FUT Birthday Mkhitaryan Review

I am a big fan of promos for a variety of reasons… the obvious opportunity to review new cards is key of course, but there is also the hype of new cards added to a growing power curve, the different position changes or in this case Skill/Weak Foot boosts, and more recently the Swap Token grind.  FIFA 22 has brought many promos along the way but I don’t know if I have been anticipating one quite like FUT Birthday.  I don’t know if it is because of the constant quality in card design, the overall level of the cards, or perhaps that some of my favorite FUT cards have come from this promo in the past?  In any case, this promo just always seems to deliver and so far FIFA 22 seems to be following in the footsteps of the past.  We were certainly spoiled for choice with this review but in the end, decided to start with an SBC to shine some light on a “to complete or not to complete” review to kick off the weekend.  Henrikh Mkhitaryan has been the recipient of some fantastic FUT cards in the past (save for maybe FIFA 21) and this SBC looked no different on the surface.  All that was left was to select a chemistry style and a formation/position to play the Armenian and we were all set.  In the end, the HUNTER chemistry jumped out as an obvious choice while I couldn’t quite decide on the perfect position… opting to play Mkhitaryan as both the CAM in my 4-1-2-1-2(2) formation for half of the matches, followed by the RAM in my 4-2-2-2 formation to complete the review.  In the end, Mkhitaryan offered the FUT Birthday flair all weekend long in the following squad:      

Starting Formation:

Overall

Rating: 9/10
Pace Rating: 9.5/10
Dribbling Rating: 9.5/10
Shooting Rating: 9.5/10
Passing Rating: 9.5/10
Physical Rating: 8/10
Defending Rating: N/A

This card could be the poster boy for the FUT Birthday promo with the shiny new +1 SKILLS and a boatload of improved statistics to catapult the Roma man into the FUT limelight.  I was immediately impressed with the “feel” of this card on the ball while some of the strikes are getting you out of your seat material.  However, as the games progressed and the grind increased I felt Mkhitaryan hit a bit of a wall on what he can produce and slowly moved him out into wide areas to get more isolation and time against defenders… which worked amazing.       

Main Statistic - Shooting

Shooting Rating: 9.5/10
Weak Foot: ★★★★★
Attributes: Finesse Shot

Not sure if I should spend my time explaining how this card gained a 9.5/10 or what happened to the .5 missing for the perfect results… but in the end let’s try and cover both.  99 FINISHING & 98 SHOT POWER with a 5 STAR WEAK FOOT is the ultimate finishing dream.  For me, more than anything else, if you can check these three boxes on any player then you have a potent finisher on your hands.  Mkhitaryan was no different and while only scoring 6 goals in 15 matches, they were all noteworthy.  The more I think about it the more I know Mkhitaryan could have put up crazy numbers as a striker, but I just didn’t feel many FUT Managers would be looking at this card for that purpose.  The other nagging thought I had during and after this review came in the form of the HUNTER chemistry style… and whether or not a HAWK might be better.  For me, the added +10 LONG SHOTS combined with the FINESSE TRAIT and 99 SHOT POWER would turn this card into a perfect shooter overall.  But in the end, I just couldn’t part with the top end pace that the HUNTER undoubtedly brings. 

Main Attribute - 5 STAR SKILLS

Pace Rating: 9.5/10
Dribbling Rating: 9.5/10
Physical Rating: 8/10
Skills: ★★★★★
Height: 177cm | 5’10

Silky, smooth, responsive, ridiculous … the superlatives roll off of the tongue and only a man like Ray Hudson could have the words at the moment to describe the movements you can manage with this card.  I mentioned Mkhitaryan has a feel and there was a moment that I even went back to double check that he does not have a unique body type.  The 92 AGILITY & 91 BALANCE are matched by 90s in all other dribbling statistics and combine for some excellent left-stick dribbling in tight spaces.  The only concern that started to weigh heavily on the review was the movement while sprinting, which seriously decreases once you get Mkhitaryan in full flow.  This issue multiplies when you start to get in physical jockeys for the ball which felt like I was on the wrong end of too often for my liking.              

Value/Coins & Good vs. Bad

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

The price is where this card starts to get a little on the ridiculous side.  If you enter the base statistics for Mkhitaryan into the FUTBIN database you are left with very few cards.  The cheapest after Mkhitaryan is another FUT Birthday addition and our next review in the Uruguayan Vampire Luis Suarez at a whopping 1 million coins… making the 240k price tag on the SBC look more and more like a bargain.  But then you add in players with 5 STAR SKILLS to the filter and you are left with only 7 cards… with Suarez in second place followed by the staggering 3.6 million for Prime Dinho.  Until you add the final filter, 5 STAR WEAK FOOT and are left with one man left standing and further proof that this SBC is a good value for money. 

As you can see I wasn’t 100% over the moon with any of the statistics alone but combined they lead to a scary operator in the middle of the pitch.  Even with the strength issues, Mkhitaryan is still a handful to deal with when you can get him bearing down on opponent's backlines… and you can alleviate a lot of those challenges in a RAM/LAM position as well.  But maybe my biggest issues and the one that led to a 9/10 despite all of the wonderful attributes discussed… is the MED/MED work rates.  This card is screaming for a HIGH/MED combination to really get this card moving on the front foot at a faster rate and even HIGH/HIGH would have been a welcome change.  Maybe it is more my own preference, but I swear cards with the HIGH ATTACKING WORK RATES just pop up in those dangerous positions with more frequency and would have let me utilize all of the aforementioned weapons on more occasions than were presented during the review.  As previously stated, as the weekend progressed and got harder, and against those drop back and CDM controlling opponents, the touches and influence for Mkhitaryan greatly decreased.                                                                    

Closing Words

I wasn’t the biggest fan of the work rates, physicality, and my own struggle with chemistry style selection… but even after those facts, there is undeniably an incredible card at your hands if you complete this SBC.  I am not regretting the decision to review the Roma man at all and look forward to a shake up in my “everyday squad” for the coming weeks.  The truth is I plan to test the Armenian out at striker a bit, but know that I have an incredibly lethal RAM/LAM on my hands with the ability to cut in or cross regardless of the wing I deploy him on.  I think that brings up another positive for this SBC in the versatility you can gain with all of the attributes at your disposal.  In the end, I would never call this card a must complete… but again, if you do, you will have zero regrets.  Hoping you are safe and well.  Cheers for reading.  

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Game Highlights: