FC 25 Ultimate Succession Marcus Thuram Player Review

The Ultimate Succession cards came rolling into packs yesterday with a host of quality options ranging from the immediate discards to borderline end-game superstars… and of course some popular Ultimate Team options that went immediately extinct.  Of course the card that I was most interested in testing was one of those in Marcus Thuram and it was not until late into the night that one finally became available as the price ranges increased.

I would suggest that I am one of the few “regular” ultimate managers that have not tried a version of Thuram and so I would say that my excitement came more from the Succession of goals that he has previously scored against me, rather than the upgrades, that Ultimately sparked my interest… That and the ridiculous statistics, Aerial & Finesse PlayStyles, and OP quality of his previous cards might have also played a factor.

Keeping with the 4-1-2-1-2(2) formation this weekend, which more and more has grown on me as a favorite… God help me when I need to review a winger. Of course Thuram was up in the striker position and I tried him on both sides to fully test the cross body and then finesse finishing.  With the Shooting in mind the FINISHER was the immediate choice, while the Dribbling boost was a welcome addition, and with that all was set for another weekend long battle.   The hope being that Thuram could turn that same succession of goals that has caused me so much pain into the joys of Weekend League glory in the following squad:

Rating: 9/10

All this time I have been blaming mechanics, lag, lucky opponents and even my own poor defending against Thurams'... And here all along I was simply playing the most jammy player in the game, and perhaps FIFA/UT history.  The amount of times that opponents have to win the ball from this card to actually win the ball from this card is absurd.  At times I was giving up quality shooting chances as I had already moved on to defending, only to see Thuram emerge from the hoards of defenders unscathed and ready to continue the attack… And then he also added 15 goals and 2 assists in 5 games and I am wondering how I ever part with this beast of a card.

Main Statistics – Scoring

Weak Foot: ★★★★

Pace Rating: 9.5/10 

Shooting Rating: 9/10

Physical Rating: 10/10

PlayStyles: Quick Step Plus, Finesse Shot, Aerial, Relentless

Perhaps the most fitting dynamic on a card ever as Thuram holds up the amount of goals he averaged per game across this review.  There are simply too many weapons to keep this card at bay for the entire match and at some point the ball is simply going to follow this man around in the box bouncing off legs until you finish the chance, it is that simple.

The Pace with this card is fantastic given the QUICK STEP Plus and 91 ACCELERATION combination, the L1 Sprint was in full effect and many opponents either overplayed the channels opening up passing or gave up goals when they didn’t.  The one small omission is the RAPID PlayStyle and would have just made this card even more unplayable in open areas of the pitch.

The Shooting is certainly helped by the 99 FINISHING improvement after the FINISHER Chemistry Style and 94 SHOT POWER & 91 VOLLEYS are not bad either.  The lack of 5 STAR WEAK FOOT was felt at times as relatively easy chances careened off the post, and left footed finesse shots could feel a bit wild as well.  But outside of this the attacking threat was so potent and the Physical attributes play a huge part in everything good about this card.  The AERIAL PlayStyle came in handy on numerous occasions (including corners) while the STRENGTH was simply too much for even the most feared NIF see-you-in-every-match-including-my-squad defenders.

Value/Coins

Value/Coins: 5/5

There are tiers of pricing to just how good this card performed in this review.  If Thuram stays under 1 million (and I don’t see why he wouldn’t) then he is an easy buy and good value for coins.  Anything under 700k I would call a great value a key addition to most squads.  Anything under 500k and this is insane value and worth reorganizing your team to fit.  He is that good.

Good vs. Bad 

Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

Given how much goes into this card's goal scoring and the overview provided there, it is just the one category of quality statistics to discuss… 

+ The Dribbling with this card is incredibly responsive and benefits significantly from the Pace injection as well.  The FINISHER undoubtedly helped with the now 93 AGILITY & 99 DRIBBLING, while the 84 BALANCE did not feel like it was detering strong movement in the slightest.  I love the FIRST TOUCH PlayStyle and it is immediately obvious when a card benefits from the way they can take in the ball… Thuram being a perfect example of this especially in and around the penalty area.

Yet there is just one area where Thuram was not the epitome of perfection.

- The Passing with Thuram is not poor and won’t have you ripping your hair out as some cards will do… However the absence of any PlayStyles and an underwhelming stat line were a big reason for the only 2 assists.  There really were too many misplaced passes in tight spaces and in key moments to say anything other than this being a poor category.

Closing Words

Can’t really put into words how well this review went and explains how the lads are off to a flying Weekend League start.  For the foreseeable future I can imagine myself buying Thuram for Rivals or Weekend League runs when the budget allows for it.  The Passing might have been a bit underwhelming, but all in all this card delivered in the 5 match trial.  The variety of ways that you can hurt opponents with Thuram creates inevitable goal contributions and makes this card an unpredictable scorer. I would recommend this card on a “must try” level and I now understand why Thuram truly is so popular in this game.  What a beast.

Hoping you are well.  Cheers for reading.