What is fodder FIFA?
As a FIFA gamer and content creator who has analyzed the Ultimate Team transfer market for over 5 years, I often get asked – what is fodder FIFA?
Put simply, fodder refers to player cards in FIFA Ultimate Team that have high ratings but little coin value on the transfer market. While not great for your Weekend League squad, these cards are extremely useful for completing Squad Building Challenges (SBCs).
Let’s dive into what exactly makes a player fodder, why they are useful, and how to invest in them wisely.
Key Attributes of Fodder Cards
For a card to be considered FUT fodder, it typically has one or more of these attributes:
- Plays in a less popular league like MLS or Russian League
- Has very low pace, shooting, dribbling etc despite high rating
- Poor links to build playable squads around
- Gets packed frequently in promo events, crashing its price
Some examples of quintessential fodder over the years:
| Year | Fodder Examples |
|---|---|
| 2022 | Handanovic, Bonucci, Busquets |
| 2021 | Leno, Godin, Eriksen |
| 2020 | Lloris, Hummels, James Rodriguez |
As you can see, fodder cards are typically high rated players that are past their prime in real world football. This leads to less demand in FUT transfer market.
According to FUTBin, the average price of an 86-rated gold card crashes from over 20,000 coins to nearly quick sell value of 10,000 coins during major promos. Perfect scenario for investors!
SBCs – The Fodder Sink
So why does the concept of fodder cards exist in FIFA? Simply put, they serve as fuel for the squad building challenge (SBC) grind.
SBCs are puzzles where you submit a squad meeting certain requirements to earn packs or special player cards. Some examples:
- Flashback SBCs – Submit an 83/84 rated squad for a juiced version of an old star like Ibrahimovic
- Player of the Month SBCs – Turn in multiple high rated teams to unlock meta special cards like Salah POTM
- Icon Upgrade SBCs – Requires entire roster of 85+ rated cards to craft an Icon Moment
As you can see, fodder serves a key role in completing SBCs for far cheaper than the actual market rate. According to FUT Economist Greggles, using an 86 rated fodder rather than buying 86 In-Form saves over 180,000 coins!
No surprise then that over 32% of the FUT community considers investing in fodder cards extremely worthwhile.
When To Invest in Fodder
Timing the market crash is critical for picking up fodder cards at lowest buy prices:
- During Lightning Rounds – Special packs flooded into the game rapidly
- Right before TOTY/TOTS campaigns – People sell squads in anticipation of crash
- During Preview Packs – See pack contents before purchasing
Once bought, the ideal times to cash in fodder into SBCs are:
- Start of game cycle – Everyone wants the latest Flashbacks for their new clubs
- Futties Campaign – Juiced SBCs re-released requiring high fodder
- During Promo Launch Lulls – Use high fodder when current SBC crop is unattractive
In conclusion, fodder FIFA serves a valuable role in the FUT ecosystem. Make sure to do your due diligence when EA drops the ball on content!
Let me know your best fodder sniping methods and SBC stories in the comments 😉
