Rulebreaker Douglas Costa

It’s Promo Time!  This past Friday marked the release of the first Rulebreaker promo squad and with that some intriguing new options.  By now I am sure you know that the promo involves taking current gold cards and rearranging plus boosting their statistics to turn them into a different style of player… ie. giving Harry Kane pace, which of course turned him into a 1.2 million coin card.  While Harry was well beyond anything I can afford I was intrigued by the new and improved Shooting statistic of Douglas Costa… +14 improved to be exact, and only at a cost of -4 Pace.  Additionally, the small increase to Passing, Dribbling, Defending & Physical brought Rulebreaker Costa to an 87 overall rating and a pricey 470k (now 420k) price tag.  It didn’t take long to determine that the HUNTER chemistry style would work best for my playstyle and I placed Douglas Costa at the head of my 4-4-2 formation alongside RED IF Marcus Rashford (if you follow me on Twitter @IVIaeNine you might have witnessed my crazy pack luck this week).  In the end, Douglas Costa was the cherry on top all weekend in the following squad:
 

Overall

Rating: 9/10
Pace Rating: 9.2/10
Dribbling Rating: 9.8/10
Shooting Rating: 9.7/10
Passing Rating: 8.5/10
Physical Rating: 6/10
Defending Rating: N/A

I won’t lie, I am prepared to face the wrath of the masses with this one, but I can not in good conscience give this card a rating beyond that of IF Allan Saint-Maximin or even Ousmane Dembélé for that matter.  When I said Douglas Costa was the cherry on top I meant it, he is a luxury that goes beyond the core requirements of a squad.  Don’t get me wrong, this card has some fantastic attributes and can rip teams apart for fun … but against the drop back merchants that plague every Weekend League I found the Brazilian to be ineffective at times.  The scoring return of 15 goals and 11 assists in 15 matches was not overly impressive, but I should say that with 7 rage quits in my first 15 matches the returns do not paint an exact picture of Costa’s talents or abilities.  While I touched on the Rulebreaker shooting increase it is worth taking a moment to say that they really juiced this card; the 95 FINISHING & 95 SHOT POWER are both fantastic and have turned Costa’s left foot into an outright canon… the finesse shots are also much improved and the variety of goals you can score on the left side is impressive.       
    
 

Main Statistic - Dribbling
Main Attribute - Height 

Dribbling Rating: 9.8/10
Height: 172 cm (5’8)

Much like Dembélé, I feel like combining these two categories is the best way to get the full picture of what Costa brings to the table.  The pace and dribbling with this card are responsive, shifty, quick and agile… causing endless problems in danger areas.  I would actually say that I prefer Costa as a winger, but with the extremely high price tag, I could not justify putting that amount of resources in an area that does not have a large impact.  However, as a striker Costa’s dribbling was key to opening up the tight spaces in the middle of the pitch… allowing Firmino to overlap into quality areas… or allowing Rashford the time and space to get free.  94 AGILITY & 93 BALANCE feel incredibly receptive to the movements your input and his 93 BALL CONTROL & 94 DRIBBLING are amplified by his smaller 172cm (5’8) frame.  While this FIFA has challenged the different player archetypes and how effective they can be, I still believe the smaller players generally feel better on the ball, and Costa was no different… a smooth operator for sure.  

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad 

Value/Coins Rating: 4/5
Good vs Bad Rating: 4/5

One of the reasons I brought Allan Saint-Maximin into my comparison to Douglas Costa was for this reason… the great coins debate.  430k is the current going rate for Douglas Costa and it is just not worth it.  Yes, he can pull off some absolutely stunning goals and is by far one of the most unique and enjoyable cards in the game.  But all of these comments hold true for ASM as well and you can get him for 130k cheaper and comes with the same 5 STAR SKILLS and an improved 4 STAR WEAK FOOT.  If you only look at their preferred foot then the Shooting boost Costa received makes him a superior option hands down and again makes my argument for this card as an incredible winger.  But as a striker, I just felt Costa missed too many opportunities on his right foot where I was expecting a goal as a reward for the hard work required to get there.

Two major issues in this category, which continue my comments in the value/coins rating… that this card maybe is not worth the price tag.  #1 59 STRENGTH … #2 72 STAMINA … while Costa’s height intensifies his ability on the ball; it also has an adverse effect on his lack of strength.  59 STRENGTH is going to cause issues, we all know that, and for me, it continues my narrative that Costa is probably best served in wider positions and therefore not worth the price in the end.  Costa truly is one of the weakest cards I have used and unfortunately gets bullied in almost all challenges.  The 72 STAMINA is also a limiting factor; this card gets zapped by 90 minutes and even as a striker was requiring a sub for extra time… again a difficult pill to swallow for a 400k+ card.         

Closing Words

The dictionary defines luxury as ‘the state of great comfort and extravagant living’ and I couldn’t say it better myself. Douglas Costa is a luxury item and to me is not a card I would be “saving to improve my squad.”  If you are in a position where coins are not an issue then I 100% recommend this card… Rulebreaker Costa is fun… no seriously, this card is a blast to use.  The pace, skills, agility, outrageous volleys & pile-driving finishes Costa pulls off make you get out of your seat at least once per game.  However, after you get your chair back into position and assume the “lean forward” for your serious matches… you start to realize that in the heat of battle what you need is consistent results.  For me, I went back to IF Allan Saint-Maximin as my second striker beside IF Rashford to complete the Weekend League.  ASM managed 12 goals and 5 assist in the remaining 12 (more difficult) matches of Weekend League and I couldn’t have been happier with my decision. The return to Elite 3 justified the choice in my mind and ultimately gave me more confidence in my frontmen.  In the end, I think I am in the minority with a more negative viewpoint towards Costa, but I have never altered my opinions based on others, this is simply what I found in the 15 match test drive.  In conclusion, it is a fun vs. function question for me… and if you decide to try your own experiment I really hope he is worth every hard earned coin.  Cheers for reading.  
 

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