FIFA 23 99 Cover Star Icon Thierry Henry Player Review - COP or FLOP?

The Futties of Fifa 23 has finally passed and on reflection, what started off as a pretty slow promo has again ran with the trend of being the best/ most fun promo of the year. The 84x 10 grind has been some of the most fun I have had all year on this game. So major props to EA for that!

With Futties gone we of course now look onto EAFC 24 and the final promo of Fifa 23, “Pre-Season Promo”. I’ll admit this isn’t something I ever get that hyped about. Of course it’s great to have some free content ready for the next game, but it’s never anything amazing. But who knows, maybe this year will be different. 

Of course, alongside that we were all curious as to what will be in packs and we seem to have an “interesting” batch of cards in packs now… In the SBC section we have the return of the Showdown Cards in both newly transferred Mason Mount and Declan Rice with their respected cards. Alongside them, another Icon Cover Star in none other than Thierry Henry.

You can check out the card here!

Now this is a card that since Icon Cover Stars were first announced, I was most hyped for alongside Ronaldinho. So I was over the moon to see this item finally hit the game and even better, it’s a 99-rated item! Unlike Ronaldinho, this SBC does not require 20+ segments. Just 14 segments from EA which is a nice touch. Originally the SBC was coming in at around 850k price tag which is incredible. But we have seen that slowly rise to around 1m coins, this likely being due to the massive decrease in the amount of TOTS currently in packs.

Here are the following segments to unlock the Cover Stars Henry SBC:

#1 - Born Legend
Rare Players: Exactly 11
Player Level: Exactly Bronze
Pack Return - Two Rare Gold Players Pack

#2 - Rising Star
Rare Players: Exactly 11
Player Level: Exactly Silver
Pack Return - Two Rare Gold Players Pack

#3 - On a Loan
Squad Rating - 82
Return - Henry Item

#4 - Gunners
# of Players from Arsenal - Min. 1
TOTW/ TOTS Players - Min. 1
Squad Rating - 85
Pack Return - Mixed Players Pack

#5 - Blaugrana
# of Players from FC Barcelona - Min. 1
TOTW/ TOTS Players - Min. 1
Squad Rating - 88
Pack Return - Premium Mixed Players Pack

#6 - League Legend
# of Players from Premier League - Min. 1
Squad Rating - 90
Pack Return - Prime Electrum Players Pack

#7 - League Finesse
# of Players from La Liga Santander - Min. 1
Squad Rating - 90
Pack Return - Prime Electrum Players Pack

#8 - 91-Rated Squad
Squad Rating - 91
Pack Return - Rare Mixed Players Pack

#9 - 91-Rated Squad
Squad Rating - 91
Pack Return - Rare Mixed Players Pack

#10 - 91-Rated Squad
Squad Rating - 91
Pack Return - Rare Mixed Players Pack

#11 - 91-Rated Squad
Squad Rating - 91
Pack Return - Rare Mixed Players Pack

#12 - Top-Notch
TOTW/ TOTS Players - Min. 1
Squad Rating - 90
Pack Return - Small Rare Gold Players Pack

#13 - 92-Rated Squad
Squad Rating - 92
Pack Return - Rare Electrum Players Pack

#14 - 92-Rated Squad
Squad Rating - 92
Pack Return - Rare Electrum Players Pack

Henry of course slots straight into my main squad and completes the team for this game cycle. Henry, Dinho & Owairan running riot upfront, obliterating opposing teams and making absolute lightwork of the game.

For chem style there is only one choice in the Architect Chemstyle as the only thing that you should boost is Henry’s Passing and Physical, the rest are 99 already and need no more boosting. But at this stage of the game, I think most players barely benefit from a chemstyle anyway!

How did he perform in-game?

+ Shooting was by far the absolute standout stat on this card. Left or right, he will find the back of the net. His finishing was so precise!
+ Dribbling is something that was also really impressive on this card, mixed in with great pace, he held onto the ball so well and maneuvered around defenders with ease.
+ Positioning was also something really good on this card. Henry was just everywhere I needed him to be, whether that be to get out of sticky situations or just to receive the ball on a run-through on goal.
+ Passing and crossing were also very good on this card as he seemed to just find his teammates with ease and setup some easy goals

Thierry Henry - Cop or Flop?

A cop. I don’t think there is any other way to put this. May possibly be a bit biased but outside of using Mbappe, this is one of the best strikers in the game.

I do think it is a bit of shame, and if you have opened any packs this evening you’ll know what I’m talking about, that this batch of cards in packs right now is nowhere near as good as the last couple has been, because completing Henry actually required me to spend some coins on players.

But nonetheless, this card is an absolute must complete!

Verdict = COP