning (4 points) while other characteristics like diving, speed and reflexes taken a minor hit of 1 point.

Michael Ballack:

BASE CARD:

Ballack has been considered an unethical player by certain critics because of the way he played against some Champion League matches. Nevertheless, this is an excellent choice for defenders. The base card stands at a rating of 86.

NORMAL CARD:

Physical and pace improvements have improved the most here with a jump of 6 points for both. The card stands at a rating of 89 but defense along with shooting have taken a small hit of 1 to 2 points. Dribbling & Passing have been improved here too.

PRIME CARD:

The 91 point rating we see here on the Ultimate Card is really good and all the stats have been improved, except for the physical attribute there is a nominal hit of 2 points. Other things like Pace, Shooting, Passing, Dribbling and Defending have all improved. Ballack’s Icon Card is a great choice for midfield play, if you know how to play him right.

Luis Figo:

BASE CARD:

A highly loved player by Football fans. Luis Figo has been a fun player to watch throughout his career. We see very well balanced stats across all the tiers but with emphasis on his attacking abilities. The base variant stands at 88 points.

NORMAL CARD:

Defense has taken a hit of 2 points here but everything else has been improved. The most noticeable improvement comes in with Dribbling with 91 points from the 88 found on the base, while other attributes see a improvement of 1-2 points.

PRIME CARD:

A phenomenal card to use in-game. Pace & Dribbling is excellent with both standing at 92 points, and shooting is also very accurate now with 88 points. Defense has taken a 1 point hit from the base, but you wouldn’t want to use Figo for defending anyways. A great player to have in your team and fans will love this classic player in FIFA 19.

Luis Figo is one the best FIFA 19 Icons!

Gennaro Gattuso:

BASE CARD:

Okay let’s stick to the stats for this one because obviously they show that this card will not be used. In FIFA, there is no place for just a defence talent. Very slow, can’t dribble for long, can’t even pass very well and being a CM it’s a shame, terrible shooting. Only the defence and physical are high but the other ratings completely made this card unusable.

NORMAL CARD:

Believe it or not, this card is worse than the base card. The shooting, dribbling and passing have all dropped. Even the defence dropped by 3 ratings. Only the pace and physical have improved but I don’t think it’ll make much difference, if any. I would never recommend using this to build your Ultimate Team.

ULTIMATE CARD:

EA may have interchanged the cards’ stats. Looking the the best out of the three, I only see the base card to be the best of them. His pace is even lower than the normal card, so is the physical. Shooting and passing are better than the normal card, but still lower than the base card. The defence is up by 1 rating, dribbling is 73 which is doable and only the defence is highest of them all at 91.

Sócrates:

BASE CARD:

This card will especially be super usable, for a CAM. Players like Cesc Fàbregas, have excellent passing and dribbling, okay shooting but not the best pace or physical, same goes for Andrés Iniesta, bad physical and pace. Unlike them, this is an incredibly all-rounder card, good at everything.

NORMAL CARD:

The same goes for the 89 rated normal card. It very much feels like a similarly well rounded upgrade on the base card. Slightly better pace, passing, shooting, physical and dribbling. A brilliant choice for CAM position.

PRIME CARD:

The Legend card is an absolute beast. Shooting, dribbling, passing are all in the 90s. Physical and pace are great for a CAM. Whether you use this card for CAM or Striker, he will get the job done. One of the best cards to be released, period. Socrates Prime Card is one the best FIFA 19 Icons!

Hope you liked our guide to FIFA 19 Icons! Let us know your thoughts and reactions below!