88 RTTF Lautaro Martinez Player Review - Cop or Flop

It’s felt like a bit of a slow weekend with no player content yesterday but that’s hopefully made up for in todays content as we have a Road to the Final mini release which contains a Bronze card? But more notably a very nice looking Guendouzi item. 

In the SBC section today we have another RTTF SBC and it is in the form of Lautaro Martinez. This item has been given a very nice boost for sure but will he be worth the pickup?

You can check out the card here!

What’s interesting about this item is that it’s gone from having no playstyle pluses whatsoever on any of his previous versions. To now having two of them! Albeit they aren’t the most exciting, it’s still very nice to see as it gives the card that extra edge that may help push it into the power curve.

For those unaware, upgrades are of course based on the players’ respective club’s performance in the UCL/UEL/UECL and this is the criteria for these cards to earn an upgrade:

1. Win or Draw 1st knockout game after campaign launch (+1 Inform Upgrade)
2. Qualify for Quarter Finals (+1 Inform Upgrade)
3. Qualify for Semi Finals (1+ Inform Upgrade)
4. Qualify for the Final (+1 Playstyle+)
5. Win the Final (+1 Inform, 5* Weak Foot, 5* Skill Move Upgrade)

So through this promo we are likely to see the first cards released that have 3 Playstyle Pluses! On top of that, if Inter Milan win the Champions League (Including winning or drawing their 1st knockout game), this Martinez card goes to a 94 Rated card with 5*/5* and another Playstyle+. Incredible.

Martinez slotted right in the middle of an attack containing Mbappe and Best. With the pace boost I was hoping to see Lautaro attempting to keep up with the other two but failing that, the high shooting would mean that they could do the leg work and he could send it home.

The chemstyle I opted for was the Hunter as although 88 pace isn’t low, compared to most attackers now it falls behind so I knew I needed to help boost that pace. 

Here are the following segments to unlock the Road to the Final Martinez SBC

#1 - Argentina

Number of players from Argentina: Min 1

Number of TOTW Players: Min 1
Squad Rating - 84
Pack Return - Premium Gold Pack

#2 - Serie A

Number of players from Serie A: Min 1
Squad Rating - 85
Pack Return - Jumbo Gold Pack

#3 - Top Form

Number of TOTW Players: Min 1
Squad Rating - 86
Pack Return - Prime Mixed Players Pack

#4 - 87-Rated Squad
Squad Rating - 87
Pack Return - Prime Electrum Players Pack

Compared to the previous Kimmich SBC, this is coming in at roughly 100k less, so just over 400k for this Martinez item. This to me feels a little bit steep as this card is going to heavily rely on the upgrades whereas Kimmich was pretty good as a base. 

How did he perform in-game?

+ Shooting was the main key feature of this card that I actually enjoyed, he could whack a lot of power into his shots and rarely missed. Having Trevela playstyle in his back pocket helped a lot too.

+ Dribbling was pretty good but I do feel that the Technical Playstyle Plus carried this a lot. When utilising that he just couldn’t seem to lose the ball.

/ Pace isn’t amazing on this card but with the help of the Hunter chemstyle it isn’t awful. But definitely feel this is something that puts this card below the meta.

- Positioning was a big let down for me, I often found my CAM was playing more of a striker than he was and when I needed him most, he was nowhere to be seen.

Martinez - Cop or Flop?

I think the biggest issue with this item is the price. The community are pretty torn right now on the SBC as it has a 50/50 split. But for me, this SBC needed to be 100-150k cheaper to make it feel worth it. The card isn’t amazing in-game and there are many better options for a lesser price. 

This card needs the upgrades and it shows in-game. The problem here is Inter Milan face Athletico Madrid next so it’s quite unlikely this card gets the first upgrade. I wasn’t a fan of this card and the fact it requires the upgrades to become useable puts me off this.

Verdict = FLOP