ShapeShifter Richarlison

Shapeshifter Round 2.  While the continuous re-release of players previously in an SBC is tiring, the additional Meta options are welcoming.  Immediately I wanted to try Frank Ribéry, but the cost to both buy the card and then build a squad around him proved impossible at the moment.  Instead, we looked at the next best thing in Shapeshifter Richarlison.  While the shift moved Richarlison to a CAM, I would bet that 98% of people quickly applied the two position change cards and welcomed a new ST to their squads… or at least that is what I did.  However, one thing that I did do differently was the chemistry style; I see a large percentage are using ENGINE on this card, while I opted for the SNIPER style, placing Richarlison at the top of both the 4-2-3-1 and 4-4-2.  Richarlison was the thunderbolt in the following squad this weekend:
 

Overall

Rating: 9.5/10
Pace Rating: 9.4/10
Dribbling Rating: 9.3/10
Shooting Rating: 9.9/10
Passing Rating: 9/10
Physical Rating: 9/10
Defending Rating: N/A

Up one rating from Shapeshifter Marcelo, Richarlison was an interesting review, to say the least, and I have never received more hate mail messages then this weekend… I’ll explain why in a second.  First off, as an LFC supporter, I always have to distance myself from real-life football on these reviews.  Don’t get too over the top with LFC players, don’t pile hate on the Man U and Everton lads.  In this case, it was easy and I cannot deny that Richarlison is fantastic.  This card just exudes power and strength, the way he runs, the strength on the ball, and most importantly… the shooting.  I took the liberty of shortening the clips from minute 1:00 – 2:00 in my video to simply demonstrate just what I mean.  Richarlison strikes a ball with the power of Thor’s hammer, except he has two of them, one for each foot.  So why did I receive all the hate?  Well first off Richarlison can dance on the ball with 97 AGILITY, 85 BALANCE & 4 STAR SKILLS … then he exits the dribble with 87 ACCELERATION, yet he does so quicker than just about every card I have used … then rifles the ball in with 99 FINISHING, 95 SHOT POWER & 5 STAR WEAK FOOT… then I press share and quickly save the clip, while Richarlison performs his default celebration… the chicken.  Apparently, FUT Managers feel about the chicken celebration about as fondly as the dab and I apologize again to anyone I played who took offense, it was not meant in harm.  At the same time, this need to attack people through messages has always baffled me, but I guess it helps them feel better.    
    

Linkability & Current Game Strength

Linkability Rating: 4/5
Current Game Strength Rating: 5/5

Back to back to back Brazilians, which I didn’t realize until now.  They are such an easy fit into any squad and with a good league, it is no problem.
This card is a goal machine and the result was 31 goals in 20 matches, while 91 SHORT PASSING contributed 6 assists.  I quite enjoyed the 88 Physicality rating with this card and the hold-up play was constantly effective.  

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad 

Value/Coins Rating: 5/5
Good vs Bad Rating: 5/5

90+ Pace, Shooting, Dribbling … 85+ Passing, Physical = a list of 10 players over 1 million coins.  Add in the 5 STAR WEAK FOOT = 94 Gullit extinct at 15 million coins & Richarlison at 1.5 million - 10% of that price.  Obviously, I don’t put Richarlison anywhere close to the elite levels of Gullit, but you get a lot of quality for a price that is certainly manageable if you have played this entire year. 

I think by now I have touched on the positive aspects with Richarlison, but if I had to summarize the key points I would say:
1.    Hammers the ball with incredible velocity, yet always seems controlled.
2.    Exits the dribble with the perfect acceleration to make the move worthwhile.
3.    Provides strength and possession in the final third.
4.    Deceivingly accurate passing.

The downside to this card comes in the form of two small, but important details.  First off, this card does not have the pace that it should be given the statistics and 92 SPRINT SPEED felt more like low 80’s.  Secondly, I had a real issue turning at speed with this card.  I would receive the ball and try to turn the CB marking Richarlison, succeed in making space, only to have him slow down before striking the ball and allowing the CB to recover.  With all of my other ST’s, this was a non-issue this weekend and so it was quite noticeable with Richarlison and one of the only reasons he didn’t surpass other reviews as the best ST I have used… but he is so close.

Closing Words

Reading over everything I have touched on so far, I believe I have provided an accurate depiction of what to expect if you give this lad a run out in your squad.  Expect a goal scorer who possesses size, strength, and power.  Do not expect a mobile speedster capable of creating a ton of space for himself.  But most of all, I implore you… be cautious of the default celebration.  While the chicken is a generally harmless animal, the sight of a human presenting themselves as a chicken is apparently on many FUT Manager’s top 10 ten triggering events.  Again, I apologize to people I played, to those who messaged me just take it easy a bit, and to those thinking about Richarlison he gets a massive thumbs up from me.  Cheers for reading. 
 

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Game Highlights: