Shaqiri

As the days continue to fade away at lightning pace the Halloween Scream promotion was just another opportunity for FUT Managers to ingest new content. Of course the slight curve ball was the new “shapeshifters” that we received on release and the new addition of two randomly increased 90+ base statistics on selected cards.  After some deliberation I decided to give Xherdan “The Anvil” Shaqiri a run out in my squad.  On one hand I was interested in how significant the boosts would “feel” for each player, and on the other I was even more interested to see if the change in boosts would be noticeable after the first shapeshift.

In order to fit everyone in I started with a 4-3-2-1 formation for chemistry and immediately switched to a 4-5-1 with Shaqiri in the RM position.  Shaqiri’s first boost was to 90+ DRIBBLING & PHYSICAL and after the first shapeshift he moved to 90+ SHOOTING & PHYSICAL (again).  I must admit that was not expecting them to actually be completely random and thought they would move on a cycle in groups of two.  Needless to say that a pace and shooting combo would be insane on this card. In order to properly get a feel I played 15 games on the initial boost and 20 more after the shapeshift.  The statistics are a bit misleading as I did play Shaqiri as a super sub for about 10 of these games.  Shaqiri would either be a trick.. or treat, in the following squad:

Pace, Passing & Defending

With the random boosts falling twice on physical these were the three base statistics unchanged since this card dropped almost two weeks ago.  From a pace standpoint I was tempted to boost Shaqiri with a Hawk or Hunter style but I was drawn in by the +15 FINISHING boost of DEADEYE.  While 84 ACCELERATION & 77 SPRINT SPEED are not going to blow anyone away, I was still impressed with how quick this card feels.  A pace boosting chemistry is still an option of course. From a passing standpoint I was quite happy with this card and some of the through balls Shaqiri pulled off were majestic and completely split apart my opponent’s backline.  This was not a consistent occurrence, but I feel it warrants a better rating than the baseline 7.5 that I would normally give.  Defensively… absent.

Pace Rating: 8/10
Passing Rating: 8/10
Defending Rating: N/A

Shapeshift Ratings

I think that any time you have a rating that is 90+ you can expect a certain level of quality.  I was interested if this level of quality would be noticeable when it was added to the shapeshifted cards, and would I notice a difference when it was gone? The simple answer to both of these questions is.. Yes.  Having reviewed Shaqiri in FIFA 18 and used his 81 NIF in FIFA 19 I am aware of his lack of strength on the ball.  The man is built like a cinder block but due to his smaller stature and player archetype he is quite easily separated from the ball.  These past two weeks have been like using the Hulk’s baby brother as Shaqiri just runs through any obstacles in his path.  Additionally, when Shaqiri is in my starting squad I have really enjoyed his 96 STAMINA and the fact that he seems unaffected by time.  The 90+ SHOOTING BOOST he currently has is incredibly lethal and his finesse shots with his left foot are pretty much automatic (see the first clip in video).  The DEADEYE addition leaves him with 98 FINISHING, 99 SHOT POWER, & 99 LONGSHOTS striking fear into goalies across Weekend League.  I have experienced an increase in goal output since this shift, even with playing Shaqiri as a supersub.  I do not want to get too carried away as I know that eventually this will be gone, but Shaqiri’s 4 STAR WEAK FOOT is quite good if you ever decide to move away from his cannon of a left foot.  I should note that Shaqiri’s dribbling was so silky with the boost and has noticeably dropped since the removal of the shapeshift boost; I really worry about what this card will look like without the physical statistics I am currently enjoying.

Dribbling Rating: 8/10
Shooting Rating: 8.5/10
Physical Rating (with boost): 10/10
Dribbling Rating (with boost): 10/10
Shooting Rating (with boost): huge 10/10

Final Score

Overall Rating: 8/10

This rating is one of the most difficult ratings I have had to come up with.  It is impossible to really quantify how good each Shapeshifter is when they are a completely different card after each change.  Based on Shaqiri’s height and the potential that he could have his defending boosted at some point I am nervous to give him a very high rating.  At the same time when I picture his shots heading for the far corner flag, then taking a right hairpin turn into the far top corner, I get really excited talking about this card.  At 50k on XBOX this guy is a crazy “value for coins” super sub in my opinion.  When you think about this card having a 90+ PACE BOOST it is easy to see how he can cause real issues for your opponents, and if this is paired with a shooting boost I think you have a very, very good value for coins option in your squad.  Cheers for reading.

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