FC 24 91 TOTS Live Raphinha Player Review

It is crazy to think that it is already that time of the year when cup finals are on the horizon and league titles are coming down to the wire.  Of course with that comes the much anticipated Team of the Season promo and this time around accompanied by a bonus Team of the Season Live squad, which of course replaces the Community Team of the Season from past years.  

The concept is simple, each player with a TOTS Live card can potentially earn two upgrades worth of bonuses.  One if their club wins 2 of their next 4 league games and another if their club scores 8 goals across those same 4 matches… And of course the addition of a third PlayStyle Plus that comes “stock” with many of these cards really has opened up another avenue for improving squads at this stage in the cycle.

Upon the release of the squad it was difficult to separate who we would review this weekend, but within the first few minutes the selection was set as TOTS Live Raphinha appeared in an 85+ pick (one of the few bits of pack luck I have had this year if honest).  Oddly enough it did seem like the pack weight was up for the first 10 - 15 minutes of the promo, but I will let the tinfoil hats debate that.  In any case it was off to the lab in an attempt to cook up a squad that would fit the Brazilian on chem.  

The 4-2-2-2 has basically become a staple for me at this point but did pose a conversation on where best to play Raphinha.  In the end I settled on 3 matches as a CAM and 3 as a Striker to try and give you the best overall impression on where to play the Barcelona attacker…  In both cases the bonus Shooting and Physical boosts of the MARKSMAN Chemistry Style did seem like the best option to get the best out of an already cracked looking card. 

Raphinha brought the TOTS vibes and quality all weekend long in the following squad:

Overall 

Rating: 9/10

What a start to the TOTS testing phase of the year…  This card is an absolute menace for defenders to deal with and constantly gave me faith that a goal was possible.  However, I would suggest that Raphinha is much better suited as a wide player where you can better utilize his Pace and Dribbling.  Up until now I have been using POTM Salah, which I realize is extremely out of date, but honestly not many cards (at a reasonable price) compete with the Egyptian for statistics and performance.  Getting Raphinha has certainly brought that much needed upgrade and I can not see myself going back outside of chemistry issues that I will get into later in the review. 

Main Statistics – Pace and Dribbling

Pace Rating: 10/10

Dribbling Rating: 10/10

Skills: ★★★★★

PlayStyles: Technical Plus, Quick Step Plus, Rapid, Flair, Trickster, Relentless

If you were to design a card in EAFC that would be quick, agile, responsive and rapid you would essentially roll out a version of Raphinha when all was said and done.  The 176cm | 5’9 frame combined with a LEAN Body Type and EXPLOSIVE AcceleRATE would have been enough… But then you add a plethora of Dribbling and Pace improving PlayStyles and you have created Frankenstein’s monster.

The 96 ACCELERATION & 97 SPRINT SPEED are the tip of the iceberg and allow the opportunity for other statistic boosting Chemistry Styles.  Thankfully they delivered on those numbers and along with the Quick Step Plus and Rapid PlayStyles were a huge threat in any type of space on the pitch… But it was  when that space was closed down that Raphinha really started to show his magic on the ball.  The 5 STAR SKILLS will obviously be a huge selling point for some, but for a mere left-stick-dribbling mortal, this card was about as good as it gets.

There has always been something about the FLAIR PlayStyles/Traits that makes cards feel that extra bit better on the ball for me, and that is without mentioning the obvious benefits of the Technical Plus.  The 94 AGILITY & 88 BALANCE are certainly bolstered by the MARKSMAN addition of 99 DRIBBLING & 99 BALL CONTROL in a combination that is fantastic to operate even in some not so ideal gameplay to kick off the promo.

Value/Coins

Value/Coins: 5/5

The third PlayStyle and possible +2 boosts aside, I would still think 1 million (and definitely if the recent trends of a day two and three price drop continue) coins for this card is a steal… Just reference Fantasy Dembele (sorry Barca supporters) at 3.24 million for comparison.  While Raphinha doesn’t have the 5 STAR WEAK FOOT he does stack up well in all other statistics (actually blowing Dembele away in the Physical department) and a +2 boost would only make those numbers more impressive.  The one area that I personally struggled with Raphinha was getting him on chem and while I realize all squads look different at this point with a lot of Heroes and ICONs helping those issues… I still struggled and will be worth consideration for some.

Good vs. Bad 

Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

Raphinha really was the gift that kept on giving and as the statistics would suggest is an extremely well-rounded player. 

+ Probably just one WEAK FOOT STAR away from perfection on the Shooting and the MARKSMAN was both noticeable and potent throughout the review.  Scoring a goal per game from the wide areas of the pitch (with a small, less successful stint at Striker) is more than you would expect in terms of contribution…  The Power Shot PlayStyle just adding another weapon in the locker for Raphinha as well. 

+ The Passing was very similar to the Shooting throughout this review and again just lacked that little bit extra to be “perfect” in comparison to other options.  In this case the complete lack of any helping PlayStyles was probably the biggest factor and didn’t quite let the solid statistics 100% shine through.  Don’t get me wrong the Passing is still solid and the 93 VISION & 91 SHORT PASSING can split teams apart as the assist per game would suggest… But just providing the 9/10 reasoning. 

+ The combination of the Relentless PlayStyle and 97 STAMINA is a fantastic combination of attributes when running the opponents full backs late into matches and certainly showed in key moments.

Minor, but worth mentioning

- While the overall Physical statistics look fantastic, it is once again the STRENGTH letting down a smaller card in the end.  84 STRENGTH looks promising enough, but regardless of who your opponent deploys at fullback, they are winning duels against this card.

Closing Words

Cold card design. Cold dynamic. Cold performances.  Packing this card has greatly improved my squad in the blink of an eye and if you have the coins available there are not many wide players that Raphinha is not immediately replacing in most squads.  While the Chip Shot Plus feels like a bit of a waste in the end as the third addition, there are plenty of areas ticking all of the right boxes with Raphinha’s card.  Certainly a must try and a card that is pushing the power curve early in this promo.              

Hoping you are well.  Cheers for reading