What is a Special Item Card in FIFA 23 Ultimate Team?
As a longtime FIFA gamer and content creator, I‘m constantly exploring new special player items released in Ultimate Team. These upgraded cards celebrate outstanding performances and achievements, injecting excitement through improved attributes and dynamic rating boosts. In this guide, let‘s delve into the world of FIFA 23 special cards!
An Introduction to Special Items
Special player items are upgraded versions of base gold cards that feature better attributes, skills, weak foot ratings and more. Their bright, colorful designs make them stand out from common gold, silver or bronze cards.
EA Sports releases dozens of special cards throughout the FIFA cycle. They represent real-world exploits like Team of the Week selections, Ones to Watch summer transfers, Man of the Match awards, European Team of the Tournament honors, and much more.
Let‘s overview some of the most popular special card varieties you‘ll covet in FUT 23:
Types of Special Cards
Team of the Week (TOTW)
TOTW items recognize the best domestic league performers from the previous week. For example, Manchester City striker Erling Haaland earned a 92-rated ST TOTW card in FIFA 23 Week 1 after scoring two goals on debut.
These dynamically update every Wednesday based on the previous weekend‘s matches. With a TOTW item, a mid-70s gold player could earn an 80+ rated special version boasting substantial attribute increases.
Road to the Final (RTTF)
RTTF cards upgrade based on their team‘s progress in the UEFA Champions League and Europa League tournaments. These special dynamic items start at an already elevated level, but get better with each advancing real-world stage.
For example, Napoli midfielder Piotr Zieliński earned an 87-rated RTTF card for the Group Stage. If Napoli reaches the Round of 16, his card shoots up to an 89. If they improbably win the UCL Final, his card becomes a maxed out 99-rated CM!
Ones to Watch (OTW)
Ones to Watch cards celebrate high-profile football transfers. These items also dynamically upgrade based on each player‘s seasonal performances. OTW cards crucially upgrade with each new Team of the Week, Man of the Match, European Championship, and other performance special card the player earns.
For example, Liverpool signed explosive striker Darwin Núñez this summer from Benfica. His 82 normal gold has now become a special 85 OTW item. If Darwin starts banging in goals, his OTW can become an 87, 89, or even a 90+ card!
Full table of special card types at the bottom of this guide!
How to Obtain Special Cards
While pack luck gives you a random shot, there are also methods to work towards owning these prestigious items. Let‘s go over some acquisition options:
Open Packs
All card packs have a percentage chance at containing a special player item. Premium Gold Packs offer a 4.3% chance, while pricy 100k Packs boost that to 20.6%. Of course, the rarer the card, the tougher the pull. I‘ve found that Jumbo Rare Player Packs offer the best balance of affordability versus odds for special items.
During compelling promotions like Black Friday, EA also puts out Limited Time special packs with boosted chances. The recent Rulebreakers promotion featured packs with a 10% or higher special card rate. Keep an eye out for opportunities like these!
Complete Squad Building Challenges (SBCs)
Limited-time SBCs frequently award tradeable or untradeable special cards upon completion. EA adds Dynamic Difficulty SBC sets for various promotions too, where the rewards scale up in quality depending on your investment. The recent Rulebreakers, Ones to Watch and Road to the Knockout launches all came with such SBC content.
Some Icon SBC segments also reward players with special cards. During FUT 23 pre-launch, completing 3 out of 4 advanced Icon sets awarded gamers a random Team of the Week player item, for example.
Buy From Transfer Market
For rare TOTW, RTTF and other special cards, you‘ll inevitably have to head to the FUT transfer market instead of relying on pack luck. There will always be hardcore players opening mountains of packs during promotions to list these cards.
The ratings, scarcity and real-world performance potential of cards greatly affects pricing however. A discard-value 74-rated TOTW goes for under 15k coins typically, while 89+ rated OTW cards for the Premier League‘s biggest names can cost 1 million+ coins!
FUT Champions Rewards
Among the best FIFA players? Finish ranked highly during the FUT Champions Weekend League competitive mode to earn special red TOTW player picks. These options let you choose 1 player from 5 options included in the latest Team of the Week. Red picks are untradeable but make awesome squad additions.
Are Special Cards Worth It?
As you build your Ultimate Team, is chasing special card upgrades worth draining your coin balance and fodder reserves? Let‘s compare pros and cons:
Pros
- Substantially better attributes improve squad competency
- Unique body types and boosted traits add new tactical options
- Live dynamic cards can become overpowered high ratings
- Retain value or appreciate over time on transfer market
- High pack pull odds during limited promotions
- Red TOTW picks offer prestige and upgrades for top FUT Champs ranks
Cons
- Expensive compared to base versions of same player
- Untradeable SBC cards lock value into one player
- Market prices of usable cards often start 100k+ coins
- Lower rated Teal TOTW items don‘t make huge impact
- Quickly obsolete as more overpowered special cards launch
- Luck required; can do tons of upgrade SBCs or open heaps of packs with no returns
Comparing All Special Item Types
Check out this table overviewing all the main special cards slated for FUT 23!
| Special Card | Basis | Launch Period | Upgrade Potential |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ones to Watch (OTW) | Big summer transfers | Start of FUT game cycle | Upgrades with more special cards |
| Rulebreakers | Position changes | October | Static ratings |
| Road to the Final (RTTF) | UCL/UEL performance | Group stage to knockouts | Up to +7 or more if team keeps advancing |
| Signature Signings | Notable transfers | Promotional batches | One upgrade based on team wins |
| Headliners | Strong early season performers | December/January | With each subsequent special card |
| Future Stars | High-potential youngsters | During winter | Static ratings |
| What If | Hypothetical position changes | February/March | One +2 upgrade if scenario triggers |
| Shapeshifters | Experimental position/attribute shakes up | February/March | Static ratings |
| Team of the Year (TOTY) | Best players annually | January | Extremely rare top-end card art |
| Team of the Season (TOTS) | League seasons best | April to July | Static end-game level ratings |
And there are still more! UEFA Champions League content brings live Road to the Final cards for tournament milestones. Various international competitions like the World Cup and European Championships also bless selected players with one-time boosts.
By keeping up with the real-world schedule, you‘ll discover plentiful upgraded player items to mix into your FUT 23 Club all year long!
Conclusion
As you can see, special player items are a centrepiece of modern FIFA Ultimate Team gatherings. While the odds and costs seem daunting, creatively working towards owned these coveted cards remains an engaging pursuit for any passionate FUT fan.
Between lightning-strike pack pulls, strategic SBC completions and marketplace investments, you‘ll slowly accumulate a vibrant collection of colorful upgraded superstars! Hopefully this guide brought you up to speed on the wide world of FIFA 23 special card varieties. Let me know which items you‘re chasing down below!
